WRITING

I Lived To Write Then Made The Mistake Of Writing For A Living

Or Why I Haven’t Yet Written The Great American Novel

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Ever since junior high, I’ve dreamed of writing a novel. Years later, I became a professional copywriter out of necessity, since writing was my only marketable skill out of college.

So much for that novel.

After a full day in front of a computer, I lacked the energy, motivation, and focus after hours to write anything more than short stories and articles.

Even worse, writing for others proved to be a thankless job, even if it pays well. And I’m not the only writer who feels this way. Raymond Chandler summed up his screenwriting career in these words:

“If you are a writer and an honest one, you try very hard to make delivery, but too many things get in the way, too many hands maul you, there are too many words in your ears and too much stale thinking that makes you stale yourself, and in the end, however hard you try, all you get is tired.”

In short, “burnout.” All lower case. No exclamation points.

I experienced this while copywriting at MCA Records — initially, a dream job. At my interview, the first question my future boss asked me was, “Why the hell do you…