Reasons to be Cheerful – About Being a Writer

I am most definitely a writer and here are my ten reasons for celebrating that.

1. I enjoy writing. – We have so much choice of what we can do in life. If you can’t make your mind up, writing is a good choice – you can try everything  out by writing about it..  
2. I am a published writer. – It took about four years to get something accepted from the time I started taking myself seriously. I still can’t live on just my royalties and advances but every new book accepted, every royalty statement is a step nearer to that.  
3. I have a lot of really good friends who are also writers or are connected with the world of writing or publishing some way or other. – Networking is key, anyway. Yes, you need the solitude, but you also have to get out there and meet people and find out where it’s all happening. You can , of course, do much of this via the Internet, but real people now and then are also good.  
4. I keep on earning money from work I did a long time ago. – Royalties often come in while I’m on holiday. I’m still getting paid for work I did  in 2000 – the year I was first published.  
5. Doing research can be fun. Some aspects of research are really enjoyable- like visiting old houses if you’re writing historical fiction. I’ve had chats to the coast guard,  taken sailing lesson, gone to seaside town, sat in the park… Much of what I write is science fiction or fantasy, so I actually spend much of my research time with a notebook, sitting in a café, daydreaming.
6. I have a dream of a day job: I teach creative writing at university level. I can take a research day a week and often choose to stay at home and get on with  my own writing – like today. I can write in the office and nobody minds. Much of what I do the rest of the time in my day job is to do with writing.  
7. Some things that just seem like fun are actually important for your writing. Such as reading the “Twilight” series and watching films. It’s all about studying the craft.
8. Some other things that writers have to do are actually fun. Such as attending book launches, giving talks and running workshops. It’s not a matter of “those who can’t teach”, it’s more about loving what you’re doing and sharing that with others.
9. I can work anywhere. And often do – on the train, in the hotel room, in bed… . The down side perhaps is that I end up taking work on holiday. But who needs an untainted holiday if you’re only tainting it with what you most like doing – in fact like more than being on holiday.   
10. There are some amazing writerly activities. Because we are thieves, because we need to look at life, because we need constantly to find new ideas, people watching, wandering round parks, and sitting in cafés are all writerly activities.