Writing is a weird hobby, and one that I feel reluctant to admit to. I wonder why that is? I have other hobbies, for instance playing guitar and reading, that I can freely admit to and can talk about in a relaxed manner, so why does writing feel like such a covert activity to me? I have been pondering this a lot recently, and have come up with a few ideas.
Firstly, I don't think many people perceive writing to be a hobby. It is usually assumed that the reason you write is that you want to be the next J.K.Rowling or Stephen King (I wish!) and make a great living out of it. In this sense, admitting to a writing hobby is almost an admission of failure; weighing all the hours I've spent doing it against the financial gain from it suggests that I have been 'wasting time'. I have spent about four hours a week for the last ten years or so writing so that's a lot of wasted time!
Secondly, if I were to open up about my hobby, then the inevitable question of 'What are you working on at the moment?' would come up. And I would have very little to say, because I never like to give more than a few vague sentences about my works in progress.
Am I embarrassed about my writing hobby? Perhaps. Will I keep writing? Of course I will - for the pure distraction and enjoyment of it, and for the quiet satisfaction that I have created something out of nothing.
Now, I must go and work on that thing I have been working on...
Firstly, I don't think many people perceive writing to be a hobby. It is usually assumed that the reason you write is that you want to be the next J.K.Rowling or Stephen King (I wish!) and make a great living out of it. In this sense, admitting to a writing hobby is almost an admission of failure; weighing all the hours I've spent doing it against the financial gain from it suggests that I have been 'wasting time'. I have spent about four hours a week for the last ten years or so writing so that's a lot of wasted time!
Secondly, if I were to open up about my hobby, then the inevitable question of 'What are you working on at the moment?' would come up. And I would have very little to say, because I never like to give more than a few vague sentences about my works in progress.
Am I embarrassed about my writing hobby? Perhaps. Will I keep writing? Of course I will - for the pure distraction and enjoyment of it, and for the quiet satisfaction that I have created something out of nothing.
Now, I must go and work on that thing I have been working on...