Comments on: When is enough really enough?

By: Lydia Towsey

Lydia Towsey — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:36:18 +0000

Hey Sheelagh, thanks for reading, would be happy to:)

By: Lydia Towsey

Lydia Towsey — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 09:36:18 +0000

Hey Sheelagh, thanks for reading, would be happy to:)

By: Sheelagh Gallagher

Sheelagh Gallagher — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:50:32 +0000

Really enjoyed this. Would like to talk to you!

By: Gisela Hoyle

Gisela Hoyle — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 08:14:27 +0000

What you have written reminds me of Ursula K. Le Guin's essays and some of her later work, like ALWAYS COMING HOME, in which writing is always seen as a part of living – living gracefully and beautifully and thoughtfully, not as something separate from life – she says writing as daily bread not fancy pastry. I rather liked that – as well as your piece!

By: Drew Gummerson

Drew Gummerson — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:50:20 +0000

Enlightened of suffer from very deep confidence issues.

I meant to put this link up before to A L Kennedy's Guardian blog – http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/...

Now A L Kennedy is a fabulous and successful author, but reading this blog you realise that even she has to do all these events, mentoring, teaching, freelance journalism, comedy etc etc etc just to get by.

By: Lydia

Lydia — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:53:40 +0000

Hey Mark, thanks for reading it Writing any kind of thing is so odd isn't it? You write down these words, from out of your brain – and other people look at them and they make sense to them. It's amazing!

Drew – you've got to be the least ego led person I know. To have done all that and STILL tell people you work for the police – well, you've got to be almost enlightened Course, I reckon it's better to be like that. The main thing is actually doing the writing and producing stuff you're proud of isn't it?…Actually, the main thing is probably just to be having a good life and not getting hung up on having the right forward slashes to complete your identity. Increasingly I think that living a life that is abundant in the fullest sense – and filled with helping others, is more valuable than being able to strut around feeling important and special. Guess the ideal is being a writer because you write – not writing because you want to be a writer. The writers I respect most fall into the former category.

LXX

By: Damien G Walter

Damien G Walter — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:42:26 +0000

A writers life can be hard. So when is enough really enough? http://literaturenetwork.org/?p=931

By: Drew Gummerson

Drew Gummerson — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:45:46 +0000

Funnily enough I was talking about this very thing yesterday. And now thinking about myself I am a man with very few slashes to my name. If someone asks me what I do then I tell them I work for the police, which I do.

I don't describe myself, or think about myself, as a writer, although I do write, every day almost. And I've had two novels published, and short stories, and I do events, book reviews, blogs and so on. The writing is a hobby though, a very fun and exciting one, and any money I make a bonus.

(Yesterday as it happens I also got an email from my agent, 'send me something I can sell'.

Yes, quite. I will. I am working on it.)

I like, I think, that I have a full time job, because it takes the pressure off the writing. It can remain fun and enjoyable.

On the other hand, I would like to sell millions of copies.

By: Mark Chadbourn

Mark Chadbourn — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 10:15:45 +0000

Excellent piece, and filled with so much truth it's almost painful!