How to Be A HAPPY writer, Big Foot, Statues that Pee

This week’s podcast is about something really important. It’s about remembering to have fun. For a lot of us, life has a ton of stressors and responsibilities. We have to make enough money to survive. We have to take care of our family and ourselves. We have to deal with a world and not succumb to constant catastrophic thinking about the state of the world.

It’s easy to forget to have fun.

Or to feel guilty about having fun.

Or to feel guilty about having hobbies.

And here’s the thing. It’s great to be a professional writer and make money at something you love to do, but you don’t have to make money at it. A lack of financial rewards for your efforts doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It just means you aren’t getting money.

And money, my friends, is not everything.

What is everything? Having fun. Growing. Enjoying your damn self in this short amount of time you have on this world, making yourself wiser and stronger and embracing your moments of joy. Everyone who sings in the shower isn’t expected to make money at singing in the shower. That should go for those of us who write too.

Here’s the truth: You can write solely for the joy of writing.

Don’t let other people’s opinions or standards give you or your writing validation. Don’t let the pressure for external measures of success (publication, an agent, an award, 100,000 social media followers) ruin your joy in creating stories.

Here are Five Quick Steps to Reclaiming That Joy

1. Rest when you need to. Take care of your body. Eat food. Drink water. The simple things that all us living organisms should be doing.
2. Don’t have buttheads for friends. Be with people who make you happy and support you and inspire you. Ditch the others.
3. Go outside. Seriously. Go out of the building. Feel the air. You are part of this earth. Remember this and take care of it, too. Study a flower, a rock, a tree. It’ll make you a better writer, too. Notice the whole.
4. Be grateful for the good stuff that happens. What do you have? You’re reading this, or listening. That means you have enough that allows you to do that. Pretty cool, right?
5. Open your mind and your heart. Try not to be so super judgmental. Be generous and chill when you can.

Writing Tip of the Pod

If writing isn’t your profession and isn’t feeding you and your family. It’s okay to stop if it’s not giving you joy. Wait until it gives you joy and go back to it. Also, remember that y-o-u-r (your) means belonging to you and y-o-u-r-apostrophe-e(you’re) means you are.

Dog Tip for Life

It’s good to have a pack of humans to clean up after you. That way you can enjoy life and be messy when you slobber on the windows barking enthusiastically at the Fed Ex guy. Try to find a good pack of humans to be your clean-up crew.

Sponsor

This podcast was sponsored by BookNotes and this link sets you up for a free seven-day trail.

SHOUT OUT

The music we’ve clipped and shortened in this podcast is awesome and is made available through the Creative Commons License. Here’s a link to that and the artist’s website. Who is this artist and what is this song? It’s “Night Owl” by Broke For Free.

NEW BOOK COMING OUT!

The Places We Hide arrives Feb 1. Preorder now! Romantic. Thriller. Mystery. Maine. Sounds good, right?