Do I Write, or Am I a Writer?

Faithful Scribblerati readers may remember a post I made a while back about getting canned from my day job. At the time I talked about how excited I was to actually have time to write and I have made the most of that opportunity. But like most writers who struggle in these years before publication, I need to work. Even though I would love nothing more than to stay home and write, I can’t.

Me need moo-lah!

But let me tell you, there's nothing like being able to devote hour after hour of uninterrupted time to your craft, and doing so day after day. My work has increased in both quantity and quality and in two months time I have shaved roughly nine months off what it would have otherwise taken me to complete To Kill the Goddess. Two months ago I was maybe 35% complete, now I'm probably somewhere around 80%. I have solid, finished drafts of all but three chapters and I'm working on the final, post critique drafts even as I finish the rest.

I've always wondered what the difference was between writing and being a writer and now I know. Being a writer is living and breathing your characters. It's immersing yourself in story, swimming in character and plot, and weaving it all together like a tailor. It's an amazing, wonderful journey.

But now this fantastic blessing (otherwise known as unemployment) is drawing to a close. I start a new job next week. It'll be a good thing, for a number of reasons completely unrelated to writing, but I'm really going to miss all the time I've been spending with Seamus, Kaytlyn, Cassandra, Coltrane, Mathias, and Airelai. They have become my friends in a way they never have before, even though I've known them for more years than I care to admit.

So now I go back to writing, snatching an hour here, a couple hours there, and doing my best to balance everything that demands my time and attention. One never knows what curveballs life will throw your way but, thanks to my time off, I think it's entirely possible that I could be finished and ready for publication before the end of the year.

So, yeah me, and thank you God (and Goddess) for this astonishing time.  I’ll be back to being a writer as soon as I can. You have my word on that.