My cousin had this Jack Russell terrier that was tearing up her house. She tried everything to calm him down – nothing worked. Then she came across someone who knew the breed well. “He needs a purpose,” this person said. She suggested the dog be given something uniquely his own in order to occupy his energy. My cousin armed the dog with a ball, and his behavior problems disappeared. He now had a purpose – to chase that ball and to harass it into submission. It’s inherent in the breed. They are bred for one reason – to dig foxes out of their dens – and without that purpose, they’re twisting in the wind.
We writers are like that too, you know. We need a purpose in order to be good at what we do. But that’s where our similarities end, for every writer needs a different purpose. Me, I need a steady paycheck and challenging subject matter. Other writers may think that true writing is only found in novel writing, while others still may find that consumer magazines are the only way to go.
Find Your Purpose
Ask yourself some questions about your goals. Do you want to see your name on the masthead of a magazine someday? Or are you most happy seeing a long list of magazine credits on your resume? Have you collected enough credits and are looking strictly for retirement funds? Or are you new to freelancing and want to impress people at parties with a list of your writing credits?
There comes a point in your career where you stop looking for stuff to put on your resume and start looking for things to pay the bills and pad the retirement fund. You might even become weary of the freelance cycle and want a desk job to get some rest until retirement. You’ll know when you’re ready to shift focus. It’ll happen almost automatically in your brain. My advice? Go with it. Allow yourself to redefine your writing purpose. It can open up a realm of possibilities work-wise, and it can enhance your career just a little bit more to be doing something because it’s interesting or sexy or high-paying enough.