The Muffin | Cathy C. Hall Writes

So it’s that last mad dash of writing, where we’re zipping in to the home stretch of whatever mad writing challenge we’ve pursued this month! I feel ~~supremely~~ ~~mostly~~ fairly confident that I’ll make PiBoIdMo–I mean, a title’s an idea, right?

But NaNo’s been a little more intimidating. I’ve been working on a rewrite and…well, you can read about Of Rewrites and Trees over at The Muffin.

And then, if you haven’t left a comment on Meg Moseley’s post to win her book, GONE SOUTH, zip over there and do so. I’ll be drawing a name tomorrow, so hurry!

And really, compared to coming up with yet another picture book idea and rewriting an entire novel, leaving a comment is child’s play.

For the most part, I’ve got it pretty good, as jobs go.

I get to work at what I love, and I don’t stress too much about finances, thanks to my live-in patron of the arts. But just because I don’t make a ton of money from writing doesn’t mean I don’t invest a ton of hours into my job. I work 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, and if I take off for lunch or an appointment, I make those hours up in the evening or weekends. But still, it was a long time coming before friends and family took my job as seriously as I took it.

I used to think it was about money. But eventually, I figured out that it wasn’t so much about earning money as it was earning respect for the job–and for me, as a writer. If you want to know the particulars, you can read my post over at The Muffin today.

And now, I’ve got to get back to work. I need to make enough to go out to lunch with a writer friend. The Beneficent Mr. Hall gets a little sulky about paying restaurant tabs when he’s not invited.