“Like My Own Personal Brand of Heroin”
March 10th, 2009 | Posted in blog 7 Comments »
The other night Jane and I saw Twilight. It wasn’t my first choice, but it’s not bad, especially for a vampire movie. Actually, Edward Cullen’s phrase, “You’re like my own personal brand of heroin,” which he uses to describe Bella (who isn’t a vampire), stuck in my mind. Here’s the scene:
Today I was thinking of this heroin phrase in relation to a couple of emails people sent me about technical writing. A bank teller tells me he finds his job boring and wants to break into technical writing. Another person with years of experience in technical writing has nearly the opposite feeling. She is “tired of technical writing.” She finds it “boring and redundant.” Instead she wants to become a freelance writer, even though she hasn’t found much work in it.
My advice? If you find your day job boring — whether you’re a bank teller or technical writer — a blog can be an escape mechanism. For me, it is like my own personal brand of heroin. It fulfills me creatively and provides an avenue for writing, expression, thinking, interacting, and exploring new technology. If you haven’t discovered blogging yet, there’s an entire dimension of your life it can fill. It can also be time-consuming, addictive, and physically demanding.
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Tags: addiction, Blogging, boring, Creativity, drive, fulfillment, motivation, Screencasting
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You mean Jane isn’t your own personal brand of heroin?
OK, joking (well, sorta). Good point – any job can be boring and an outlet such as blogging can provide some creative and exhausting side-effects!
I thought that was the most beautiful line. I just watched the movie and came and googled the line… Its poetic
I agree — it’s a line that sticks in your head.
I related most to the following line in your post: “It can also be time-consuming, addictive, and physically demanding”.
Although blogging has provided me a satisfying outlet to escape from the blase of the everyday, it is now something of a commitment that hangs heavy. This summer I had to completely detach myself from the artificial commitment I had created to keeping up a practice that was supposed to bring me pleasure, and had unfortunately resulted in increased stress.
Now that I have spent some time away from blogging, and returned to my roots as a creative writer, I realize that blogging can either compliment your practice, or become it entirely.
Trevor, good point. Another friend of mine stopped blogging because it was taking away his creative energy for his other projects. You’re right — it can hang as a heavy commitment. For me, I pour my creative energy into the blog (sometimes) rather than outside projects. Why separate them?
Tom, I’m a true example of a writer enventing a heroine-like blog to revitalize the enthusiasm.
As a problogger, what would you advise on this dilemma – http://modishlyinwords.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/to-read-or-to-write-that-is-my-dilemma/ ?
Don’t quit your job. You need money to enable your creative endeavors. If you find a creative job that pays well enough to replace your existing job, great. But if not, don’t quit your boring job, because then you’ll be starving and homeless, which will prevent you from fulfilling your creative goals. Here’s a definite read from Penelope Trunk on this topic.