Comments on: Boosting Your Professional Writer Persona

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 18:20:15 +0000

Did she say it like "I wish I had free time like you do!" If so, read it like she's envious of your ability to earn a living and find time to have hobbies.

Otherwise, don't let it get to you. Some people don't get it and won't ever get it.

By: Paula

Paula — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 15:51:50 +0000

Especially strange? We were among a group of people who train and show dogs. That hobby requires far more dedication, time and money than knitting, yet I didn't hear any criticisms of how those people choose to spend their free time.

Later I remember the person who lashed out grew up as the daughter of a prolific knitter, so maybe as a child she felt her mom spent too much time knitting and not enough with her? Or maybe she didn't get the knitting gene and is a bit jealous that I did, when my genes came from a different family tree?

I'm trying not to let it get to me, since it really is ridiculous, but it always stings when you're the chosen target in a room full of possible candidates.

If only she knew how hard it actually is for me to find quality knitting time! (There may be a blog post in this somewhere.)

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Tue, 06 Jan 2015 13:11:39 +0000

Paula, maybe she doesn't realize that work and play can be separate? Or maybe -- and this is how I'd love to interpret it -- she thinks freelancing is so exquisite that we can find time to do what we love?

I bet if you were reading books instead she'd find nothing wrong with that. I mean, who can't knit or crochet while watching tv? It was a strange comment, I agree.

By: Paula

Paula — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 21:17:01 +0000

At times I cringe to wonder what persona people associate with me. This weekend a relative I haven't seen in years said something I hope she didn't mean the way it sounded...implying that I have time to knit because I have nothing else to do with my time.

Um, what? It's called a hobby. Almost everyone has a hobby or two. Since when does having a hobby that you're really good at mean you're merely filling empty hours. (And it's not as if I knit every single day.)

She didn't comment about others' hobbies, and a couple cousins are seriously into training and showing dogs, which take far more time and dedication than knitting. (The funny thing is she didn't realize my sister-in-law, who was standing next to her at the time, is a knitter, too.)

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:18:02 +0000

That's exactly what I'm talking about, Paula. There's this persona that tends to build around a person. If they would just clam up, we'd continue thinking they're terrific. LOL

Happy 2015 to you too, Paula. :)

By: Paula

Paula — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 16:06:47 +0000

Happy New Year, Lori.

Quite recently I was taken aback when a writer I follow on social media mentioned working a shift at a minimum wage job. Maybe it was research for a book or for an article on the minimum wage debate, but it read more like, "Time to stop writing and go earn money to pay the bills." I'd previously read some clips, and assumed the writer was a full-time pro. Suddenly I found myself questioning how much stock I put into that person's comments about the writing life.

Maybe that says more about my own prejudices (I know you don't have to write full time to be good), but I can't help wonder what that writer's clients - and potential clients - thought about seeing that.

I took quite a bit of December off, too, Lori. Most of my editors were out of the office, and I only had one hard deadline, so I used the time to clean, decorate and prep for a great family Christmas - and a little end-of-the-year relaxation.