My life would be perfect IF . . .
My life would be perfect IF . . .
I was taller, shorter, thinner, smarter, richer, had a newer car, had perfect children, had more time to do what I wanted. And the list goes on. The obvious one missing for us as writers, of course, is published. Or published with a bigger house. Or on the New York Times Bestsellers List.
Are we ever truly satisfied with what we do have? And should we be?
Yes. And no.
Yes, we should be happy with what we have in life. No, we should never let that stop us from striving for more. As in getting published, or publishing with a bigger house, or making that bestseller list we so covet.
My life isn’t perfect and to be honest, I don’t want it to be. What fun would that be? Not much. Wishing for what we can never possible obtain (like the Noble Peace Prize in Science when you know very little about science) is a waste of time and energy. However, being content and sitting there doing nothing with your talent is a bigger waste.
Yep. My life would be perfect if I were multi-published and earning a REALLY good living from the royalties. Oops, wait. You still have to sit down and do the work so even that isn’t a piece of cake. *sigh*
Let’s see . . . Attitude + Hard Work + Perseverance = My Perfect Life {Which will be happily published - at whatever level.}
Okay. Now I know what MY perfect life would be. What about yours?
October 19, 2009 at 7:12 am
Linda,
My mom always said having something she was striving for gave her a reason to get out of bed each morning. (I don’t remember any of her projects taking as long as my writing,)LOL.
I believe true satisfaction is what we’ll have in heaven. Until then, give me something to work toward!
October 19, 2009 at 7:42 pm
Susan,
Heaven is the ultimate reward that we should all be striving for. THEN we can rest. Like you, I need something to keep me going while here and writing is that avenue.
October 21, 2009 at 11:14 am
Susan, if you want a program on this topic, here you go: http://www.eclectics.com/janhudson/bio.html
spw
October 19, 2009 at 8:54 am
I know I’m blessed. Like Susan, something to strive toward is a good thing.
Great post, Linda!!
October 19, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Yeah, sitting around doing nothing but eating bon-bon’s isn’t my idea of fun. Besides, I’d be big as a barn if I did. LOL
October 19, 2009 at 9:09 am
Linda,
You’ll appreciate this, because you’re as big a geek as I am. When I first decided to write a book back in 1993, I did some research… Obviously, it’s all out of date, but this is what I discovered: 60% of PUBLISHED authors couldn’t quit their day jobs.
When Octavia Butler received the “genius grant” of $200,000 dollars for her work writing science fiction, her first quote was “now I can afford health insurance.”
At that point in my research, I decided that the lucky few make a living doing what they love. The rest of us keep writing because we want to or have to to stay sane. If you get paid for it, that’s a bonus! spw
October 19, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Sandee,
It’s a darn shame that so many writers struggle to earn a living with their writing, even when they’re good. We all keep hoping we’ll have the next big break-out novel and earn money hand over fists. But quitting the day job simply because you have a contract on your first book isn’t too smart.
A wise lady once told me that you don’t start making any ‘real’ money until your 7th or 8th book and after you have some name recognition. Which equates to a lot of mac and cheese meals in the meantime.
October 20, 2009 at 8:28 am
I’m funny, but I’ve never thought of writing as a way to make big bucks. I want to do it to share my stories, and make a name. I dream of having a name and making some of the big time lists, but for some reason, the money is a very nice by product.
I love it when someone tells me my story touched them or made them cry.
What a kick!
And if one day I make enough to make house payments–WOOHOO!
October 20, 2009 at 10:59 am
Linda,
I agree. Since the money (at the beginning, before the 8 or 9 midlisted books!) is low, you’ve gotta take some enjoyment from the process. Or like Susan suggested, just from telling your story and touching a reader. spw
October 19, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Pftt! Who wants a perfect life? Not me. That would be too boring. I like a little drama in my life…just not the bad kind.
And I think we should all strive for something. It could be writing, or it could be something else entirely. But we all need something to work towards. I know when all I did was stay home and be mom and wife, I almost went nuts. Okay, nuttier than I am already. I needed something to work for. That’s when I started writing. And that’s when I started on a path that I’m supposed to be on.
Sometimes though that path is a LONGGGGGGGGG one.
October 19, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Kira,
We wouldn’t have a reason to get out of bed every morning if we didn’t have a goal or purpose in life. Don’t get me wrong, but being just a tad nuts is a good thing. At least as far as being a writer is concerned. IMHO, anyway. It’s what sets us apart from the rest of the world . . . being willing to reveal that creative side of ourselves. Being Stepford Wife perfect is boring to the max!
Unfortunately, the path that we’re on can be a long one but we have to learn the craft . . . hone our skills. I think that will make us appreciate our prize that much more once we’ve earned it.
Bottom line: I think we ARE perfect, no IF’s, AND’s or BUT’s.
October 20, 2009 at 10:55 am
I have to agree with Kira, who wants a perfect life? And think about, in the stories we write, the ones we love to read, nobody has a perfect life. If they did, why read? Did Scarlet have the perfect life? What keeps coming back to Gone with the Wind and other great keepers? I think it’s the wondering “what if.” Well if we knew that what would be the point? Life’s the journey…the whole big messy event.