I’ve thought about it and thought about it and thought about it and I have a theory upon which I shall expound in Red Shoe Blogger. (I’m writing a chapter called “Ain’t No Shame in the 9-5″ about what this shame means and how to trump it.)

In the meantime, however, here’s what I know and I want you to know too:

Having a job – especially a boring, unfulfilling, unchallenging one - can be the single best thing to ever happen to you as an artist.

Because having your bills paid is an ideal creation for creativity. Being able to eat, answer your phone (both because it hasn’t been cut off and because collection agents aren’t calling), maintain adequate shelter and otherwise breathe easy because the day-to-day keeping-of-shit together isn’t in question WILL HELP YOU WRITE.

Dear Writer, I rarely use capitalization. Infer what you will from my lapse.

As I first mentioned in the early days of my writing/blogging career – and I penned it in the most genteel, understated and discreet fashion -  when I am broke, I am stressed. Stress is the financial version of heartbreak and when I’m in the midst of both, I go to bed for days/weeks/months at a time. In these times, regular bathing is an accomplishment. When the bar is this low, no creation occurs.

And so, it seems to me, that receiving a regular paycheque – aka ‘having a jayohbee’ – is almost as essential to a writer’s productivity as are laptops and internet connections. (Paper and pen is conspicuously absent from this toolkit, I know, but I’m really that new-school. I don’t even have a pen. When I need to sign something, I borrow a felt marker from my daughter, who also doesn’t have a pen.)

Having a boring job is even better for a writer. It means you can save all your thinking and passion for your art. It means you’ll be desperate to find an outlet for your creativity and your writing will flourish. It means you’ll have to be disciplined about finding time every day to write because you’re conscious that if you let this hour get away from you, you won’t be able to make it up tomorrow…because you have to go to work.

And so, Dear Writer, having a job doesn’t mean you’re not a real writer. It means you’re creating the conditions by which you can successfully create.

Because here’s the historical truth about good writing and great authors:

Real writers have jobs or they live off women. Ask Hemingway. He did both.

image by RusherVision, quote by Chuck Palahniuk (click here to return to your place in this post)

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