SquarePeg Books

Why Writing is Like a Relationship

Right now, I’m watching a real relationship die in front of me. There isn’t much that can be done about it. I can’t force them to stay together. I can’t make them get a divorce. I can’t push them into counseling, get them to talk to each other without it turning into sniping bullshit and I can’t keep them from venting about each other to neighbors and friends.

There is very little laughter in that house. There hasn’t been much laughter there for a while I suspect, they were just able to hide it from view until the last few months.

Everybody fights. They argue and cuss and re-open old wounds and all that. But after a while many make-up and laugh again.

But some don’t. The magic is gone.

I’m not going to expound on “why.” There are a myriad of reasons “why.”

If you can’t laugh in your relationship, you are truly screwed. You don’t have a relationship – you have a routine, a job, a soul-sucking contract.

If you’re writing and you can’t at least crack a smile about what you do, then perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate things. Because now you’re not enjoying it. Now you’re just punching a clock waiting for your shift to end. Now you’re fantasizing about being anywhere else but here. All the time.

That kind of thing shows in your writing. Readers are like kids – they can pick up on how you’re really not into the story. Your voice changes.

You can’t laugh if you’re not happy. If writing doesn’t make you happy, then you probably shouldn’t do it anymore.

Check out what other folks chose to blog about today. A to Z Blogging Challenge.