Holly Lisle

I've signed up for a monthly email from a writer name Holly Lisle (that's me making a reference for the content I'm including in this post). When she isn't writing, she's encouraging other writers to write. So her life is pretty much dedicated to writing, either doing it or talking about it. I recently got an email that I think applies to anyone in any field. It's encouraging for anyone with talents, passions, and people who might be torn between the two.

So I thought I'd share it. I'm starting in the middle of her email, so keep that in mind if it doesn't make sense at first. And substitute the whole writing idea with whatever you love to do.

"...on some level you know it, but that level can get buried pretty deep in the mire of "You should write because you're so good at it," or "You owe the world your story," or "You're wasting your talent if you don't do this."

So right now, let's clear out all that deadwood. You do not EVER owe anyone your story.

Okay... This is not entirely true. If you've signed a contract with a publisher and taken their money, you owe THEM your story. But right up to the moment where you cash the check, NO. You do not own any debts you did not choose, and that includes obligations to the world at large or any subset of it to teach or share what you know.

Next point: Writing a book because you're good at it is one of the worst reasons in the world for doing it.

Doubt me? Okay. How about this? You are the best toilet cleaner your mother has ever seen. You're awesome at it. You hate cleaning toilets with every bone in your body. Do you think you should make toilet cleaning your career just because you can do it well?

No? Of course not. And for an awful lot of folks, including an awful lot of folks capable of stringing words together well, writing is right down there with scrubbing under the toilet rim in entertainment value.

Finally, the "You're wasting your talent" line.

A little story here: When I was a kid, my father wanted me to grow up to be a famous artist. That was how he phrased it, too. "When you grow up, you can be a famous artist."

Emphasis on famous. Emphasis on artist.

As a kid, I drew well. He taught me, I learned on my own, and I got to be pretty good. I had an art school picked out for when I graduated, until I found out I couldn't afford it.

I got a job as a commercial artist instead, doing handpainted signs and billboards. Some of it was great decorative art.

I LOATHED the work. I hated the smells of paints and fixatives and thinners... the kerosene heat in the studio ... the way my hands cracked from the cold. I hated the complaining customers, dealing with my employer's bill collectors, waiting for work to come in. It was a miserable job. So my brother and I set up a little silk-screening studio, designing our own T-shirts.

And I hated that, too. I discovered that I didn't want to be an artist, famous or otherwise. I simply didn't like the work.

I eventually became a writer, and as a writer (though somewhat famous, at least in my own small circles) I was a huge disappointment to both my parents.

But I was happy. AM happy.

I am doing what I love.

Write only because you love to write, because sitting down and weaving a tale out of thin air makes your heart sing and your pulse race. Write ONLY because it makes you happy.

There is no other good reason to do this job."