The life of a writer

When I signed on to be a television news reporter twenty years ago I never realized just how fortunate I was to have an opportunity to write for a living.  Not unlike other creative endeavors-art, music, dance-it is a lucky soul who is given an opportunity to do what he or she loves for money.  It took me years, however, to realize that writing two minutes of copy a day was actually honing my writing skills.  I always fashioned myself as a television reporter first and a writer second.  At this point in my career I have now had the additional opportunity of being able to publish several books.  In my mind, this now gives credibility to the moniker, "writer."  But in truth, no matter what you write, every time you put your fingers to the keyboard you are swinging that tennis racket again and again. 

In today's struggling economy the life of a paid writer is getting tougher to come by.  Freelance writers can't simply  pin all of their dreams on the great American novel.  They write a magazine article here, a newspaper column there, a blog here and basically whatever anyone asks them to write. This means less time for the big stuff like book writing, and more time spent trolling for a job that pays per word.