The Non-Writing Life Versus The Writing Life

Last week it was almost freezing here in Scotland. Dark clouds smothered the nation; rain, drizzle and hail fell at one point or another; beer gardens were empty.

This week is a different story, and as if the Gods that be know what’s coming (or planned it), the sunshine and warmth has arrived with remarkable coincidence in my life.

Things have been moving behind the scenes for me for some time. Big changes are afoot. By tomorrow or Thursday, I’ll hopefully be in the position that I can make a major non-writing announcement.

I say non-writing, but everything in my writing life is influenced or is affected by my non-writing life. Therefore, the existence of a non-writing life is debatable, such is the fine line between the two.

Regardless, the point is this: I need to have a non-writing life in order to support my writing life. The two feed off each other; my non-writing life feeds off the creativity and freedom of my writing life, and conversely, my writing life depends on my non-writing life for financial support and to an extent, the ability to be able to experience new and exciting events and inspirations.

Why have a non-writing life at all? Other than the couple of mega-best-selling writers that I actually know, most writers need to have a day job. Not many writers can’t survive on the paltry sums of cash that creative novelists and writers are paid, and the bulk of us certainly are not lucky enough to have made it to the point that our name appearing on a gas bill will go to the top of the Times Bestsellers List.

Why write at all then? I hear you say. Easy answer: it’s not about the money.

So where am I in my writing life? Ploughing forward, that’s where. GATECRASH moves on with its revisions and my stageplay has gone back for a full re-write. Having re-read it properly, I’ve decided it’s actually a pile of keech.

There are flawed characters, no rhythm or flow, and it doesn’t build in tension the way I originally intended. Bear in mind I wrote it five years ago and I’ve improved since then, but it’s a great idea for a play so I want to end it properly. I want to see it work.

And of course, I would love to see it performed one day. Who knows?

Here’s to a great week for one and all.