More Pay, Less Work, Heavy Thinking

I love to write. It's the one thing that I do every day (body functions not included). Even if it's as basic as the outline for a story or just random thoughts.

The entire aspect of writing appeals to me.

Reading about or travelling to a place to do the background research. Getting sick on the strange food. Meeting beautiful women with hair under their arms.

Checking out the latest developments on the technical aspects of the story. Acting like I know what the hell they are talking about. Assuring them that I won't divulge their secrets.

Meeting experts in their field to discuss the current and future trends. Like I care about something I'll never live to see. If it ever happens in the first place.

I even like doing the rewrite work, trying to smooth out the flow of the story to get just the right pitch, making it a harmonious composition, instead of a jangle. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ah bullshit...

During the past few years, I've had a variety of jobs. Some of which even paid some money. The one thing that I learned from these escapades in employment; the less one does, labor-wise, usually the more one makes, in respect to payment. When I mention labor, I'm talking physical labor, not heavy thinking or childbirth. We won't even go into the 'jobs' that are more play than work.

I have worked hard as an auto mechanic and hardly worked as a technical writer. Guess which job paid better? Some of this is due to involvement in the job. When you are truly involved in your work, it's not really work any more.

After the first few brakes jobs, they all begin to look the same to me. When I'm writing, that changes, as there is more than one way to describe the brake job. Although I have friends who make great money as mechanics, I never did. The work did prepare me to do technical manuals, which paid fairly well, not to mention it's cleaner work. I still do my own car repair work though. Nobody touches my ride but me!

Writing has allowed me to travel to both LA and New York City and many places in between. Which is where I am now. I've worked and lived in Europe, writing technical manuals, screenplays and my first book. Which is not my only book, but the only one that's published.

People that I have met in the writing business are some of the most interesting souls on this planet. Some are just less than average assholes with big egos, but we won't go there today.

It's one of those avocations that will be the same as it was 3,000 years ago, but different tomorrow, always moving to the next level. I didn't say whether this would be a higher or lower level. A topic for further discussion.

What I want to know, if I like doing this so much, how can they call it 'work'?