I Don't Always Love To Write

I don't always like it, even. And to tell the truth, it makes me feel kind of guilty. Once upon a time I figured that when I found my "passion in life," it would be something that I'd want to do every second of every minute of every day, and that it would never, ever be too hard or bore me. So how could writing possibly be my passion, if it's just so darn frustrating 90% of the time?

Well, it turns out that I'm not alone. I was flipping through The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, and I came across this passage: "Well, I don't actually love writing, but then practically no writer actually loves the writing part." I was stunned, and had to re-read her words several times to make sure I'd gotten it right. Writers don't like writing? But what about the colorful image I have in my head of truly great writers happily chaining themselves to their desks for hours on end, joyfully slaving over their computers, typewriters, or sheaves of paper, giddily conjugating verbs and delighting in finding just the right balance of descriptive nouns and adjectives? After all, writing isn't something that tends to be hugely profitable, or gain you a lot of glory, unless you work really, really hard at it for a really, really long time. And sometimes not even then. So why on earth would so many people do it if they didn't actually like it?

It's hard for me, personally, to answer the question of "why I write." I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I'm putting things out into the world, and leaving my mark in some small way. I like influencing people, and seeing their reactions to the things I do. I like the fact that the harder I work, the more I get rewarded. And I like continually learning new things. Although Gretchen's words didn't make me understand why I'm subjecting myself to this writing thing, they made me feel much, much better about how I feel about writing. It's so good to know that I'm not alone in not liking writing all the time.

What do you think? Do you have times when you don't like to write? Leave your lovely comments below!