If You Enjoy Writing...

[Daphnesmate01]

Just a light hearted post really. If you like writing, what other hobbies/interests/work do you enjoy and do you find they are connected to writing?

I discovered writing a few years ago and I have just finished my first novel. Work wise I've drifted from one admin job to another and now a sahm. I like walking which I find helps me think about writing and I also enjoy being near water (might try sailing on local lake next year) as I have always enjoyed water activities. I love reading too.

Do you have any hobbies linked to writing or is your work/other interests completely different?

Nothing I thought was linked, OP. I'm glad you asked as I'd never thought about this before. I have craft sidelines but hadn't thought about these before. I suppose you could say living in my head with my imagination is a hobby and it is hand in glove with my writing.

Walking seems to be a bit of a favourite amongst writers. The combination of walking and thinking perhaps. I've heard others mention dancing, singing and sewing!

Gardening is good for a bit of headspace to work on writing (or anything else you need to think about).

Yes, agreed never, I have been getting back into gardening this year (covid) and I find it really satisfying to be able to pick my own produce.

I like being near water too. Quite often we rent holiday cottages by the side of lakes, rivers or lochs. I always get loads of writing done and I always sleep really well. (My muse seems to prefer freshwater over seawater, for some reason.)

Otherwise, I like cycling, weight training and other fitness stuff. I also do little maintenance jobs on my own (old) cars which I rather enjoy. I don't have a garden at the moment but if I did I'd be out there all the time. Doing physical things seems to help me arrange my creative thoughts; they drop into place by themselves when I'm not actively thinking about anything.

I was just curious really, it's interesting what other writers like to do, when we're not writing. I have been a sahm on and off for years now. I have just finished my first novel (plan to self publish in Jan) and I would also like to start a very low key on-line business (fortunately able to semi-retire). I've never had a career as such, just drifted from office to office so now thinking (especially in light of unemployment situation and flexible working around dcs) that I would like to develop something of my own and feeling quite excited (earning potential not great but a bit of creativity involved, currently in pipeline).

SAHP for years, but took the OU Eng Lit (with creative writing) BA, and then the MA in CW.

Before that I was a nurse (theatres) with a side order of admin and restaurant work between training and working as a nurse.

Apart from writing , an increasingly more serious hobby as the years go on (writing since I was 12ish - 35 years) I knit, do cross stitch, crochet.

I'm also qualified in 2 'woo' therapies and am setting up an online crystal shop. Was just Etsy but beginning to sell on Amazon now and trying to set up my own webshop to save on fees. This feels like a hobby turning into a proper job, and it will allow me to take my DDs to a school with better outcomes than my local secondary school - no public transport links so need to drive them.

I have started sending out 2 completed novels to agents but I'm not counting chickens with that.

Hi elfy
I admire the fact you have studied for a BA and then a MA. I have a BSc and have often thought of doing an MA but this time in a subject I am at least interested in, though the cost has put me off a bit. Still, it is an ambition for the future. Did you find the MA was transferable to your writing?
I am just starting to think about creating a website but plan to primarily sell on Amazon and Etsy. Again, it is more of a hobby in my case and I'm not sure I'm going to make much money from it but I think it will help my self esteem and give me purpose. I also need the flexibility around dcs, it kind of feels like for the first time I'm forging my own path (I am a similar age to you if I've done my sums right).

In which genre do you write? Good luck with the agents. I sent to only about 5 and each was a rejection but your work might be just what they're looking for. Unperturbed, I'm planning to self publish in January.

Yes! I've never made the connection before but I am a writer and I really enjoy walks (alone) to think about my writing. Also love being near water.

Congratulations on finishing your novel OP.

My MA was in creative writing (CW), sorry if that wasn't clear. It was a good experience but I found stand-alone stories gave me higher marks than novel chapters so I wasn't quite writing what I wanted. I'd hoped to get a novel polished.

My genres are sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal usually, though I've written many things over the years for study that were not. One story I'm pitching is a contemporary imagining of the Greek Gods (Adult), and another is a retelling of fairy tales (YA). I'm on under 10 rejections each and should send out to the next batch of agents. Have a YA sci-fi story I'm editing through at the moment.

Unless you've given up on traditional publishing might I suggest you look at the PitMad events on twitter. You boil your pitch down to a tweet and on a particular day send the pitches out and see if an agent 'hearts' it - an invitation to send in what they ask for and get to the top of the slush pile. I've done 4 pitching events - no love on one; 5 pages/3chapters/full MS on the second, though it came to nothing in the end; 3rd one sent off to a sci-fi small publishing house. Agent said she loved it but it was too young-YA for her list but she'd read it again if I aged it up. 4th one - not heard back yet about the 3 chapters I sent to the agent who liked my tweet.

Next one is Sept 3rd. Sometimes there's a FB group workshopping the tweets to perfection in the week leading up to it. That's worth doing anyway as it helps boil your story down to a sentence or two (elevator pitch) that you can use if you're trying to 'sell' your story to someone, self-published or otherwise.

5 rejections isn't a lot. I collect them as a new hobby.

Interesting Sapphos, we share the same 'likes'. I suppose I ask the question because I struggle to meet like-minded people. I don't live in a particularly art orientated community (there's one in two different directions from where I live about an hours travel each way, so I'm thinking of joining a writing group in one). I also suspect I am what they term a highly sensitive person (hsp).

Interesting to hear your journey so far Elfy. Yes, I understand it was creative writing but just wondered how it fitted in with your writing interests - for me I would probably want to write a novel, poetry as a second favourite and then short stories.

I guess I just gave up on the traditional route. I kept hearing about people being asked to make revisions and I came to the conclusion that I didn't want to - it was my story and I was going to tell it. Also, I never really wrote it as a commercial enterprise although it would be wonderful if others read it. But I have made every effort - professional copy edited and a pro. book cover.

I have a second novel forming, though I am a bit short on one of the plots and hoping it just comes to me in due course. It might be good if I could tie it in with an M.A, especially if I had the novel outline worked out in advance, it would certainly take the pressure off.