16 Reasons I Love Being a Writer

1. I can go to work in my pjs and no one cares if I have a bad hair day. If I forget my deodorant then only the cat complains. 
2.  I love the commute as I wander from the bedroom to the living room by way of the kitchen. The only traffic jam I encounter is if the cat is in the way licking her butt. I don’t have to shovel snow to get to the car, then clean off the car, and arrive at work looking like Frosty the snowman.
3. I get to make stuff up as I go along. If it’s not right I get to make up more stuff. Sure, I have to get the facts right, but it is up to me how I present them.
4. I get to surf the web for fun and profit and no one cares if a play Bejeweled for a half an hour to break the writer’s block. As long as I meet my deadlines my time is my own.
5. After years of having my family and friends thinking that I am a geek and a nerd and trying to reform me, they are now proud of the fact and brag about it.
6. All those years of teachers complaining about me being a dreamer has finally paid off. Day dreaming is now an important part of my skill set.
7. People expect me to be a bit unstable without having me demonstrate it first. Writers are supposed to be flaky and a bit odd. I now get to own the fact and be proud of it.
8. No one can complain that I never write. In point of fact, there are probably times when they wish I wouldn’t. Okay, that is probably mostly for my personal blog when I’m airing some “dirty laundry.” It can be a bit hard on them that good writing often starts with telling the unvarnished truth.
9. People have a hard time believing that I don’t drink or smoke. I fly in the face of their cherished stereotypes of the hard-drinking, chain-smoking wretch hunched over a typewriter. I do, on the other hand, occasionally do a few lines . . . of M&Ms.
10. I get to be a bit of a know-it-all, which most people hate, but I can cite my sources.
11. I have had the ego boost of fan mail, which is really cool. I have also had responses of complaining people – which really sucks. It is the natural order of checks and balances that is intended to keep us humble. I have not mastered the pseudo-art of hearing only the admiration so I am able to keep my ego in check – so far.
12. I have made my junior high school English teacher proud. I have proved my high school Creative Writing teacher wrong. I have also foiled a couple of psychics on this as well. Even psychics get deceived by appearances. It is so tempting to predict failure as the future for the fat kid.
13. I have become what I wanted to be when I grew up, except for the money part. Unlike what most people think, writers do not make a lot of money unless they become a J.K. Rowling or a John Grisham. It is amazing how many places want you to write from them “just for the experience.” Let me tell you now that we would like to experience some money. Getting paid in experience only goes so far.
14. I am always learning new things because of the daily research I need to do. Unlike my school
    
    career I now love learning – even math.
15. I get to make people laugh, cry, think, reflect, care, love, and hate, all from the comfort of my own home. Of all these, I enjoy making people laugh the most. I like to think that when I have made them laugh I have made their lives a little better, even if it is just for the few moments while they are laughing.
16. I get to do what I love every day of my life. Even if it isn’t being the successful and famous novelist (yet), it is still my heart’s desire. This is not a job from which I ever plan to retire. I want to die quill in hand and parchment under my head.