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Transcript

Writing is a Blue-Collar Job · The Daily Writer

• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Writer, where we share a lesson each day to help you cultivate the habits for creative success.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Over the years, I've spent a lot of time thinking about why writers struggle.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, the whole point of this podcast and also the Daily Writer community, the whole point is to help writers overcome the obstacles to writing.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: I want to help them and I want to help you be more successful as a writer.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: A big reason that writers seem to struggle is that many times we perceive of writing as a different type of job than it really is.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Many writers look at writing as sort of a white-collar job.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what's a white-collar job?
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Well, a white-collar job is the type of work that's professional.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's typically done in an office and it focuses on things like leadership and administration.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: You rarely get your hands dirty with manual labor whenever you have a white-collar type of job.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: A blue-collar job, on the other hand, is more hands-on and it focuses on trades.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Things like plumbing, construction, retail, and food service are good examples of blue-collar jobs.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think as a writer, your life gets a lot easier when you understand that professional writing is really a blue-collar job.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: You're not out there getting your hands dirty or digging ditches, literally, but you're showing up on time, you're putting in the work, and you're just getting the job done.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, 90% of your success as a writer is just about showing up.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's about putting the time in and just doing the work.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I only feel like writing about 5% of the time, if I'm going to be totally honest with you.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Even when I'm working on my own material, like this podcast, I rarely feel super excited to do it.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: For me, writing is emotionally and mentally draining.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I look at my writing the same way that a bricklayer looks at their work.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: I try to separate my feelings about it from the work that I have committed to do.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the weird thing is that my emotional state while writing seems to have no connection to the quality of work that I produce.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: I can be totally not feeling it in the moment, but the writing can still be very strong.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: And the opposite can be true also.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm really into a flow, it doesn't necessarily mean that the writing is going to be good.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's just really strange how that works.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, right now as I'm recording this, it is 12.53 a.m.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: on New Year's Eve.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: So uh the day is just 53 minutes old.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: We went to see Trans Siberian Orchestra tonight.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I'm actually really tired, but I wanted to get this podcast recorded.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh for I wanted to get these podcasts recorded for this week so I can wake up tomorrow morning and be done with my work for the week and enjoy New Year's Eve.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: So again, I'm just being really honest with you, but I've committed to showing up for this week's episodes.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why I'm here doing this.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: I don't necessarily feel like doing it, but I'm showing up because I've committed to doing.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: And as I'm recording this episode, I'm actually getting really excited about this.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: You can probably tell, because I've showed up and I've done the work, and the emotion of getting into the work follows the commitment and just showing up to do the work.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: I just find that to be really interesting.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever you show up, you get emotionally into it.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: You feel the flow and you get into a kind of creative state, but you first have to show up and do the work.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: You know, people used to look down on blue-collar work as if it was somehow less honorable than white-collar work.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: But all consistent and successful writers see themselves as people who just show up and do the work.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: So here's today's daily question: Do you see yourself as a blue collar or a white-collar writer?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening to today's episode.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been listening to this show for any length of time, you know that one of the four practices of a great writer is creativity.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: And in order to stay creative, you've got to have great input.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where writing prompts come in.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: A writing prompt is a sentence or two that helps you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Writing prompts are an awesome creative tool for journaling, storytelling, creative writing, stress relief, social media posts, and so much more.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: But the great news is that you don't have to create these yourself.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: We've put together an amazing package of 365 daily writing prompts.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: So every day for the next year, you can have a shot of inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: You can check it out at dailywriterlife.comslash writing prompts.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow.