There are a lot of things that make me steaming mad. For example, my phone died on Friday. Its JUST come back up about 20 minutes ago. That makes me steaming mad - cause it interfered with working from home. This is my house phone, so my internet was also gone - other than a very basic 'web and walk' system we bought on Tuesday. I'm so happy to be back online - and this is my FIRST post. Haven't even gotten round to downloading emails yet ;)
And that actually leads me quite neatly into what makes me steaming mad as a writer.
I work from home. I've got my laptop, and two desktops, which means one is for writing (my beloved laptop), one is for artwork - and the final one is for uploading websites.
BUT - because ALL people see me doing is browsing websites, uploading stuff, or playing with pretty graphics, clearly, I don't DO anything.
Its not - really - a 'writing' issue though, is it? Or you'd think.
The majority of home workers that *I* know are not writers. And we all hit the same issue, but with writers, most of the time, we're not even producing something 'solid'. I mean, I know people that sew products - I know people that create diaper cakes - I even know people that make bespoke calligraphy posters - but most writers, short of thier clips, have nothing to show for it. A novel isn't created in a week - overnight - six in a day - ten in a month.
I can understand why people believe that, but it really - REALLY annoys me that some people just don't take the time to ask or understand.
I could get into a huge conversation about professionalism as a writer - I could talk about how we need to respect ourselves and respect our work before others will - but instead, I will say this.
If our families don't understand - don't support - criticise and destroy our confidence, then we need to either make them or ask them to butt out. I've had to do that with a couple of people that just 'don't get it' and it hurts not to be able to talk to people about the things I love, but its harder still to fight against the criticism.
That's what makes me burning mad. That though I'm creating something beautiful, that some people choose not to respect me. I totally get that I have to earn respect, but 'respect' should not equal 'best seller'.
So respect yourself as a writer - get mad, get even by writing your best - but never let them drag you down.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Madness...they call it madness
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3 comments:
Great one, Kai. My youngest daughter used to think that I "typed."
I do notice that my kids don't always understand that when I am on the computer, I am working. They think I use the computer like they do, although they do know better.
Maybe I need to start using my office again instead of the couch. It would really signal that I was working, but I like being on the couch (with family nearby instead of separate from them).
I am my own worst enemy when it comes to thinking I don't do anything all day. I can't seem to shake the feeling that I'm not accomplishing enough.
It's not unusual for me to get so caught up in research for an article that *I* actually forget it's for an article.
Here's what I mean: one evening DH asked if I was working (because he has learned to ask, great guy). I said, "No, just putzing around reading some blogs."
...Except that I was actually going through the Google alerts I'd set up for an article I was writing. It was work. I just FORGOT that I was working. Duh.
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