©2013 by Raymond Alexander Kukkee
Zen Tranquil Sea in Miniature ©photo by rakukkee
Status Quo: Time to go?
As a freelance writer, novelist, and all-around scribbler, it seems to me that positive signs of progress are essential when sitting at the screen, scratching doodles on notepads, sketching, pondering life and commiserating with the pups and the muse. Perhaps progress is one of those trendy instant–gratification requirements. It is somewhat trendy to be hedonistic, greedy, impatient and self-centric in nature. The project at hand and the cursor must move or we lose interest in an awful hurry. It is no secret we writers are a curious lot, we’re all different and clearly we achieve our goals in different ways, perhaps there are other instantaneous tricks, pedantic plodding, the avoidance of hyper-gloating with success and trying not to self-destruct with minor failures. Cleverly, we attempt to stay even keel regardless of events. Perhaps your experience is different. Or worse. Some of us are delighted with tiny, independent and even non-related successes, and at the other end of the scale, no progress or progression can be fast enough in advancing larger, complex and potentially profitable projects. Where do you sit on that scale? Do you see-saw? Is it time to move on? Sometimes clever arrangements don’t work out for myriads of potential reasons. Not picking up an interactive following and advertisers on a great blog can be discouraging; little apparent interest in specialized niche articles and no sales can make a writer wonder why bother? Why waste valuable time we are so carefully allotted? The files get fatter; the wallet gets thinner. For the ultimate novelist, writer of comic books, fiction, or the dedicated compiler of thick historical tomes, the difficulty and realities of research, publishing, dismal book sales, and conflicting visions, all drain energy from the soul. The outflow of energy has limits. When is it time to move on? When is it time to go find a new agent, new publisher, write a batch of new queries, and establish new relationships? When is it time to open the mind, investigate lucrative opportunities, and change the future? Good question isn’t it? How about it? As a writer, when do you think it’s time to get up and move on? How are relationships in your writing life defined and controlled? Do you find your creative visions in business relationships diverging or converging? What happens when ideals go up in smoke? Should bridges ever be burned? I think not, but there are more questions than answers. Has the zest in your writing life slowed? Is your screen turning blank? “Yes, perhaps it is time to go” you say. The cursor blinks in disbelief. Is that Incoming I hear? + 
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I think we all question where we are and what we’re doing from time to time. In this, writers are like everyone else.
For some, writing is what we are. We can’t just walk away from that. For others, it is only a part of the larger whole and leaving it behind is much easier.
But does anyone just decide to “not be a writer?” I think not. Perhaps it becomes less a factor in life, but we won’t leave that behind because how can we leave who we are behind?
Is Raymond contemplating leaving the writing life behind?
MJ
Hi MJ, thoughtful comment; we all must question what we do at times, — but absolutely not, I certainly am not contemplating leaving the writing life, it’s part of the soul, the mind, and the very definition of this being. I have merely decided to expand the horizon and explore new venues for publishing The Fires of Waterland. Thx ~R
There are always struggles in life, it’s part of the definition… I think that it’s easy to see-saw, as you put it, but at the end of the day we have to live with our decisions. I don’t choose to be a writer anymore than I choose to breathe. It’s not something I want to be without. With that said, I have to take the bad times with the good. A very thought-provoking post, Ray!
Thanks, Christyb, we do have to live with our decisions, no doubt about it, and the definition of the writing life itself as it applies to us. I think if we’re serious writers we don’t get to choose whether to write or not. We must however, enable ourselves, get to choose where and how we publish, –how we go about reaching our readers,– and should direct our own lives with our own ideals as much as possible. That’s my take on it anyway “:) ~R
Hey Raymond!
You won a book (Epic Mom) on my site. But I need your email so we can communicate off-site and I can get your address to mail it to you.
Please pop back to my blog and leave your email under your original comment. 🙂
Thanks so much, and congrats.
MOV/Julie
Wow, thanks, Julie! That’s wonderful “:) I have sent you my snail-mail address “:)) Thanks again! ~R
Always a good question and one I ask myself from time to time as I plug into hubpages and the like–
Exactly, Audrey, and in this case I did move on, and stopped writing for content mills. I also removed my novel “The Fires of Waterland” from the publisher. Sometimes changes have to be made–regardless of potential outcome. Be bold–and move on. Thank you for commenting “:)