Venting

Does everyone here love to write?
It seems like work to me. Furthermore you never know if it is good or bad.
It all depends on who likes it.
Accounting was perfect for me. I looked for errors and corrected them.
I guess a good way to look at writing is that it is a hobby. If we enjoy it, do it.
Some will get better results than others.
Such is reality.

3/10/2013
Just found a great book !
Cheers..Joe..

Joe,

You are a true friend.

Thank you.

3/10/2013
Alice..
I just put you on my Fine Art America discussions..
http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=1102241
Cheers..Joe..

Thank you again.

3/11/2013
Anything to push a great book !
Cheers...Joe..

I guess it depends on the type of writing and the reason we do it. Like anything else, the line between work and fun is a personal matter. I absolutely love to write, but it can be as much fun as a toothache on any given day, depending on what I'm writing and why. Writing fiction is always a joy. Why the hell do it otherwise--certainly not for the money! Writing minutes for a meeting, not so much. Writing poetry is usually hard work--especially for sonnets, but also always fun. Writing scholarly articles is less so because they require a great deal of time and hard work and provide limited opportunities for creative expression.

You probably enjoy the intricacies of a meaty tax return where you can apply the rules to squeeze out every last penny of tax savings that a client is legally entitled to claim. I'd rather undergo root canal than do my taxes, even when I know I will get a refund. In a perfect world I would teach two classes every semester with 20 students in each class and spend the rest of my time working on my novel/short story collection/poetry/ and chatting with friends on this board. In the real world, there are a great many things I need to do simply because they are necessary though not much fun. I also like to eat, and more importantly, to have my wife eat too. Though we could both stand to lose a few pounds, I don't want us to go on the poet's diet. Not even if I were guaranteed that school children would one day actually read what I'd written and weep about my writing in my own blood on the back of junk mail envelopes because I could not afford to buy a pen or paper, and know that scholars would pore over tidbits about my life to better understand those depressing lines, strange rhyme schemes and lousy handwriting.

With writing as with life, the devil is in the details.

Victor,

As usual very well said.
I understand Karl Marx worked for 18 years on his book and was so poor he had no shoes.
He was truly dedicated.

Dedicating proceeds from a book is iffy. It would be cheaper in the long run to give a hefty donation.

You are right about that! I don't write novels--too hard for me. The truth is much easier.

Victor Hugo's Les Miserables was far more successful after his death. Same goes for Melville's Moby Dick, which originally was titled The Whale.

Both of those were incredibly long and detailed - could have used a good modern editor, maybe.

Says a lot for writing shorter books - especially for today's readers.

War and Peace is not in style now.

That's what makes Living by the Swamp such a good read.

Just downloaded your book Alice now I'm looking forward to reading it.

David,

Thanks, you' re a true friend too.