“Your work is going to be a large part of your life, and the only way
to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.
And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
- Steve Jobs
Loving Your Craft
For many of us, February is a month devoted to love. We all experience love in various forms and from various people and animals, and it’s good to have a time to reflect on that love and how to affects our lives. At Joy Editing, we assume that all of our clients started writing because they love to craft worlds and characters and stories that touch people, but we’ve heard from several people lately that they’re struggling to fall back in love with writing. For whatever reason, writing has stopped being a joy and become a job. If you’re feeling that too, this newsletter is for you! If you need some helping falling back in love with writing, we have some suggestions for you.
Go back to the beginning. This is pretty basic advice, and for good reason. You started on this path because something about writing called to you. Something made you love it. What is that something? When you think about how you got started, what part of that memory makes you smile the most? How can you find that part again?
Identify your needs. Just like any relationship, your relationship with your work should meet your needs. What needs did writing meet for you when you were happy with it? Are those needs being met now? Have your needs evolved? If they have, what are your needs now? We’re not static beings, and as our lives change, what we need changes too. It’s okay to reevaluate to see if your work is still meeting your needs!
Set aside time for fun. When you have deadlines, it’s easy to get stuck in the mentality that every minute you have needs to be devoted to finishing your WIP. Sometimes though, you need to play! Give yourself some time with every writing session, even if it’s only ten minutes, to work on something fun. Maybe it’s a diary entry, or free writing, or a book that’s so off-genre you don’t think it could ever sell. Maybe it’s your favorite character’s backstory or a scene that you already know won’t make it into your book. As long as you’re enjoying the process of writing it, it’s not a waste of time.
Check your environment. Where do you write? Does the space make you happy and feel productive, or do you dread going there? Some people thrive at Starbucks. Others love their kitchen table. A lot of us need a clean environment in order to be productive. Set yourself up for success by giving yourself the right kind of location.
Invest in yourself. Spending money isn’t always an option, but sometimes you need to do it. If you hate your desk chair, maybe it’s time to buy a new one or try a memory foam or gel seat pad. If you can’t get any uninterrupted work time at home, it might be time to try a co-working space. Or if your computer is so old it can’t stay on for more than two hours at a time without overheating, you might need to buy something new. It’s hard to love your work when your tools are working against you.
Work with people you love. Hopefully, that’s us! If it is, send admin@joyediting.com an email telling us what you love about working with us (perhaps we should call it a Valentine’s Day card for your editor?) and we’ll take $15 off your next editing project. We’ll probably also post it on our website!
We hope the rest of your February is full of all sorts of love, and we'll see you again in March. Until then, eat some chocolate (or whatever treats you like best) and spread some love of your own. Till next month!
- The Joy Editing Team
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