As I try to develop the discipline of a writer, I guess the fact that I get anxious when I don't post to this blog is a good sign. I'm reaching the point where after returning home from work, I'd rather spend time crafting a post than fixing dinner - or taking a nap. When a couple of weeks pass without anything new I feel negligent and frustrated.



Writing seems like an inherently worthwhile activity, while the day job seems increasingly like a necessary burden tolerated only to generate cash. If writing could produce a stream of income, I would be happy to abandon the technology practice with the attendant on-call periods, poorly administered environments, and screwy hours. At this stage, even a normal work week feels like screwy hours to me, but I'm referring more to episodes like December 31st when I went in around 6pm for a project and left at 3:30am on January 1st. Feliz año nuevo.



I've passed through three careers in the past thirty years. Photographer, pilot, engineer - each lasting around ten years. I'm at the end of one of those decades now in my IT Engineer period, and once again it feels like the time has arrived to move on. This time, I'd like to pursue a creative outlet - something I enjoyed with photography to some degree, even as a non-fine-art photographer.

Writing could be the right pursuit.

This career shift could be taking us back to the long-neglected Mexico relocation theme. One of the inhibitions that derailed the move last summer was the sense that while the numbers seemed to add up, there was still some apprehension about the financial viability of life as an ex-pat with no source of income. Immigrants in Mexico can't work at an ordinary jobs that Mexicans can hold, so self-employment like writing could offer a source of income otherwise unavailable. With Internet communications enabling business with various publishing markets, it seems like a great opportunity.

I want to offer people alternate views of their environment. My desire to accomplish this through writing is the same as my primary motivation in photography. I want to portray beauty, which is essentially a revealing of truth. Truth is often concealed from us or unnoticed- especially if we are too wrapped up in our pasts and futures to fully experience the present moment.

When I go looking for various aspects of reality to express in visual or verbal media, it helps me find this beauty and rejoice in it myself. If I can share this by creating tangible work instead of simply having an internal experience, and make my work available to others, the benefit of the experience or insight is multiplied.


Recently I was browsing through the local paper when I ran across an article about two local authors who have published a number of books individually and collaboratively. They also produce a syndicated column and are routinely published in various periodicals. This husband-and-wife team is hosting two writing workshops - one to develop the basic craft with aspiring writers, and one to demonstrate the business mechanics of the writing business.

The discovery of this offering on the heels of my recent more serious desire to pursue the writing practice seems like an additional signpost to me, pointing encouragingly in this direction. The fact that they live two blocks away seems like additional mojo.




Text © 2003-2004 Stanley J. Wolf

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