wyld_dandelyon: (Happy Moth Artist)
[personal profile] wyld_dandelyon
If I have a new year's resolution, it's making room. Getting rid of stuff I don't use or need. Getting my home writing office not only minimally set up, but pleasant and inspiring and efficient. Paying off old debts and refinancing the house to make room in the budget. But most of all, making time.

The conventional wisdom is you shouldn't quit your day job. In one of the best books on writing that I bought before becoming a single Mom, Nancy Kress writes that quitting your day job doesn't mean you will write more.

But I've had asthma and allergies since puberty. I've always had to guide my life around the fact that I run out of energy long before I run out of dreams. When I'm working full time, running errands, and taking care of life, that's often all I can do--and if I get sick, it's more than I can do, so even just a cold (even if I don't come down with bronchitis or a sinus infection) means I spend weeks trying to catch up on stuff like groceries, laundry, and dishes. You know--essential stuff you can't do without.

Adding the food allergies hasn't helped. I can no longer carve out a bit of extra time by buying fast food or convenience food--or even most restaurant food. This no wheat and no corn thing is really inconvenient.

The answer, to me, is obvious--if I can only do so much, and I want to write fiction, I need to choose to spend my time writing fiction, not letters and pleadings and the like. Regardless of conventional wisdom, I know that I do write more without a day job. I did while unemployed, even though a substantial amount of time was taken up trying to find employment and being depressed and worried about being unemployed. The next step, for me, is to make writing my day job.

And now, with my finances in order and Obamacare a reality, I can make this happen. Soon.

Wish me luck!

Deirdre at Capricon 2014

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Date: 2014-02-14 09:21 am (UTC)

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Date: 2014-02-15 07:28 am (UTC)

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Date: 2014-02-14 10:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] supergee.livejournal.com
Good luck.

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Date: 2014-02-15 07:34 am (UTC)

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Date: 2014-02-14 12:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ideealisme.livejournal.com
I came to the same conclusion and have no regrets!

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Date: 2014-02-15 10:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com
I could have stayed working and planned to go to Loncon and Eurocon this summer. Instead I've applied for Clarion and Clarion West. I already have no regrets.

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Date: 2014-02-14 12:13 pm (UTC)
kelkyag: notched triangle signature mark in light blue on yellow (Default)
From: [personal profile] kelkyag
Best of luck!

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Date: 2014-02-15 10:59 pm (UTC)

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Date: 2014-02-14 02:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] queenoftheskies.livejournal.com
Best of luck!!!

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Date: 2014-02-15 10:59 pm (UTC)

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Date: 2014-02-14 04:16 pm (UTC)
mdlbear: blue fractal bear with text "since 2002" (Default)
From: [personal profile] mdlbear
Best of luck!

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Date: 2014-02-15 11:00 pm (UTC)

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Date: 2014-02-14 04:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] acmespaceship.livejournal.com
Usually when people go freelance, I warn them about having a social network that gets them out of the house so they don't go stir crazy -- but you're a fan so you're all set :-) Best of luck!

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Date: 2014-02-15 11:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com
Thank you. It's still good advice, since I'll have to be really careful about things like travel expenses, convention fees, and such.

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Date: 2014-02-14 05:21 pm (UTC)

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Date: 2014-02-15 11:04 pm (UTC)

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Date: 2014-02-14 08:18 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tuftears.livejournal.com
Good luck, and always have fun. ^_^

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Date: 2014-02-15 11:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com
I know that all jobs have drudgery (record keeping, submissions, etc.) but at least I will have time to do both the office stuff and the creative stuff, if I keep my eyes on my goals. I'm SO looking forward to it.

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Date: 2014-02-14 09:49 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] lb-lee.livejournal.com
Sneak: I love your hair! @_@ It's so pretty!

Rogan: I have also heard the conventional wisdom. Now, admittedly, I didn't quit my day job so much as I collapsed out of it, but I have found that I too write more without a day job, though I do need to keep a schedule and routine. And now that my energy is a jealously hoarded resource, I'm glad that I have the privilege of being able to focus it on my art. Much luck to you!

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Date: 2014-02-16 12:09 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com
Hi Sneak! It's a wig I picked up on a whim, at Capricon. But one I saw pictures of me in it, I love it too.

Hi, Rogan! I've been noticing your efforts and hope to have time to read more of them soon. But I can't give up all of my writing (and submitting and bookkeeping and etc.) time to reading, no matter how tempting that will be.

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Date: 2014-02-14 11:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] earthspirits.livejournal.com
Good luck! *hugs!*

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Date: 2014-02-15 11:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com
Thank you, and *hugs* back!

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Date: 2014-02-16 07:05 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] seekerval.livejournal.com
The very best of luck to you. And I wish you great fun in your endeavors.

(no subject)

Date: 2014-02-17 12:56 am (UTC)

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