{"id":8827,"date":"2017-10-30T15:26:43","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T19:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scifisaturdaynight.com\/?p=8827"},"modified":"2017-10-30T15:26:43","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T19:26:43","slug":"the-writers-block-presents-one-lunatics-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/scifisaturdaynight.com\/?p=8827","title":{"rendered":"The Writer’s Block Presents: One Lunatic’s Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are two types of people in this world. One is the sensible, rational type. They set realistic, achievable goals: grow up, get a job you like and are good at, meet someone awesome, get married and have two awesome children. My sister is one of these people. So is my sister-in-law.<\/p>\n

The other type knows maybe what they want, which may or may not be sensible and\/or achievable, and comes up with wild, perhaps unrealistic, ways to achieve those dreams. That\u2019s probably me.<\/p>\n

When I was a kid, I read a lot, played with the farm cats a lot, and I had the obnoxious tendency to correct other people\u2019s grammar. But I knew exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up: a writer.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not entirely accurate. I wanted to be a writer and<\/em> Wonder Woman. But when I found out that the job of Wonder Woman was already taken by Lynda Carter, I settled for just writer. So how did I decide to go about attaining that goal? Let\u2019s take a look:<\/p>\n

Idea #1: \u00a0Move to an isolated island where I could write at my leisure.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hahahaha! The naivet\u00e9 dripping off of that sentence still<\/em> cracks me up. After college, I moved to Block Island in an effort to be one of those reclusive writers who sits on the beach all day and writes about the waves and crap. Did it work? Ha! Here\u2019s the thing: it is expensive<\/em> to live on a resort island year-round. Bills need to be paid. I indulged my dreams of writing by churning out a weekly column for the local paper, but I worked full time for the town, took on bookkeeping jobs to keep the lights on, and was surprised when the publisher of the newspaper asked me if I\u2019d moonlight as a proofreader. Hmm. That obnoxious \u201clet me correct your grammar\u201d thing had gotten me a side job. But none of these things really gave me time to write. It was time to move back to the mainland.<\/p>\n

Idea #2: Open a bookstore so I could read and write all day.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sounds perfect, right? In an era where independent and<\/em> chain bookstores were failing every day, why not<\/em> open a bookstore? I loved it. And I hated it. I was writing sporadically, reading even less, and I was doing things like reconciling accounts payable and receivable, doing taxes, and talking to customers all day. And, of course, correcting their grammar in my head. The business, and my writing, suffered.<\/p>\n

Idea #3: Get a day job I like and am good at to support my writing habit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Those sensible people of the world with realistic goals might be on to something. I\u2019d worked in human resources in the past, but although I was good at it, I didn\u2019t enjoy it. So what to do? What was I qualified to do that I could stand doing? And then one little line jumped out on my r\u00e9sum\u00e9\u2014Proofreader, The Block Island Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Could I parlay that<\/em> into a job I liked? Was it possible that someone would actually pay<\/em> me to correct their grammar? The answer, I am happy to report, is yes.<\/p>\n

To all of you aspiring authors out there, I recommend this: Sure, you can try the crazy stuff, like moving to an island or opening a bookstore. But if you want to write, find a day job you love. Mostly because it makes it a lot easier at night when you sit down at your computer if the power is still on, plus, you won\u2019t be ready to jump off a bridge due to said day job. Maybe that career path is in customer service, because you like people. Maybe it\u2019s as a medical billing specialist, because you don\u2019t like people. Or, if you\u2019re like me, maybe you can take one of your most obnoxious personality quirks and turn it into a paycheck. Because I can tell you this: I am a writer and I am a copyeditor.\u00a0 No matter if I\u2019m working as one or the other, I love what I\u2019m doing.<\/p>\n

And sometimes, I even wear my Wonder Woman tiara while doing it.\"wonder<\/p>\n

This post originally appeared on staceylongo.com: http:\/\/staceylongo.com\/my-blog\/pursuing-your-dreams-one-lunatics-experience.<\/em><\/p>\n

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