I’m on the last lap of my novel, after years of drafting, revising, editing and agonizing, and the last thing I was thinking of was fun. There’s an attitude floating around that writing for young people is easier than writing for adults, and I wondered if my friend might believe that, at least subconsciously. Writing is hard work, I thought to myself, regardless of your audience.
But as I pondered my friend’s comment later, I began wondering why I had felt so annoyed at it. And I realized that fun was an element distinctly missing from my writing life. It’s been taking a lot of grim determination to boot up my computer every morning. Whenever I meet my goal of writing for four hours a day, I feel like I’ve just finished an obstacle course. I spend a good deal of my time thinking of how free I’ll feel when my novel is finished.
When I talk about having fun, I don’t simply mean that writing should be enjoyable. I mean it should be fun—the way running through the sprinkler or playing softball were fun when you were a kid. The way picnics and climbing trees and swinging as high as you could go used to be fun.
I was shocked when I thought of how little fun I was having doing my daily work. And my goals suddenly shifted. Sure, I still want to get my novel to an editor by the end of the summer. I still want it to be the best work I can do. I’m going to continue to work hard. But I’m also going to infuse some good old-fashioned fun into my writing life.
That’s my project for the summer. I’m going to explore and try out new things. I hope I’ll loosen up, lighten up, and laugh. I’ll let all of you know what I come up with—what works for me and what doesn’t. Meanwhile, I’d love to hear from anyone with suggestions. Is your writing fun? How do you increase the fun in your writing life? Any ideas?