I think a lot of writers hear the message "if you really want it, you'll make it work" over and over without any elaboration on the part about how to make it work.
yep. it's so unhealthy. my view is: stop trying to manifest shit and do something else instead. it's okay to live in like, peoria, if you need to live in an inexpensive place, to keep overhead low. visual artists understand this; why not writers? I feel like visual artists are also more willing to share space and work cooperatively vs writers. It's not a good vibe, as the kids say.
@suwca had a great recent post on creativity and financial stability. It does sometimes feel to me as though there is a pressure to write with no safety nets in order to be truly dedicated or reach a certain artistic level - somewhere between romanticisation and “you just don’t want it enough” graft. In the long- and short-term, financial instability is corrosive. Am thinking of one late writer friend in particular... Anyway, many thoughts here to add to those I’ve been tackling.
This is so true. I think it is very stressful to write without a safety net. I wrote a lot while I had a day job, because I knew I had to write in spite of everything else. Romanticizing is a good way to put this magical thinking. The most "successful" writers I know seem to lead pretty boring financial lives, or at least small financial lives, with a low cost of living relative to their income. It's what allows them to make work.
I also wonder if there's something about writers who *seem* to be supporting themselves entirely on their work, so it looks like they're fully committed in this give-it-all-up for your art way--but behind the scenes, there are other sources of money, usually a trust fund/family money and/or a spouse. Especially in poetry, I think there are folks who look like they're living this miraculous life of only art (and maybe they are!) . . . but it's secretly sustained by money they're not willing to talk about that's definitely not coming from the art.
(which is a long way to say: I agree with what you're saying here, and having perhaps an outwardly boring life and some financial stability can be really good for art-making!)
Oh, absolutely! There is a lot of spousal support that goes unacknowledged in writing, I think. To say nothing of the trust fund or other support that may go on behind the scenes. Transparency is so important. I wish we could talk openly about money (and debt!) in general, not just how money is made in writing, so that it could be less mystifying and less stigmatized. I really want to write a money book, ha. I am such a personal finance nerd when it comes to this stuff.
so interesting! I was really trying for a while, when I was on panels etc to talk about how money made my work possible--saving from working a day job before going to grad school, working a really intense summer job in grad school, but also having a partner with a job--and have kind of gotten away from that. maybe it just hasn't come up with what I'm doing lately? but it is something I wish would just be part of the conversation.
and I would read your money book! I find money both interesting and stressful, and I suspect your approach is a little more balanced.
I think a lot of writers hear the message "if you really want it, you'll make it work" over and over without any elaboration on the part about how to make it work.
yep. it's so unhealthy. my view is: stop trying to manifest shit and do something else instead. it's okay to live in like, peoria, if you need to live in an inexpensive place, to keep overhead low. visual artists understand this; why not writers? I feel like visual artists are also more willing to share space and work cooperatively vs writers. It's not a good vibe, as the kids say.
@suwca had a great recent post on creativity and financial stability. It does sometimes feel to me as though there is a pressure to write with no safety nets in order to be truly dedicated or reach a certain artistic level - somewhere between romanticisation and “you just don’t want it enough” graft. In the long- and short-term, financial instability is corrosive. Am thinking of one late writer friend in particular... Anyway, many thoughts here to add to those I’ve been tackling.
This is so true. I think it is very stressful to write without a safety net. I wrote a lot while I had a day job, because I knew I had to write in spite of everything else. Romanticizing is a good way to put this magical thinking. The most "successful" writers I know seem to lead pretty boring financial lives, or at least small financial lives, with a low cost of living relative to their income. It's what allows them to make work.
I also wonder if there's something about writers who *seem* to be supporting themselves entirely on their work, so it looks like they're fully committed in this give-it-all-up for your art way--but behind the scenes, there are other sources of money, usually a trust fund/family money and/or a spouse. Especially in poetry, I think there are folks who look like they're living this miraculous life of only art (and maybe they are!) . . . but it's secretly sustained by money they're not willing to talk about that's definitely not coming from the art.
(which is a long way to say: I agree with what you're saying here, and having perhaps an outwardly boring life and some financial stability can be really good for art-making!)
Oh, absolutely! There is a lot of spousal support that goes unacknowledged in writing, I think. To say nothing of the trust fund or other support that may go on behind the scenes. Transparency is so important. I wish we could talk openly about money (and debt!) in general, not just how money is made in writing, so that it could be less mystifying and less stigmatized. I really want to write a money book, ha. I am such a personal finance nerd when it comes to this stuff.
so interesting! I was really trying for a while, when I was on panels etc to talk about how money made my work possible--saving from working a day job before going to grad school, working a really intense summer job in grad school, but also having a partner with a job--and have kind of gotten away from that. maybe it just hasn't come up with what I'm doing lately? but it is something I wish would just be part of the conversation.
and I would read your money book! I find money both interesting and stressful, and I suspect your approach is a little more balanced.