The Pleasure of Writing

Literary agent Jennifer Jackson is having a discussion on her blog about the pleasure (or not) of writing: http://arcaedia.livejournal.com/193877.html It resonates with me because this was a discussion I had when I was singing. I had more than one colleague who claimed not to love singing, that it was nothing but a business, but I never quite believed them. Why do it if you don't love it? A career in the arts is nothing if not precarious, even for those at the tippy-top of their professions. I think we pursue artistic careers--music or literary--more because we can't NOT do it than for any other reason.

I loved singing. I loved the physical sensations, the musical satisfaction, and I loved performing for an audience, big or small. I love writing, too. I work hard to get all the trivia out of the way--the business, the promo, the housecleaning, even the blogging (!)--so I can sit down with my laptop and lose myself in the current book. The love of the work gets me through those dark times, those slow times, those weeks of waiting for an editor to respond, even the occasional not-so-glowing review. So, regardless of my commercial success, in the end I have success, because I'm doing something I really, really take pleasure in.