Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Punishment or Pleasure?

"Work is not man's punishment. It is his reward and his strength and his pleasure."
~ George Sand


On those rare days when I can devote sustained and undivided attention to my writing, I feel so good when I'm done--like I really got some quality work done.  Yes, quality work = feels good. It doesn't matter if that work was done on pre-writing, drafting, revising, queries, synopsis, WHATEVER. It just feels good to be working--really working--on my writing. 

Hard work dedicated to my writing never feels like punishment. And that is so cool!

How about you? 
Is hard writing work a punishment or a pleasure?

17 comments:

Sylvia said...

Always pleasure. I used to hate editing, but I figured out that most of the hatred came from fear. When I faced that, I just stuck out my tongue and had fun editing ever since.

Miranda Hardy said...

Pleasure! I feel great when I accomplish something writing related. I just wish I had those moments each and every day. Lol

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Shannon .. love the poster and its words "Never underestimate the Power of Hard Work" .. as too George Sands' quote .. and absolutely your post says it so well .. when the words-work go right .. lightness descends and rests with us.

Hard work is not punishment it's success at that achievement .. cheers Hilary

Laura Pauling said...

I'd say a writer is in trouble if they think it's punishment. Even cleaning my house, I feel good when it's all done!

Old Kitty said...

I love the end results of hard work and the knowledge that I did my best and gave it my all!!

Yay!! Good luck with your hard work!! Take care
x

Natalie Aguirre said...

I love the writing even though it's hard work. Right now squeezing in the time to do it is frustrating. I'd love to have a whole day to write. But I know someday it will come. And having less time forces me to be productive.

Heather Sunseri said...

I know exactly what you mean! I love a day where I accomplish exactly (or at least close to) what I set out to accomplish with writing.

Kelly Lyman said...

So true! I love the days when I feel like I really accomplised something, even if it was just one paragraph--and, those sessions that are very challenging are most rewarding. Not punishment at all. If it was, I don't think I'd do it!

Laura S. said...

Sometimes it feels like work! Writing has never been a punishment, not even in college. I liked writing my papers, though that often felt more like work, but depending on the subject it could be pleasure too.

My writing these days is mostly pleasure!

Diane said...

Having that sense of accomplishment is the best feeling even if it's accompanied by callouses and fatigue! :O)

Hilary Wagner said...

It's a pleasure! I write everyday and yesterday I did not. It left me feeling a bit empty...even guilty, like I skipped a workout or something, which is ironic because I can't stand working out!

Some days though, even if you just write one great paragraph, heck, even one great line, you should be proud of yourself!

xoxo -- Hilary

Heather said...

It's definitely pleasure for me. I always feel better after hard work, like I've accomplished something!

mshatch said...

writing never quite feels like work to me since it's always something I want to do, as opposed to actually going to work, which I definitely don't want to do. And while writing can be hard, it never feels like a soul suck or a time waster or tortuous or just plain BORING.

Cynthia Chapman Willis said...

Writing is always a pleasure. And I love that it is. As you wrote, it feels good to be working on my writing. Great post! : )

Candyland said...

Both! But then again, I've always been complicated ;)

Stina said...

Definitely a pleasure. Not getting to do it is the punishment. :P

Stephanie Thornton said...

It's hard work, but the kind that makes me so happy to have done it, like a killer work out.

And now I'm revising which I totally LOVE! Yay!

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