Some years back, one of the members of my critique group
quit. She not only quit our group; she quit writing.
Her parting words to us were unambiguous. “Never have I spent
so many hours for so little monetary compensation. Time to do something where I
reap the righteous rewards for my labor.”
On the one hand, there’s no denying that even at minimum
wage, almost all writers would reap better monetary rewards spending work hours
doing something else.
On the other hand, SAY WHAT???
Mind you, this member was an energetic and insightful
feedback giver, and her writing was also lively and polished. I thought highly
of her as a group member and felt that if she persisted, she was more likely to
be published than most of us.
But she looked at it differently. She looked at writing and
writing related (like being in a critique group) as hours spent at a
job. In her fortunate case, financial hardship was not in the mix.
She had had better paying jobs before, so she was moving on.
Of course, this was our loss. She was a valued colleague.
But I felt it was primarily her loss because she had missed the whole sailboat that
is the creative life.
Living in creativity is not about financial compensation. If
it were, humanity’s art makers would instantly shrink to one thousandth the
current participants.
People who create, whether stories, music, paintings or recipes— are wedded to being more fully alive. That’s the real deal, or the “compensation.” Being paid is nice and, for the few who get to buy mansions from creative work, it’s very nice. But, for most who create, it's about getting to live in our mansions of vivid and rich imaginations.
This is a work of love, and if it isn’t, indeed one is
better finding out what else is there that could be.
7 comments:
I fully agree, though I was fortunate to earn a living through my writing. As a fiber artist, I cannot, so it’s a good thing I don’t have to at this point in my life. Creativity is such a necessary and fulfilling part of who I am and I love that people buy my work and delight in hanging it in their homes.
Oh wow. If money is the only metric one uses for the definition of success, then a creative life can be disappointing.
Writing and teaching have always been a labor of love for me. I do appreciate it when I get paid and I have turned down projects that paid a pittance for the amount of research it would take, even though I loved the topic. I couldn't justify sacrificing family time and putting my own pet projects on hold for these projects. There are so many factors to consider.
Although I've cheered every cheque (and been tempted to frame them), I'm still writing for the sheer joy of it. If published, great. If not, it still makes me feel like a writer and creative.
How sad. And I don't even remember this member, if she was in our P&B group.
Being creative definitely has its own rewards from my perspective. It always gives me joy and a sense of delight and fulfillment. I think it's because God is such a creative being, and we are made in God's image. When we're creating, we're fulfilling who God intended us to be. (Along with being loving, of course.)
I've been paid for writing, and I've gone without pay. I write anyway. I can't help it.
Love,
Janie
I so agree. The little I've been paid for my writing would never make up for the hours. Selling enough of your work to make a good living is not in our control. It's best to focus on what you can: perfecting your path and enjoying art for art's sake.
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