Toughest Part of Being a Writer · 12 January 2013
The toughest parts about being a writer are the public appearances with all the adoring fans, speaking engagements, and of course, waking up early. Actually, when I do appear in public, nobody knows who I am, and I have had only a couple invitations to be a guest speaker. However, I always wake up early to ply my trade.
My wife, The Mindboggling Mrs. Miyoshi, thinks I am crazy. She thinks I am crazy because I write.
Sometimes I wonder why I write too. I wonder why I get up early to post a daily blog about health. I wonder why I wake up before the sun comes up on Saturdays to don my MediocreMan outfit and post something about life that might be construed as funny or profound. Or at least might be appropriate for the outer reaches of the interweb. Like The Mindboggling Mrs. Miyoshi, I sometimes wonder why I do this whole writing thing.
While I have a bunch of Facebook fans, who I am by no means minimizing, I obviously do not write for the fame. I can go out in public and nobody screams, “It’s MediocreMan!” Nobody clamors for autographs. I do not get scores of invitations for public appearances, and I rarely get asked to be a guest speaker. While I would love these accolades that an accomplished writer receives, I do not need them. Still, I love it when people tell me they enjoy my writing, and truth be told, I even like negative comments about my writing. It means people are reading. But I do not write because I have an adoring public waiting with bated breath for my latest post. When it comes right down to it, I write because I must.
I am sure I have said it before, but I must write because writing is part of who I am. It is like there is something in my genetic makeup telling me I need to do it. Just like there is something telling me I need to breathe. Or sleep. I know we are not supposed to identify ourselves with what we do, but I do not write, I am a writer.
Perhaps that is the reason The Mindboggling Mrs. Miyoshi thinks I am crazy. She sees writing as something we all need to do from time to time in order to satisfy some external forces. Most people only need to write when somebody else assigns us the task. But some of us, the writers, need to write. Just like we need to eat or sleep.
That brings me back to the toughest part about being a writer, waking up early. When I tell most people how early I get up to write a silly blog post each day, they rarely hide their shock and dismay. After all, who would do such a crazy thing as lose sleep over a blog that nobody reads. It really is crazy when I think about it that way, but it is just part of living life with passion. It is part of doing what I love. We all make time for what is important in our lives. Even if that means losing a little sleep. Even if it means waking up early every day to write.
In the end, I will probably only seem sane to my wife when I receive some tangible rewards and accolades for my writing. When I receive those invitations for public appearances and speaking engagements, she will know what I already know about the toughest parts of writing. That the most difficult one of all, waking up early, really is worth it.
© 2013 Michael T. Miyoshi
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