What an odd way to start an editorial about writing.
But most people venture into writing blindly, not knowing what it will be like. They just enjoy crafting tales and, if they keep at it, they’ll learn more and more about the techniques, business, and pitfalls of writing as a career or even a hobby.
One of the nicer things about writing is you make friends with like-minded people with the same interests, those who enjoy putting words on the page to entertain others. You share and grow in your abilities with them. You, in a phrase, “find your tribe.”
“Though the rhyme is rather dark in meaning–protagonists getting their tails chopped off–there is something fun about the whole thing. These tiny characters run around in unison, as friends, surviving what the world throws at them.”
from https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-meaning-and-history-of-the-nursery-rhyme-three-blind-mice/
Right. Let’s talk about the dark part of writing: the “Tails chopped off,” as it were. There’s a price you pay to be a writer. Following your dreams means work, and that work is alone, solitary. Writing short stories takes time: writing a novel takes a great deal of time and means you forego other things. Nowadays it’s extremely hard to make a living at writing: you must be prolific, strike a nerve, and be lucky–although luck will only take you so far (and nowhere at all if you stop working at writing). You may break your heart trying to break in and gain an audience. Plus if you–for perfectly acceptable reasons like caregiving, trying to make ends meet, or severe illness–cannot put in the work then there’s the pain of broken dreams.
In this the community aspect of writing sustains you, especially in the science fiction and fantasy field where there are conventions with writing tracks and either face-to-face or online writing workshops.
“Perhaps in this way, the rhyme is sung as a cautionary tail–er, tale. The idea being, don’t go eyes closed into the new world unless you’re willing to risk something–even losing something important. And that’s the meaning behind why (Three Blind Mice, the rhyme) lasted so song.”
from https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-meaning-and-history-of-the-nursery-rhyme-three-blind-mice/
– Wendy S. Delmater
Hi Wendy. Your email struck a recent cord! As you know, I dabble in writing speculative fiction and poetry. While researching a story plot involving a storyteller character, I encountered another similar semi-hobby group of kindred spirits involving the art of storytelling – check out ‘The Moth’ and ‘Open Mic’ for a look at the verbal rather than the written art of storytelling.