K: A Kathryn Craft Post “The Writer’s Spirit is Forged in Fire” #AtoZChallenge
I look forward to each Writers in the Storm post. They are always insightful and encouraging, whether you are new to novel-forging or have written twenty. Kathryn Craft (author of The Art of Falling) has a guest post series on the site about Turning Whine into Gold. I loved this post of hers (especially the first line. I could ruminate on it for a week.) and thought you might gain something from it too:
Last week I had to un-friend someone on Facebook for violating my right to pursue happiness. [Abby here–isn’t this a fantastic thought?]
I can only assume he’s had enough of reading about the growing excitement for my debut novel, coming out in two short months now. Perhaps, after years of trading a time card for money, he can’t relate to what I’ve given up to chase this dream for more than a decade, and how I feel to see it come true. It’s only a book, he may be thinking. What’s the big freaking deal?
I don’t need to explain it to you. You’re a writer.
But under a business promotion for my blog post about a new organizing strategy, sorely needed now that my life has gotten crazy-busy, this man wrote, “Just go get a job!” and “Earn your own money and quit being a leech!”
It’s a head-scratcher. I have always made money from writing-related businesses, paid my taxes, and have never asked for a dime from him. But clearly, I can’t let him write such things on my Facebook feed—even if he is my brother-in-law. I deleted his posts, and as a preventative measure, un-friended.
I did not whine, then or now. I simply defended, with equanimity, a boundary that had already been tested too many times. Because what my brother-in-law doesn’t realize is that he isn’t saying anything new. I’ve heard this before from multiple sources—and one of them is inside my own head.