Ask the Author: Paul Cumbo
Answered Questions (5)
Paul Cumbo
He tip-toed out of the room, but the floorboard creaked. The baby woke up again.
Paul Cumbo
Twenty years of teaching and coaching teenage guys...especially the last seven of those years, during which I've also been a father. I've developed a new appreciation for how hard life can be for each person, in his or her own way. I've seen some kids go through really, really tough struggles...I mean really dark places...and claw their way out to emerge stronger. That's where Mike Whittaker came from, and you can read his story in Wilderness Therapy.
Paul Cumbo
I think for about six seconds about the fact that life is short, and realize that even if I live to be 90, I don't have much time left, relatively speaking.
Paul Cumbo
Writer's block is an ostentatious term. It's a ridiculous way of describing the fact that somebody doesn't feel like doing something that's at least nominally difficult. Writer's don't need to have their own special brand of "I don't feel like doing hard things today."
Which makes it no different from, say, builder's block when carpenter doesn't feel like getting out of bed and doing his job on a rainy Tuesday morning.
So, the question is really asking how I deal with not feeling like doing something hard. Well, the same way anyone else does. If I have the option of not doing it right then, I don't do it right then. If I don't have that option, I do it anyway, because life is hard, and that's the way it is.
Which makes it no different from, say, builder's block when carpenter doesn't feel like getting out of bed and doing his job on a rainy Tuesday morning.
So, the question is really asking how I deal with not feeling like doing something hard. Well, the same way anyone else does. If I have the option of not doing it right then, I don't do it right then. If I don't have that option, I do it anyway, because life is hard, and that's the way it is.
Paul Cumbo
tl;dr - get a real job; writing probably won't pay you much.
Don't count on it to be profitable unless you do the kind of writing that's profitable.
So, what I mean is, my advice in this regard depends on what kind of writing you aspire to do. If you think your novel is going to set you up with six figures and you can just write and sip tea all day in your forest retreat, you're nuts. That's the case for maybe .001% of authors. Writing what you love probably won't pay the bills.
On the other hand, if you put some time and effort into it, you can find a way to monetize your writing skills. You just have to be willing to apply those skills in areas where you might not feel a natural affinity. There is good money to be made in writing. The catch is that in most cases, you don't get to write what excites and interests you AND make decent money doing it.
So, to summarize it: get a real job, because your writing probably won't pay the bills. Supplement that real job by finding writing gigs that will pay.
And then use the freedom afforded by that financial security to do the kind of writing that you really love. You'll enjoy your writing a lot more once you let go of the expectation that it's going to earn a lot of money.
Don't count on it to be profitable unless you do the kind of writing that's profitable.
So, what I mean is, my advice in this regard depends on what kind of writing you aspire to do. If you think your novel is going to set you up with six figures and you can just write and sip tea all day in your forest retreat, you're nuts. That's the case for maybe .001% of authors. Writing what you love probably won't pay the bills.
On the other hand, if you put some time and effort into it, you can find a way to monetize your writing skills. You just have to be willing to apply those skills in areas where you might not feel a natural affinity. There is good money to be made in writing. The catch is that in most cases, you don't get to write what excites and interests you AND make decent money doing it.
So, to summarize it: get a real job, because your writing probably won't pay the bills. Supplement that real job by finding writing gigs that will pay.
And then use the freedom afforded by that financial security to do the kind of writing that you really love. You'll enjoy your writing a lot more once you let go of the expectation that it's going to earn a lot of money.
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