Balancing life and writing – #LiteraryFiction #LifeLessons #WritersLife

 

By S.S. Turner (Guest Blogger)

Balancing life and writing means walking a fine line, particularly early on in your career as a published author. In my experience, it comes down to managing your time and income. Writing a novel takes a significant amount of time, and crafting that writing into a great novel takes even more time. However, the reality is you won’t get paid for those hundreds of hours of work for a long time, possibly years. So the balance comes when you have enough time to achieve your writing goals whilst also generating enough income to put food on the table and pay the bills. Most authors can relate to the stereotypical image of the struggling artist a lot more than they ever imagined!

Sometimes I’ve done well at achieving that balance. Generally, those moments have some when I’ve been doing contract work to support my writing endeavors. Freelancing is a wonderfully flexible way to generate cash flow while you build your writing career, so I’ve taken on a number of freelance writing and research projects in recent years with that goal in mind. And the great news is the freelancing market is booming thanks to the covid-inspired work-from-home revolution, so there are many opportunities for writers to find flexible work which they can fit around their writing. Websites like Upwork and Freelancer are ripe hunting grounds for that type of work.

At other times, I’ve found the balance between life and writing hard to achieve. For example, I took on a particularly demanding contract role a few months ago which ended up taking most of my time for a while. The client always wanted more than we’d agreed to, so it was a constant boundary defining exercise. More importantly, that experience sapped my creativity like an energy vampire at my throat, so I wasn’t able to focus on my writing as much as I’d have liked for a few months. Balance went out the window at that time, but the good news is a novel idea emerged from amidst the chaos as it often does. There’s always a silver lining when you’re wearing your writing hat.

Blurb

As Freddy gazes at the majestic river gushing past him in the depths of a Scottish winter, he's ready to jump in and end his life. But what happens next is not what Freddy expects. From the moment he enters the river, Freddy starts a journey which is more beautiful, funny, and mysterious than he could have imagined. And through this journey Freddy's story becomes interweaved with a cast of unforgettable characters who are equally lost and in search of answers. Eventually they all unite in their quest for an answer to the biggest question of them all: will the river take them where they want to go?

In the tradition of inspirational works of fiction like The Alchemist and Life of Pi, Secrets of a River Swimmer is at once a profound exploration into living with meaning and an affecting story of people on the cusp of change.

Excerpt

My thoughts drift to picture what life as a gillie must be like. I imagine you start the day by carrying all the fishing equipment your fat and wealthy clients will need for a day of luxurious and fully-catered fishing. You carry everything while they take it easy, and you locate the best spot to fish for the largest possible salmon. Your local knowledge about fishing spots has to be extraordinary. You then set up the fishing rod, position your client in the right spot, and talk them through what they need to do to catch that magic fish they’re all searching for. Of course, your clients are always searching for the largest catch of the season, so they can go home and brag to their friends and family about what skilled fishermen they are. It’s obvious to you, if not to them, that the subtext is being able to sing to the world that they have massive willies, bigger than everyone else’s.

Beyond fishing, you’re forced to listen to whatever the hell it is your clients want to talk about for the eight long hours you’re on the river. Your clients are all obscenely wealthy, so it’s more than likely you’ll hear a lot of moaning about all the small things in life they’d like changed. Many of them will complain about local wind farm developments, council plans to develop their neighborhood, and, of course, the big one: immigration. They all believe immigrants are responsible for all the problems in the world. These people are your quintessential NIMBYs, and will always complain about progress if it affects them in any way, no matter how minor. You do whatever you can to bring the conversation back to fishing because it’s an easier conversation for you, and less productive grounds for their complaining. They’re slowly sucking the life out of you with their negativity, so you carefully select your words to bring the conversation onto a more positive pathway. And, of course, your ultimate back-up plan, as it is for many British people, is to pull out the ultimate conversation filler when you’re at rock bottom: the weather. Yes, it’s a desperate move and the equivalent of holding up a white flag, but needs must.

About the Author

S.S. Turner has been an avid reader, writer, and explorer of the natural world throughout his life which has been spent in England, Scotland and Australia. Just like Freddy in his first novel, Secrets of a River Swimmer, he worked in the global fund management sector for many years but realized it didn't align with his values. In recent years, he's been focused on inspiring positive change through his writing as well as trying not to laugh in unfortunate situations. He now lives in Australia with his wife, daughter, two dogs, two cats, and ten chickens.

https://www.thestoryplant.com/secrets-of-a-river-swimmer

Buy Links

Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09JWTK3WN/

B&N- https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secrets-of-a-river-swimmer-s-s-turner/1139673873

AppleBooks- https://books.apple.com/us/book/secrets-of-a-river-swimmer/id1591209788

Indigo- https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/secrets-of-a-river-swimmer/9781611883213-item.html

Kobo- https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/secrets-of-a-river-swimmer

S.S. Turner is giving away a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card to one randomly chosen reader.

 

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