Creativity in Your Post-Student Lifestyle
By debeven11
@debeven11 (7)
United States
May 26, 2008 3:08pm CST
I'm a long-term member of sites such as Writing.com and Author's Den, having published my college novellas and stories there back when I was genuinely inspired to write, and back when I had a vague idea(supported by friends and family) that at some undefined time in the future I might make a living at it.
Now, as a post-student--a graduate with a degree and less career prospects than I would have liked--I find that I not only no longer see creative writing as a legitimate career choice, but am also missing the combination of passion and naivety that led me to spend time on stories in the first place. In the stress of looking for jobs or working, creativity has started looking like a substitute for reality. How legitimate is it, for instance, to start writing romance stories instead of dating?
To those twenty-something writers who, like me, spent high school and college neck-high in creative writing dreams, tell me, where are you now? If you still write often, where do you get your inspiration, how has your style changed, and how do you find the time?
3 responses
@JudithP (295)
• Canada
26 May 08
Writing is like any other job, you have to take a break now and then. When I was younger I dreamed of being a writer. Some time during my dream, life came by and swept me off my feet. I got married, had children, got divorced and got married. Somewhere the dream was left behind so that I could keep up with life. There were short stories now and again but nothing serious. One thing that was constant was my journal which I've kept since my teenage years. I'm older now and I have time to write and I have 40 years of journals that I can use for my material.
Try not to worry to much about it. It will come back. You'll see something or hear something and you'll feel the trigger and it will pull you back. Writing is a gift. It may get dusty now and again but it will let you know when it's time to do some dusting.
@kittenmc (464)
• United States
26 May 08
Sometimes it's good to take a break and go in a different direction. Don't totally give up, but find something else that you enjoy. More than likely you are suffering from burn out. You never know you may find something that will put that spark back into your writing.
I have a journal that I write down thoughts and sometimes I go back and look at it a year later and find I have a book almost wrote.
Good luck!
1 person likes this
@arcadian (930)
• United States
27 May 08
The question you asked- how legitimate is it--writing romance instead of dating? seemed odd. How is that a choice? Do you think maybe you're seeing writing as a sublimation for living? Were you doing that when you were writing? sublimating? It sounds a little muddled too where you described having a vague idea of --making a living at it. If you were publishing on those sites- you had a pretty clear idea of it. I bring this up because when we express a problem in muddled terms the confusion itself holds a clue to the solution- You stopped writing for some reason, and one of the responders mentioned burn out- possible isn't it? There is a huge committment of time to a writing project, but you know if you are good at it, and you love it, the work you're seeking would probably be staff writing, or reading and editing, some related work or direct writing work- but if you don't really feel like writing at this time, why concern yourself with where other writers your age are "now"- Its really a process that you will pick up and lay down and pick up again all your life, don't you think?
