When I was in grade school, I wanted to be a poet.
I remember writing a limerick in the 3rd grade. It was something about a witch and a ditch. Couldn’t tell you the rest. By the 5th grade I was winning district creative writing competitions.
Through high school I switched over to short stories, having had a bad experience with a poetry teacher. I realized, though, once I was in college, that very few people ever make it writing poetry or fiction. Sure, it’s possible; but I’m only mildly talented in those areas.
I’m not being modest here; the truth is that I’m a kick-ass web writer. I’ve often talked about being “at the high end of average,” but the more freelance work I do the more I realize that I’m really very good at it. There are others who are better, but I’m at least good enough to make a comfortable living at it.
What’s my point? Well, writing for fun and writing for dollars are two different things for most of us. Take, for example, the creative writing game going on at Escaping Reality. I have a blast posting to those boards. I write for a couple of hours each week, and will never make a dime on it. (Incidentally, I believe there are slots open if you’re interested in joining us. Check with Harry And James to be sure.)
I think I can compare it to the days when I was building computers for a living. I’d custom build PCs for all sorts of folks, but I’d really get into building and modifying my own PC. Sure, it saved me a couple of bucks to build my own, but not as much as I made when I built someone else’s.
Sometimes, you’ve just got to write for the hell of it. Maybe, for you, that’s poetry or fiction. Maybe it’s writing articles for fun at an article directory. I know that a lot of the work I did at Helium last March fell into this category.
So, what about you? If you’re a writer, what do you write for fun?
(Also, if you haven’t been following my seven deadly sins of freelancing series this week at Freelance Folder, go check it out. You’ll be glad you did!)
14 comments ↓
Everything I write right now is for fun. I aim to change that this year and actually earn some dough.
Scotts last blog post..Archangel Episode 11
Oh how I loved writing poems as a kid — but don’t do that anymore… except for special occasions. I’m proud of the poem I wrote for my hubby’s 30th birthday
My grandmother turned me on to The Shooting of Dan McGrew — so I wrote a couple of poems in that style — epic and long.
I also turned a poem into a song for a summer camp competition. We had to write songs about our theme and our team name — and my group loved it. About the closest I — a deaf person — came to being a songwriter.
My writing business keeps me too busy to write stuff for fun. I do keep a personal journal, but it’s more of a snapshot of my day not something fun. I want to be able to look things up when I can’t remember everything. And it comes in handy.
I think it’d be fun to enter contests and such that call for a different kind of writing than I do for my clients — but again, time is a factor. Tennis is a higher priority
Meryl Evanss last blog post..Lessons Learned from WordPress Upgrade Scare
Whether I’m writing a blog post or a book, whether it’s just for me or for publication, I do my best to make all my writing fun. I don’t always succeed, but I do believe that when we do what we’re passionate about — and I’m passionate about writing and about inspiring people to write — the potential is there for it to be both fun and profitable.
After all, if they can call a dramatic presentation on the stage a “play,” there’s no reason why all creative pursuit can’t also be playful and fun!
Mark David Gersons last blog post..Wordy Distractions
@ Scott – I’m hoping you do, too. You’re a talented writer, my friend.
@ Meryl – I love the idea of epic poetry. I tried my hand at it briefly in college. Turned out to be of a much bigger scope than I could handle.
I’ve thought, too, about submitting some of my creative writing to contests. Golf, in my case, seems to take priority rather than tennis
@MDG – Thanks for the comment! I agree with you, to a point. I’m passionate about writing and about helping other writers reach their dreams, so that kind of writing is a blast. Writing about transmissions? Not so much. I don’t dislike it the way I disliked IT work at the end, but I see it for what it is: something to pay the bills.
That’s one of my goals as a writer: to be able to write for myself. I can write what I want to write, and make money from it. The writing I’m doing for my mentoring program falls into that category, for example.
I write for fun. But, I also write in order that I may become a better writer. Practice makes perfect. My writing is multifaceted in its accomplishments.
Blogging I find, stretches the mind, because you’re always looking for something compelling to write – not just a forced entry. In the end, I try to make my writing contribute to many spheres of life, as it should be.
Bamboo Forests last blog post..Bloomin’ Onion and Mountain Dew: The Documentary
Escaping Reality is the most fun fiction writing that I have done in years. As much as I love fiction, the chance to be writing it with others makes it a special blast. And it improving my other writing as well ( In my own humble opinion) It stretches me to want to find new ways of expressing myself.
A also love writing my blog, although not fiction, I love doing it and do it for fun not profit. All of my writing at this moment in time is pleasure!
Wendi Kellys last blog post..Searching for the Stars
This is exactly why Harry and I needed Escaping Reality. We write for a living. We’re paid to write. Writing is our job. Our business is writing.
But damn, we needed to write for FUN.
Creative writing games have been our outlet for years and that’s where we really shine. It’s *easy* to write whole chapters and small novels in a day alone – it’s FUN. It isn’t work at all.
And as Wendi mentioned, the collaborative aspect and the intense anticipation of the next post (ARE YOU WRITING YET? I’M WAITING!!) makes everything just rock.
And yes – we have slots open if anyone is interested in joining. The game and players are as welcoming as our blog, so feel free.
I think it was Good King James Chartrand who I once mused with, that many freelance writers get into the biz because our love of writing fiction evolved into a desire to get paid. Writing fantasy and sci-fi has long been my creative outlet, at least in terms of writing (I’m a musician and one of those pesky Conservatorium students).
I’m lucky in that most of the writing I get paid for is fun for me. I LIKE writing about compost and how to grow tomatoes and all things gardening because that’s what geeks me out in my non-writing life.
I did start out wanting to write poetry and novels. I’ve had some poetry published, and have two pretty bad novels sitting in my filing cabinet. Someday, I’ll get back to it. But for now, I’m having a blast with garden writing.
Colleen Vanderlindens last blog post..Welcome About.com’s New Guide to Houseplants!
@ Bamboo – I agree about blogging. There’s something to be said for the sort of stream-of-consciousness that blogging can be at times.
@ Wendi – Agreed, on all points. I make very little on this blog. Mainly, it exists to do like the tagline says: help other writers achieve their dreams. That, in itself, is plenty satisfying.
@ James – You two are amazing, I’d just like to say. I have the third highest number of posts, behind you two, yet I still only have 1/3 your numbers each. It’s crazy.
@ Joel – I can see that happening. In my case, it was a bit different. I’d thought of writing as a childhood pipe dream until I sort of fell into a web writing career, which then evolved into full-blown freelance entrepreneurship!
@ Colleen – That’s cool, about writing what you enjoy. Believe it or not, I really enjoyed writing all of that parenting and pregnancy material, at least for a while. As a parent of 3 girls, it’s good stuff to know. And, I enjoy a good bit of the writing I do these days. I am more likely, though, to refuse a job because I don’t like the topic than I am to refuse a job because I don’t like the pay. I’m to the point in my journey where I have the luxury to do that, from time to time.
Aww thanks man.
Everything I write, I write for fun and someday I might even get paid for it.
I’ve tried for a long time to write things for purely commercial reasons. While I had some minor success, my heart was never truly in it.
Jamie Grove – How Not To Writes last blog post..How I Almost Started Writing: Chicago
I write purely for fun. I’m not particularly good at it, but I enjoy the process of sitting there and dumping something from my brain. There’s something therapeutic about it.
I’ve never really considered writing for money, though, simply because I know I’m just not that good. Honestly, I can usually spell, and my grammar’s not horrible, but I’m no good at writing stuff that other people want to read. So, instead of being a career, writing is a hobby that I do when I’m not fixing stuff that’s broken at work. (and occasionally when I *should* be fixing stuff that’s broken at work, thanks to the Pen Men and their utterly addicting RPG)
colllgjg
Leave a Comment