Struggle.

As a writer, I struggle.

And not in a good way.

I struggle with just writing. I have all sorts of other things to do. I used to have work. Now I have the enterprise of marketing myself as a business and organizational writer. I have to find creative ways to sell myself. I have to study marketing and technology to be able to get the freelance jobs and then I have the freelance jobs to do and the follow-up work. I have groups to organize and non-profits to build. When am I supposed to write a novel?

(See my next post that answers that question!)

But I've struggled with more complex and emotional issues, too:

• I've struggled with identifying myself as a writer, though I've identified as such since I was seven.
• I've struggled with people's (family's) perception of what I'm supposed to have accomplished as a writer as any specific time in my life.
• I've struggled with “competition” and academic programs that tried to make the students compete, without preparing them for it.
• I've struggled with the business and politics of publishing.
• And, of course, I've struggled with my characters and where they are going.

Being a writer is taking on a life of struggle.

What do you struggle with as a writer?

Leave a comment and let me know. I bet there are lots of others with similar struggles—maybe we can work them out together.