In some ways writing is a bit like programming – for a piece of software, database, website etc.
You write chunks of code. The good bits get put into a library for reuse, but even then they can outstay their welcome and are culled – sometimes ruthlessly. Enjoyment is seeing something work as planned. Being somewhat obsessive about getting it right, and having a professionalism to produce your best is one thing. Getting emotionally attached is another. Find yourself doing that and your work – life balance is a bit skew-whiff as they say over here. Time to step away from the keyboard... ...I don’t spend 30yrs writing code for the same project, though it feels like it sometimes! S From: Stephen Mackey Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 9:27 PM To: feistfans-l Subject: Re: What's it like ... Ray I just want to tell you how much I loved your response regarding emotional attachment to your job. I encountered similar responses from people when I left the culinary world. People often say "Wasn't cooking your passion?" I often say "it still is! I love food and wine! But I worked 100 hours a week, missed every holiday, missed every birthday, missed every weekend, for $60000 a year!". The romanticized view of the restaurant industry is similar to the writer world I assume. I left the last restaurant I ran to pursue a graduate degree so I can make better money and hopefully work better hours. If someone paid me 100k to run a restaurant and let me off a few more weekends I'd leap at the chance today, but that's just not the case. On Mar 23, 2013 3:54 PM, "Raymond Feist" <[email protected]> wrote: On Mar 23, 2013, at 1:01 PM, Randy Goodman <[email protected]> wrote: Fascinating. I would think that it would feel more like 'family' or something to you other than text. Do you have any feeling about what you've created? I can't believe it's just a profession to you. Look, I know a lot of writers love the idea that somehow they're dashing, romantic figures, and that suffering for one's art is a big part of that nonsense. Do I have emotional attachements to my characters? No. Do I have emotional attachments to a book? No. Do I take pride in my work? Yes. Do I want my work to move people, to engage them, to leave them feeling they were entertained? Yes. Writing is a very exacting task. It's the only art form where most people have the basic tool set. So a lot of people don't get how hard good writing at the professional level can be, which is why we get a fair mount of bad writing at the professional level, and why most amateur writing is pretty bad. It's the hardest job I've had. It's also the best job I've ever had. Do not diminish the pride of workmanship and achieving a desired result as "just a profession." There's nothing "just" about doing good work. Best, R.E.F. ---- www.crydee.com Never attribute to malice what can satisfactorily be explained away by stupidity.
