You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Money for nothin' and your chicks for free
Now that ain't workin' that's the way you do it
Lemme tell ya them guys ain't dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb.”
More lyrics: http://http//www.lyricsfreak.com/d/dire+straits/#share
This song by Dire Straits has everyone thinking ‘we’, those who create music, write lyrics, or books have it made. One morning, a creative thinker can be in subzero weather, the first to hit the south since 1966, shoveling snow away from the front door so a trip to the car is feasible, and the next minute, in a Caribbean resort soaking up rays while motioning a cabana boy for another drink. How? It’s all in perspective. The mind has a way of tripping a fuse. You know the fuse I’m talking about, the one that turns on rose-colored glasses with rhinestone settings or darkens the world via a distorted lens. Or for a writer, that might be called ‘a muse’. ;)
To each his/her own.
How do you see the world? Glass half-empty, glass half-full, milk the cow or anger the bull?
Life is how you see it. And life for a writer is no different. Writers live the best life! Using imagination, a writer’s greatest tool, a writer can wield a therapeutic sword as an emotional outlet, hacking away worry, danger and physical or emotional injury with one swift motion, or countless crimes, armed only with a pen, a piece of paper and a string of well-strung words. ;)
Why write? Writers have a fanciful way of looking at the world. Some see the world filled with the divine or riddled with suspicion. But if you really want to be satisfied, write romance! Why? Romance writers live the dream. Prince Charming never fails to produce a happy ending, commonly referred to as an HEA (Happily Ever After). The Fearless Damsel or Lady In Waiting, no matter how old, or her background, ends up charmed and/or saved by the handsome Alpha male who has swept her off her feet with promises of protection and a forever love that can never be sated.
Ah! Talk of love, of sated love… Now I have your attention. ;) Yes, these are great reasons to be a romance writer. But as Susan Hatler said it best on Patricia Preston’s blog recently, “there are 10 things I love best about being a writer:”
1. Thinking is working.
2. Watching movies is working.
3. Reading is working.
4. Making things up is working.
5. Hanging with writers is working.
6. Commuting is two feet.
7. People-watching is research.
8. The dress code rocks (mainly sweats & slippers).
9. I can write anywhere (laptops travel).
10. The subjects to write about are endless.
You can find out more about Susan Hatler’s blog here: http://patricia-preston.blogspot.com/2010/12/guest-blogger-author-susan-hatler.html
Yes! Yes! Yes! Doesn’t it all make sense? Writers are always working, but the work, though it varies, can be an amazing array of wonderful ‘stuff’. Where else can you get by with staring at people, examining their accents, deciphering flaws and emotions, writing down tid-bits of conversation, shadowing a particular occupation, and/or traveling to experience and create the aura of a book’s setting, all in your pajamas?
Yes! Yes! Yes!
(Cue Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally) I have a thing for research books! My study is filled with them. My hubby can attest to the many museums we have frequented and the purchases made to fulfill my connection with the past. (Writing Historicals can make an historical romance writer ‘hysterical’ if curiosity hasn’t been sated.)
Yes! Yes! Yes! (Cue Frau Bleucher from Young Frankenstein~~
He... Vas... My... Boyfriend!)
[horse whinny]
Yes! We may not be moving refrigerators or lugging color TV’s, but we are doing what we love, even if we don’t happen to be getting paid for it— YET. As I sit deciphering my goals for 2011, with my trusty new calendar, I know there will be blisters on my little fingers and on my thumbs, but the effort will be well worth the price. And while I tap… tap… tap… away at the computer keys this year, I will keep Susan Hatler’s list nearby. Her list reminds me that Yes! I have a great job. I’m a writer and I’m going to live the BEST life yet.
2011 here I come!
What is your top 10 list for 2011?
