I've always believed that writers do their best work when they are unhooked from the financial hamster wheel. Finally, I've found someone else who believes the same thing. Sort of. Below is a cartoon illustration of Dan Pink's thesis, explicated in Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us, that it isn't money that motivates brain work, it's autonomy, mastery, and purpose:
The trick, though, is to be making enough money that the cognitive worker--the writer, say--doesn't have to think about it, doesn't have to connect the specific work to paying the rent or buying new glasses.
I haven't read Drive, and I'm guessing after watching this ten-minute animation that I don't need to, but the notion makes a lot of sense to me. It makes me wonder what brilliant art we might have if there were more grants for creators, and more generous patrons.
Some writers, for example Tolkien, use the security of an academic job to free their writing. But teaching is a real job; it took him twelve years to write The Lord of the Rings. To me it's significant that the work only really took off when he was writing not for his publisher but for his son. I can only imagine how much more quickly all this would have come together if he'd had a five-year MacArthur Fellowship and complete freedom.
I'd love to be free, just for a little while, from thinking about money. So if you are or happen to know a tech multi-millionaire, my email address is in the sidebar...
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Totally agree and the older I get the more I agree. Money issues have thoroughly bolixed up my output (which remains fairly high, though unpublished) and has added a layer of second-guessing I could do without. It's exacerbated by publishers who reject what you do with a "well, we liked it, but we don't know how market it" line that just...just...argh!
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, money is great way to track how you're doing once the work is done.
Mark, I think money is one way to track how you're doing. Other--to my mind, more fun--ways are to enjoy the emails from readers, and to watch the concepts, metaphors and even phrases you've written slowly start to appear in others' work. That makes me smile...
ReplyDeleteDrive is a *great* book and one I've been nattering on about to any writer I run into. Wrote 3 books in 2010 thanks to reframing my own understanding/relationship with creativity and productivity. 2011 I had to spend most of it on freelancing to refill coffers, but 2012 looks to be another similar year.
ReplyDeleteTobias, that's a great endorsement :)
ReplyDeleteI'll let you know when I win the lottery.
ReplyDeleteHypothetically speaking, how much money would it take to allow you to write another Aud novel or an Aud screenplay?
Dianne, well, seeing as I couldn't get to Aud until I'd finished Hild--which means rewriting this volume, then writing two new ones (and rewriting those), which would take, oh, three years--and then I'd need another year to write Aud. I'd say...around $400k. Plus health insurance :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this. I saw it on Tobias' blog and came over, because he has indeed been talking about positive changes to his creative process on account of this material.
ReplyDeleteI don't enjoy writing for money at all. I enjoy writing, and I enjoy money, but I don't like the way it feels when they are coupled. It's been a real trap for me.
I hope somebody throws you some cash!
tricia, isn't it cool? I hope someone throws money at both of us...
ReplyDelete