July 7th, 2023 - Writer mentality

I've been thinking a lot about my changing attitude to writing lately.

The blueprint for how I saw writers working pre-teens was J. K. Rowling. It was through reading the Harry Potter books that it clicked that books were something people made, they didn't just appear, and that the love I had of telling stories could actually be a thing that I do.

But Rowling's career path isn't exactly the best example to base my own own. I think it set up a lot of notions in my head that the only way to really make money as a writer is to write something brilliant and to get lucky with the interest in it. So I resigned to creating a career that could support my writing on the side. Which is what I've been doing the majority of the past years, trying to increase the creative writing output whilst maintaining a job that pays the bills.

It's only in the last year or so a few different modes of thinking have really started to take hold. 1. That it is possible to make real money from writing and 2. That writing is closely tied with personal development beyond wanting to be a better writer.

Over recent years I've leaned into writing a lot more as a way of dealing with my own anxieties, headaches and confusions - a way to bring clarity to my thoughts and to create the opportunity to rethink. And it's only in this year that I've revisited efforts to make money from writing, scoping opportunities to get good at and make money from sales copy.

As it stands my output goes into a lot of different areas. The important thing I've come to clarify is the mode that each of those areas exists within.

My daily journal - for my own wellbeing

My daily creative fiction - for my creative development and potential long term career

My writers diary - for freely logging my thoughts around this writing practice

My Twitter, Medium and Threads - for me to experiment with ideas and see what people respond to, potentially creating an income in the longer term

My blog (that short fiction site) - for me to explore and create a space in the niche of short fiction, potentially supporting a longer term income stream but mainly for my enjoyment

My copywriting - for me to make an income in the shorter term

Being aware of what each area is for I think is really helping to clarify my mindset around it, and helping me to paint a better picture of what a full "writers life" might look like.

July 5th, 2023 - Switching voices is hard work

I'm been trying to raise my daily output again lately. Not just within creative fiction but with writing more generally. The main difficulty is switching between the writing projects that are for me and the writing that's orientated towards making money.

At present my routine is close to the below:

07:30 - 08:00: Show up at desk for writing exercises

08:30 - 10:00: Fiction writing

13:00 - 16:00: Find time for other writing (digital and copy work)

21:00 - 21:30: Journal before bed

Right now the difficulty is having a very productive morning and then feeling too much of a writing burnout to carry on with other writing in the afternoon. I read a Nicolas Cole article on Medium about his output of 10000 words a day and one thing that did stick out to me was the difficulty in switching voices. Which I think is part of the problem I'm seeing.

I'm trying to write creative fiction, digital non-fiction and sales copy back to back. That's a lot of mental gear-shifts. Maybe I need something to relax and reset between each voice. Or a way of getting into the voice of each format - maybe some reading or research will help to get into the voice of copywriting for example.

June 24th, 2023 - A different perspective on writing for love and for money

I've just started reading Nicolas Cole's book, 'The Art & Business of Online Writing'. I'm already aware of a lot of the ideas from listening to his appearances on podcasts. His ideas have struck me and I think they've come at a good time. I'm currently re-evaluating some of the ideas I've held about writing. Chiefly that "I can't make money just from writing so I need something else to support it."

Lately I've come to be more accepting of what's aways been obvious. That writing is a central element of my life. To avoid it, makes little sense. And there are ways of making money from writing. I've recently started looking at copywriting again. I've started looking at that short fiction site and the kind of audience I'm writing to - or as Cole would say, the category I'm writing for. There are opportunities there to both write content I would enjoy and potentially monetise.

One thing I read just this morning struck me from Cole's book was this.

"A lot of writers shy away from naming their writing that specifically, because they fear putting themselves in a box. But especially when you're first starting out online, a box is exactly what you want. You want people to know where to put you on the bookshelf of their mind."

I've always had aspirations of being a writer that flits between different "boxes". But in order to do that successfully I would need to be hyper specific about the kind of boxes I'm occupying at any time. that short fiction site is currently a book review blog dedicated to short fiction. But if I look at my future aspirations for it I can see that I want it to be an online resource dedicated to helping beginner writers tackle the short story form - a journey I'm currently on myself. Knowing that level of specificity helps define the content so much more and creates a clearer picture of the audience.

Ultimately I want to be known as a writer of fiction. But I accept that can be a long journey. It takes time to commit the hours of writing and to hone the craft. I've always thought that whilst doing that I should assign myself a career I can stomach that provides enough money. Now I'm thinking of ways I can still write professionally, just within a different box to the one I'd like to end up in. If it means more time writing and still being able to cover my expenses - huzzah.