The other day I was thinking that unlike some of my
friends I neither watch too much television or movies nor do I spend too much
time gossiping on the phone. The reason is I would rather spend that much time on
reading books.
Many people tell me that nowadays the calls are so
cheap, infact with the Internet packs we subscribe to, the calls are free, so
why am I not calling them up? My reply more often than not is, “the calls are
free but I am not.” My reply I’m sure must be rubbing people the wrong way.
Most people don’t get it that a writer’s life is
seldom easy. There are so many things we do that are a part of writing:
researching the characters (both the protagonist and the antagonist) and their hobbies and traits, plotting, writing the multiple drafts, critiquing someone else
work, revisions, researching agents and publishers, agonizing over the query
letter and the dreaded synopsis, that our lives are far from easy or simple.
Though we may not have a day job, but our writing is
definitely more than a nine-to-five-job. Infact I would say it’s a twenty-four
hour job, our characters are constantly running around in our minds and the
erratic muse loves to play hide and seek, so whenever the muse appears the
writer is busy writing to make the most of the inspiration.
Where does all this leave me the time to waste my
hours in gossiping or watching serials or movies? I would rather polish my
craft by critiquing my critique partners’ books or learning from other writers
by reading their books.
What about you all? What kind of sacrifices you have
made as a writer?
