The Life and Times of a Freelance Writer
Jennifer Escalona tells it like it is
Worthy Wednesday Meets International “It’s Hard Out Here for a Writer” Week
12 Aug 2009This week I’m taking a break from my usual sunshine and encouragement to recount some writer woes and horror stories. Since today is Worthy Wednesday, the day I usually share the highlights of a blog that I feel should be in your RSS feed reader, I had to think of a way to combine the hope and optimism of link sharing with this week’s morose theme.
It could be worse. (Image courtesy of kiamedia via www.sxc.hu)
Thus “Unworthy Wednesday” was born. Not that these articles are at all unworthy. Quite the contrary. I just don’t want you to bookmark these downers and then let them suck you into an abyss of despair every time you muddle through a dry spell.
Debt: A Writer’s Life – From the Atlantic
Why is it so hard to find a friend? – From Salon.com
The Realities of Being a Writer – From Shannon Hilson’s Blog
Impact of Travel on Writer’s Hard Life Speaks Volumes – From the San Francisco Chronicle
(I didn’t find an article called “Gee, Writers Should Just Kill Themselves,” but there’s still time.)
Or you could just read anything by Frank McCourt. He lived a life of starvation and poverty, spending his formative years attending wakes just to find food to eat. When he did find somehting to wolf down, it was Irish food. And now, as if to hammer home just how hard writers have it, he went ahead and died last month.
It’s hard out here for a writer.
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9 Responses to Worthy Wednesday Meets International “It’s Hard Out Here for a Writer” Week
Margaret Montet
August 12th, 2009 at 10:22 am
This post matches my mood. It IS hard out here for a writer! I’m glad I still have my day job even if it does suck the life and charm out of me. Things are going to get better soon, though, right?
Margaret Montet´s last blog ..
Jenn Escalona
August 12th, 2009 at 10:25 am
They are. They absolutely are. All we can do until then is hang on until they do and maybe reread some of these depressing stories from time to time to cheer us up because at least is isn’t THAT bad.
Kathryn Lang
August 12th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
It’s tough out there for everyone! Writing just allows me to be insulated from the rest of you and focused on how tough MY life is.
Despair can be so easy find and hope can be so illusive. I think I will continue to pursue my sunrise despite the clouds.
Kathryn Lang´s last blog ..Beckoning the Elusive Muse
Jenn Escalona
August 12th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
I am so glad to hear it, Kathryn! I was hoping “It’s Hard Out Here for a Writer Week” wouldn’t be a downer for anybody. You keep on keeping on!
Rachel
August 12th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I’ll be sure to avoid those links! Especially the one with Debt in the heading…
Rachel´s last blog ..Researching for eHow Article Topics and Keywords
Natalia Maldonado
August 13th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Jenn, funny enough, “It’s Hard Out Here for a Writer Week” is not at ALL a downer. It’s refreshing to get some realistic discussion going. What’s a downer to me is the hype and glamour that people often project onto our profession. You don’t know how many times I’ve had people say: “You’re a freelance writer? Like Carrie in Sex in the City?” It makes me want to say, no, not at all (she only had one column!).
I think one of the hardest parts of being a writer is wading through the people who think writing is easy and therefore don’t think they should have to pay very much for a good writer, and those who know the value of good writing. As Bruce Campbell said in Burn Notice: “I work hard, I just make it look easy.”
Natalia Maldonado´s last blog ..If your writing’s your baby, revise with a firm hand
Jenn Escalona
August 13th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Rachel – I know, right? It’s probably the first time in the history of the internet that someone posted links and said not to read them.
Natalia – I’m so glad you’re finding “It’s Hard Out Here for a Writer Week” refreshing! I just had to vent about some of the silliness going on lately. (I was also thinking about Carrie from Sex in the City the other day wondering how she got by on one column.Then I remembered she turned it into a book. But still… one book? Who can live in NY like that?)
People do think writing is easy, but you can usually get through to them when you get a chance to talk to them. The downside of that is that you often don’t get a chance to talk to them. After all, if its taught to everyone in 1st grade, how hard can it be?
Natalia Maldonado
August 13th, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I thought the same thing about the book/column but I’ve been watching the show lately and she goes like 5 seasons before publishing that book!
Funny thing about people thinking writing is easy: They’re usually the first to admit they’re terrible writers! But there’s that misconception that writers are writers because the words just flow out of them, that it comes naturally or that it’s just easy for them. I always find my best works are those pieces that are hardest to write.
Natalia Maldonado´s last blog ..If your writing’s your baby, revise with a firm hand
Jenn Escalona
August 14th, 2009 at 8:47 am
You are so right. Sadly, when I first started writing fiction, I had a much easier time of it because I hadn’t yet built up that internal critic. I could write chapters and chapters in a day. Now days I obsess over single pages because the internal editor has me in her grasp.
This whole line of thought reminds me of a couple of quotes, too:
A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. – Thomas Mann
Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. – Gene Fowler