My dream is to write full time and make a decent living. As of right now I have not realized that dream, and thus, I am forced to partake in the most terrible of four-letter words, “Work.” Luckily for me, work often involves something else I love, boats.
As anyone who knows me, or has read my author bio, would know, I am a licensed boat captain. It’s a flexible and fun way to earn an income. However, one thing it is not, is convenient for is writing long fiction. I recently had the good fortune to act as captain for a six-week charter from Branford, Connecticut, to Cleveland, Ohio. The trip was stimulating, fun, and beautiful. But I got exactly zero writing done.
Juggling the responsibilities of being a captain in charge of a vessel, and having enough time to slip away into my fantasy world to write, has proven incredibly difficult. I don’t know how some people juggle full-time jobs, often more than one, and still find time to write. When I’m home every day, it is a little easier to carve out a little time to put some words down. But on a boat in the middle of a trip? No way.
At some point though, if I want to make it as an author, I will have to balance the two. Until I can make enough that I don’t need to take captain gigs. In the meantime, I’ll just keep plugging away when I can, and put out the best stories that I am capable of.