Monday, June 30, 2008

The writer's life

In the huge and continuing cause of PR for Zuzu's Petals, I recently wrote a piece for a local paper on the topic My Favourite Places. One of the places was a local cafe, where I said I like to meet a writing friend and have a good moan about the writing life.

A friend who read the piece before I sent it off said "You can't possibly say you complain about the writing life! There are people out there who have really grotty jobs. How are they going to feel when they read it?"

So I guess I can't complain about it here, either. But I will just say that I always smile at a wonderful quote in an old M*A*S*H episode, when a man who has just fashioned a bust of Colonel Potter says "An artist's life has so few rewards."

I was discussing this with another writing friend, who nodded in complete understanding, and then went on to tell me that she had just printed off the rules of women's rugby from the internet as research for her current novel, and then got herself a smoked salmon sandwich and got in the bath with it, and the rules. That sounds like a nice way to do research, so maybe there are some compensations for tiny royalties and the impossibiity of getting reviews and...

p.s. the picture is of my back garden last week (click on it to enlarge.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Still working my way through your blog from the beginning - looking forward to getting to 2009 where all the photo links still work - I think. Sad that Sally Howe's blog is no longer existent but then I would never get to the present day if I carry on like this following every link..... Jen (have given up facebook for lent and starved of interesting, amusing, downright daft and random input)

Sue Hepworth said...

It makes me feel slightly queasy that you are reading every blog post, Jen. By the time you get to the end of your current year you will have lost your mind through boredom.
I would jump to 2010 if I were you,