Why We Write

When the frustrations of freelance writing, the lack of motivation to keep looking, and the rejections pile up, sometimes the reason why we freelancers have chosen this unconventional, often overwhelming lifestyle gets muddied. Why did we not go to business school, law school, or medical school? Why do we put our hearts into our work only to have them changed or, worse, turned down? Why don't we just quit and get a job at the grocery store or at a restaurant?

Luckily, I have good answers to all three questions:

1. Why did we not go to business school, law school, or medical school?

We didn't want to be like "everyone else". Remember talking to your peers about their plans for the future? In my case it wasn't that long ago that we were seniors in college, and it seemed like everyone was going to be an investment banker or a doctor. I still didn't have a clue what I really wanted - social work? veterinary school? - but I knew that writing was and had always been my passion. Even in our confusion, we freelancers knew that we wanted something else. It is a career that is no nobler than what our friends do. It is just a little more eccentric.

2. Why do we put our hearts into our work only to have them changed or, worse, turned down?

The risk of every artistic adventure, rejection is as common now as it has ever been. And yet artists continue to put up with it. Why? The answer may be as simple as the rewards for creating something that others enjoy outweigh the many, many rejections leading up to that point. Perhaps, however, it could be that we are all stubborn, masochistic, tortured artists. I prefer Option A.

3. Why don't we just quit and get a job at the grocery store or at a restaurant?

This is more complicated because many freelancers do have day jobs at grocery stores and restaurants. Without them, many of us couldn't afford to write or couldn't dream of making freelance a fulltime job. But let me encourage you, even if you do work part-time in the real world, not to make it the only thing you do. It's worth it to keep writing, especially if you are stubborn, masochistic, and tortured (but maybe that's why you work in a restaurant).