By: D. A. Smith Writes
Ramblings, Writing About Writing, , , ,

How’s Writing Without a Day Job?

Hiya Literary Fans,

I waited a few weeks before creating this blog post because I recently lost my day job and didn’t want negativity from that aspect of the experience to effect my writing. I will admit that while I am beyond ecstatic to have this extra time to create blog posts, work on my fiction, and even take time to smell the literal roses, I am a bit nervous about what the future holds.

My plan before losing my job involved using my paychecks to fund my writing projects, while I take care of 90-percent of my disabled mother’s living expenses, and of course my own expenses. However, that plan fell through before I even started receiving money from my writing, when my day job gave me the boot.

Emotionally, I think I’ve handled it pretty well. My day job(s) have always left me feeling a bit unmotivated even when I tried to push water uphill and make things work for the money and benefits. Now that I don’t have the day job, I motivate myself by keeping to a strict writing schedule, but also spending time to stop and spend time with friends, nature, and of course looking for work until I can live solely off my writing.

Physically, I feel less tense and more at ease. I don’t feel the pressures of the rat race or the need to rush through writing projects in order to have enough time to sleep during the night hours (when I usually write), before waking up early in the morning to go to work.

The job loss hasn’t caused any major set-backs on my novel Syphons. I am so happy to announce that the book cover design is being finalized within the next few days. And, the book is currently being proofread.

I am starting to believe that losing my job has been a blessing in disguise. I can write as much as I want without worrying about a day job. In the meantime, I learned that putting myself on a schedule, planning out my days and my writing, and focusing on bettering myself during this brief employment hiatus has left me a healthier person and a better creative.

Have you ever experienced the stress of losing a day job? How did you cope?