The Why of Writing: A Self-Examination
Today, on the Reality Blurs’ Facebook page, I asked, “Why do I create so much work for myself?”
It wasn’t meant to be whiny or self-pitying or any of another hundred things. And no one took it that way. Not really. They said things varying from humorous to downright nice. The real question wasn’t that, at least not to myself, but I didn’t feel that was the place to peel back the mask and get down into it. I thought I’d do that here.
You see, I put a lot of myself into my work. It’s not like it’s any sort of biographical, it’s just that, when I work, I want to give more than a hundred percent. I want to go to the limit, and then push past it. This goes for any work coming out from Reality Blurs. If it’s got the stamp, it’s gotta make the cut. Right? Quality control and all that.
Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. When we’re working on a thing, we could stop at a certain point. The point would be the enough point where everyone would be happy. The thing is, we go past that point into the, wouldn’t it be really cool if?, area of things. We go to the places where grammar fails me and I gush out ideas and leave other folks, the crew, to come pick up behind me, and make sure I don’t set myself on fire in the process. (These are really good people I work with.)
In early phases of projects, I’m often very much doing my own thing. I prefer to work in isolation on a lot of the initial creative aspects, as I can go through iterative phases very rapidly. Remember? This is what I do all day. Some of my cohorts don’t have the same luxury. So I think and write and think (even while I’m working on layout).
What I’m working on right now, this project I’m working on while awaiting some materials back on some other things, is compartmentalized enough where I can wander and return to work on it as the circumstances demand. It’s nothing I’ve talked about publicly, not yet. And it’s something pretty cool and different and may well end up being our first Kickstarter. (I’ve been wanting to do one for a long time and have been trying to work through what, exactly, to do.) I’m kinda talking about it in a roundabout way, but it’s still too early to start blabbing about it directly. Just know this: it’s occupying a healthy portion of my mind-space and we’ll leave it at that for now.
The interesting thing, the point of the matter, however, is I could very well not include this particular portion of what I’m working on in the final project and the project would still be quite decent. Only I would really know it’s missing. And, once you find out about this part of the project, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Let’s recap things:
Q: Why do I create so much work for myself?!
A: I honestly can’t help myself. I love writing. I always have. I’ve done it ever since I was a kid. If I didn’t do it professionally, I’d still be doing it somehow or somewhere.
Until next time, I bid you, dear reader, adieu!
