How to Make Writing into a Dream Job

Writing seems like a dream job when we're fantasizing about spending all day effortlessly creating stories.

But when it's finally time to write, we end up being very creative in finding other things to do. We don't want to sit down and make our brain force out the words, because it's no longer a dream.

It's work.

Writing involves TWO wildly different jobs: allowing your heart to fantasize, while persuading your brain to do the heavy lifting. This means you are not only the employee, you are the boss.

Boss You: "I see that you've played ten games of solitaire and sent
200 tweets this morning. Good job. We couldn't be more proud of you. Well,
actually we could. We'd like to see, at a minimum, a thousand words added to
the WIP today. You get to choose when that happens. Even better, YOU get to
choose which words you add. Let me know if I can do anything to help you out
with this project."

Employee You: "Thanks. I'm good. This is a piece of cake for me."
(Eight hours later) "Crap! I haven't done anything today. The boss is
gonna kill me. Oh wait, I'm the boss. Well, I guess I could double up tomorrow. That's what I said yesterday though. Maybe I should call in sick. *coughs* After I tell my Twitter friends about this scratchy throat I've got. . ."

Boss You: "I've got to talk to HR and see how to fire them. Er, me.
This isn't at all like I dreamed it would be."

Now your "dream job" sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?

Here are a few suggestions to help you be Employee of the Month in no time:

1.  Be realistic – It's easier to dream about writing. We all want the acclaim, the adulation, the accolades. There's nothing wrong with that. A lot of people who dream of writing a book someday are probably motivated more by those "a" words than anything else. But for others, writing means scratching out the words no matter what, even if the books never hit the bookshelves, let alone bestseller lists. Decide if writing is a dream, or a dream job, and go from there, without guilt or regrets.

2.  Be mindful of the dream – Remember, this is what you want to do. Nobody is forcing you to write. Even if your "boss" is standing over you, tapping their foot while you blithely try to close out fourteen browser windows. . .this is your dream. You want your books to be read and enjoyed by lots of readers. How will that happen if you aren't writing your stories down? Maybe oral storytelling will make a comeback, but until it does, your books need to be written.

3.  Be willing to work – When it's time to write, it's time to write. There are plenty of distractions, no matter where you work on your WIP, and writers are willing to explore every single one of them in the name of "research". Set a minimum word count, or a minimum amount of time, such as an hour, where nothing but writing is done. It's amazing how inspired you feel when that's been accomplished. Don't be surprised when you want to do even more writing afterwards.

Now it's your turn. Give me some of your helpful tricks for handling the challenging writer employee that you can be. What works best for you?

Comments

[Quantum]

I like this idea of the boss controlling strategy and ideas, and the heavy gang doing the hard work of writing. But where does the muse fit in? Does she wield the whip when you start to slack? LOL

Not sure that I can offer any help here, though I did read somewhere that Barbara Cartland employed a secretary to do the writing. Barbara just reclined on a comfy couch with glass of wine, chocs and other accessories, and voiced the stories which were then faithfully recorded and edited.

Nowadays I guess she might have had voice to speech software.

Yeah that's it. Find your favourite arm chair and talk to a microphone, letting the computer write it all down. That would be Hi-Tec writing. LOL

[Melissa]

I wish I could figure out how to be a great boss to myself AND be a great writer employee. As the boss, I'm ready to fire the employee for slacking, and as the employee I resent the boss for...well, being so bossy. LOL

I think most of my "tricks" are in a "boss" frame of mind. I spend a lot of time thinking up a zillion ways to be more productive; I think up and promise rewards, I wonder how to turn the work into a game, and once I organized the writing schedule down the road like a syllabus. (I just realized I should be done with that project now!) I always wonder what goes wrong with my plan. I think it's part stubborness and partly it's just that by the time I think of all that strategy I'm too tired or bored with the plan to be a writer employee. LOL Which is very odd, since it is my plan.

So maybe the boss me needs to do less work to get the employee me willing to work! Simplify things with a smaller assignment and give a due date. The employee me will probably get that done early so I can mess around until the due date. The messing around IS the reward? LOL

(And why do I have a feeling I'm still trying to trick myself? LOL!)

[Donna Cummings]

Q, I think we'll allow Endora the muse to think she's the boss. LOL It'll be easier for me that way! Although I'm sure she would love to have me take dictation for her -- maybe I'm already doing that. I should ask for a raise. LOL

[Donna Cummings]

Melissa, I'm laughing at the thought of you trying to trick both the boss you and the employee you -- and I'm laughing because I'm the exact same way!

I like the idea of giving smaller assignments with a due date. I think that's the way to go. When it feels like it's too big, that's when procrastination takes over and it can be even trickier to get things back where they need to be. Sigh. I need better employees and bosses for this writing job!

[Heather Boyd]

I've been writing full time for a while now and the best advice I can give is to treat it like a day job. Get up, get dressed, be 'at work' at a set time each day. Try not to deviate too much or plan excursions when you should be writing.

Having said that though it is important to know when you do your best work. I'm a morning person and a start of the week person. Meaning that if I don't sit down on Monday and Tuesday and punch out my words the rest of the week is usually shot to hell. LOL. You have to find your happy zone.

Being your own boss has problems. If you don't feel well, who's going to give you grief for not showing up? You have to be the one to break out the naughty girl chair. If I'm not feeling creative, there are a hundred other things I can do instead. I'm still technically at work. Even when I had a day job I had slacker days. I don't beat myself up about them. I just go with the flow. I am meeting my deadlines.

[Donna Cummings]

Heather, this is excellent advice. I'm not a full-time writer anymore, but this still applies to my days off -- well, it should apply, but sometimes I'm having to spend too much time being the boss and not the employee. LOL

And I know the "naughty girl chair" shouldn't sound like it's a fun place to be. :)

I definitely agree with finding your happy zone. I'm not a morning person, yet I generally feel a little more creative then, probably because I'm rested and my brain is too. I also like that there are non-creative tasks that can be done on those days when the creativity is zapped.

The important thing is meeting the deadlines, even the self-imposed ones!

[Mstracybrown]

I'm with Heather - treat it like a day job. The problem is, we *know* it's not a day job and we're unlikely to be canned! :)

I did read an interesting piece of "motivational" information, and it can be applied to writing: Make it painful to NOT write. In other words, make the consequences of not writing so great, that you'll do everything to avoid the pain.

(But I'm not quite an expert on that one yet... LOL!)

Great post, Donna! :)

[Donna Cummings]

Thanks, Tracy! And you're right about knowing it's not a day job. LOL

I like the motivational info. I think that's what finally does get me moving, especially when I'm trying to convince myself I need to take the day off (especially when it is my day off. LOL) But then I feel guilty, or the characters keep poking me, and my brain starts pondering "what if". I'm hoping that's what happens today!