It’s a funny thing to turn a passion from a hobby into your work. You view it differently and consume it mindfully. You work for it because you are asking it to work for you. When it becomes work, it becomes something you don’t go to lightly. At least, not as much. It’s important to indulge in writing without attaching the work to it, because it will always be a love, a joy that feeds you. But there is a lot that comes with turning it into work, including research and brand building and networking and honing craft. Because of this, there needs to be something new that comes along to be the hobby, the thing that you go to when you need to step back from the work. But, you want to put as much work into turning the dream into work and then there’s guilt that comes from not spending any extra time you can on doing the work. I think. It’s something I’ve been puzzling over a lot recently. I’ll let you know if I get to a point where I unravel it. 😬
I’ve found that I love knitting and I’ve started to try my hand at embroidery which is fun. I also love drawing (simple, basic things) and I wind up drawing things that go with my stories like book cover ideas, world maps, quotes, etc. And I have really, REALLY invested more time into reading. I’ve always loved to read and made time where I could for it, but this year I’m stepping it up in a big way. I’ve got books on Audible (currently listening to Lord of the Rings:Return of the King), paperbacks (currently reading Virtual Mode), and my Kindle (currently re-reading In the Arms of Mr. Darcy). Not only is this nurturing my very first hobby, but it’s also bettering my abilities as a writer, immersing me even further in the world of stories I’m looking to enter, and giving me an understanding of comp titles that I desperately need. It’s a hobby, but also a vital part of my work. So, there’s that.
This week I was unexpectedly swept up in a story idea that brought me to my journal multiple times. It’s something I’ll tease out later. I’ve got my work cut out for me to revise SB (the title I’m using to identify my current manuscript I’m working on) and that work begins tomorrow! I’m excited to share how the work goes and get going along on the journey! 😁
What do you do for a hobby? What do you enjoy when you need a break from the work? What writing project are you working on now?
Happy Writing!
Nikole Breault 
This reminds me so much of “Big Magic” (I read it because you recommended it!) and the whole idea of not making your creativity pay your bills, at least, not at first. I like to think of the first draft as the “fun writing” part, and the editing and revising as the work part, so whenever I sit down to write I have to decide if I want to have fun or if I want to work (the answer is usually have fun, which is why I have so many unrevised manuscripts lying around!).
Also, reading is definitely great for learning to write!
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I really loved reading that book! That’s an awesome way to think about it and that makes total sense. When you’re writing the first draft, you don’t worry about what preconceived notions you have about it because you’re letting the story come together on the page and not trying to drive it. When you go back to revise, you’re trying to pull all the pieces together to make a stronger draft and that’s more work.
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Write, paint, exercise, draw,
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