Should Writing Always Be Fun?

I saw an interesting item on British author Susan Hill's blog recently. Here's an extract from it:

I have just been browsing about some of the aspiring writer's blogs, creative writing websites. And in among all manner of different comments and counter-comments, confessions and questions and answers and pieces of advice, one thing struck me and this was how painful the whole thing seemed to be. How much angst, anguish, worry, striving, fear of failure, self-flagellation and goodness knows what else which indicated that almost none of these people are ENJOYING WRITING. Now if I had not enjoyed writing, from the age of 5, if I had not always and everywhere found it huge fun, stimulating, interesting, exciting, entertaining and surprising, I would have gone off years ago and done something else.
Permalink

I can see where Susan is coming from, but I can't say I agree with her. For me, the main fun of writing comes from rewriting. Getting the first draft of a book written can be a nerve-racking experience, even following the five-step process set out in my course Write Any Book in Under 28 Days. Once I have that under my belt, however, I feel that I can start to relax and enjoy polishing my work and bringing it up to a publishable standard. For me, anyway, this is where the real satisfaction in writing lies. OK, and seeing your published book in the bookshop, and collecting your royalty payments, isn't bad either!

So I just wanted to say - if you find writing first drafts hard, don't worry - you're not alone! And it certainly doesn't mean you should give up writing. We're all different, and we all get different things out of our writing. Maybe you're like Susan and really enjoy getting your first drafts written; or maybe you're more like me, and your real satisfaction comes from polishing and revision. Either way, you CAN succeed as a writer, and get a lot of rewards (both personal and financial) from doing so.