How to Test Drive a New Career: Writer’s Week
As my creative sabbatical comes up on its three month anniversary, I found myself thinking about what’s been working and what hasn’t been working. Funny enough, the things I thought I was going to love haven’t really found a solid foundation in the creative line-up, while other things have come to the forefront and made me delight in their presence.
And I got to thinking about the best way to explore new careers, creative endeavours, and frankly, explore my options for what could be next for me. That’s when the idea of how to test drive a new career for a week at a time came to me. I won’t say like a flash of lightning, but I will say like a white hot bolt of electricity streamed from the sky, causing my pulse to race and my hair to stand on ends. Welcome to Writer’s Week.
Test Drive a New Career One Week at a Time
It’s Monday morning at 10:51 am and I’m just sitting down at my desk to compose this blog post. Should I be writing other things? Maybe. Maybe not. Okay, for sure, I sure be doing the work I wanted to do, but we’ll get to that. The point of Writer’s Week is not to act like a full-time writer, but to embody one. And does a full-time writer always start writing at 9 am? Well, if they do, that’s the first thing I’m going to change about the industry as I embark on this fun experiment.
Embodying a full-time writer doesn’t mean writing for 40 hours this week. It means writing on a regular, consistent basis toward finishing the draft of my seventh romance novel. I’ve been struggling with this project since I started it in January. It’s August as I write this, so you might not think eight months of writing is a long time to write an entire novel, but it is for me. I usually take about three months to pound out a first draft. So what’s the hang up?
For starters, until three months ago, I was working on several consulting gigs in my instructional design business. Then when I decided to embark on this creative sabbatical, there were so many other things I wanted to do with my time. Yes, writing is a big part of this project and it has always been a major part of my life, but to say that I considered myself a full-time writer wouldn’t be the truth. Despite sometimes writing over 100,000 words in a week, those words were not always about smutty romance. And right now, I want to write smutty romance.
Seeing the Opportunity to Test Drive a New Career
The novel itself started with a loose idea of a woman struggling to write her own novel (so meta) while exploring her identity as a writer (also meta), but then she meets this guy (of course), who lives in a van (isn’t that the dream?), but things don’t go the way they hoped it would (because there wouldn’t be a story if it did). But that’s about as far as I got, despite the 24 chapters I’d written.
There wasn’t much happening in the way of movement. So last week after taking a solo trip to Prince Edward Island to camp and explore for several days and another solo trip to Halifax for an overnight shopping spree, I decided this week’s project would be to actually sit down and finish that freaking draft.
And the universe aligned as it always does when you’re optimistic about your talents and ideas. I got a message from one of the organizers of an adult book fair I attended a couple of years ago saying they were reviving the book fair. The timing was perfect. Here I was planning to spend a full week writing and there they were planning to invite me to sell my books. I couldn’t have asked for a better timeline, considering I have just under 3 months to get this thing done. I can do it.
The Journey is the Best Part
Finishing the novel is always fun for me, but writing it is where I shine. I love the idea of creating a problem and finding a way to solve the problem. It’s such satisfying work. Not to mention, there are no rules in fictional worlds, and if someone tells you there is, they’ve lost the plot. If you can think it, you can write it. I write contemporary romance novels, which means that my characters are living in the here and now, modern day society, with all its problems, opportunities, and potential plot lines.
But that doesn’t mean that the things that happen aren’t out of this world. I love to stretch the imagination with dialogue and slow-burn secrets that evolve as the characters do. But I am a sucker for a happy ending so no matter what happens, two become one before the end of the novel.
Test Drive a New (Old) Idea to See if it Fits Now
So why am I test driving a new career as a writer if I’ve already written six novels? I’ve actually written over a dozen books including my non-fiction catalogue, which is mostly not available these days. I moved on from writing non-fiction when I got into writing fiction and found that when you didn’t have to write to teach people things or create opportunities for life lessons, you can write a lot faster and with more enjoyment.
I am currently working on one non-fiction book, though, which is based on this creative sabbatical and how I unwound my consulting business to become a company of one and find the success I’d been looking for. It’s low on the to-do list because it feels like work right now and the last thing I want to do is volunteer for anything that feels like work. So romance novels it is.
I am test driving a new career as a romance novelist because it’s something I’ve wanted to do for my entire life. Writing has been with me for as long as I can remember, but I’ve always treated it like it’s just something I do. You know how we do that to ourselves? We have a skill, talent or ability that has been easy to hone and we treat it like an afterthought?
Focus on What’s Right in Front of You
We do a massive disservice to ourselves when we treat our natural abilities or interests like they don’t matter. I’ve worked hard to learn how to write a novel from start to finish, edit it, self-publish it, and sell it, and yet, I treat it like it’s a hobby. I’ve never taken it seriously. And I want to see what it feels like to do more than dabble in this art form.
I test drove the idea of being an artist for the first couple of months of my creative sabbatical and I can say, without a doubt, that painting is will remain a hobby. It will not, in any way, shape or form, become something I pursue on a long-term basis for profit.
Not that this sabbatical is about finding the next thing to pay me, but it is about finding out what I like and don’t like. To explore what lights me up so that my next career may incorporate some or all of what I’m learning. I’m open to all of it, but I’m also being really honest about how it feels to paint, write, brainstorm, problem solve and hammer a nail into a board.
Follow Your Instincts, Not the Obligations
There’s no right answer when test driving a new career. I know that I love to travel, but based on the work that is required to recap and debrief on a trip in the blog afterwards, I know that I don’t want to be a travel blogger. Yes, I’ll continue to share my travel stories, but it’s not a job I want to do on a full-time basis. And you might be thinking, “can’t you just do a bunch of things?”
Maybe some people can, but I like to go deep with my work. I like to focus and like to know what I’m working on and when. I love creative work, but I work on one creative thing at a time. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have several things on the go at once. I’m just doing one thing at a time, slowly kicking several soccer balls down the field until they reach the goal. It’s not a race. There is no winner. But this week, I want to test drive a writing life for myself in a new way.
Let the Ideas Come without Judgment
My brain is like a black hole of possibilities. As soon as I latch onto an idea, I get ten more ideas that may or may not be related to the first idea. And I love it. It used to be distracting for me to let my ideas run wild, but now that I know how to work my way through them, I can confidently decide which to keep, toss or recycle into something else. And writing is one of those things that always comes back around for me.
But there are other ideas I have to test drive a new career too. Here’s just a few of them that I may decide to pursue, to give some structure to this creative sabbatical and see what feels good in the moment.
Baking Week
I’ve been talking about getting out the old mixer and whipping up some cake pops since I started this journey. Rather than do it once and call it fun, I’m going to set myself up to bake everyday for a week. Maybe it’ll all end up in the freezer for the holidays, or maybe I’ll sell it. But the point is to embody a baker.
Coaching Week
I’ve been getting a lot of inspiring messages from people who have been kind enough to follow me on this journey and they’ve asked questions, sought advice and felt inspired to do something like it themselves, but don’t know where to start. I’ve been thinking about doing a one-off coaching week to see if there’s still something there for me and the people who want my help. For reference, I worked as a coach for a long time and as part of my consulting business, it keeps coming up. But I don’t formally do it anymore. Still though, this creative sabbatical has plenty of opportunity to inspire and help people change their lives. So maybe I’ll give it some space.
Build-a-Business Week
One idea I had was to create a business on paper every day for a week. The point isn’t to actually launch the business, but focus on brainstorming ideas, solving problems that could come up, and packing offers in a unique way. My business brain is hard to turn off and so I thought it would be fun to give it some air time in this creative sabbatical too and see what comes up.
I think when we are running a specific business, we get really focused on that business and don’t allow other ideas to potentially distract us, but I think, and it’s been my experience, that some of the coolest things have come out of the distraction. What would happen if it had a formal place to live for a while?
Real Estate Week
I’ve been saying for as long as I can remember that I’d love to get into real estate. Earlier this year, I considered investing my money into a rental property but in the end, the deal fell through and I decided to use that money to help fund this creative sabbatical instead. Worth it. But the agent working with me reminded me of how my critical thinking brain would be well placed for a role in real estate or mortgage brokerage.
I have found myself in front of a banker on more than one occasion offering solutions to financing issues that they hadn’t thought of. I have no interest in sitting in a bank all day doing mortgage applications, but driving from house to house and helping people find the homes they are looking for? Could be right up my alley.
Test Drive a New Career in a Safe Space
When I thought about how to test drive a new career, my brain wanted to return to what it knew: writing. It is something I really do love, but I also don’t want to default to it just because my brain does. I’m the captain of this ship, after all, and if I want to do something else with my time, I will. But I’m also really curious about what would come from a dedicated writing practice. So I’m going all in. As soon as I hit publish on this blog. And maybe do the laundry. Just kidding. I never do the laundry.
If you’ve been thinking about a career move, or trying on a different life, you’re not alone. My usual approach to change is to burn my life down and start over, but at this point in my life, I’m comfortable with test driving something before making a decision. And I can’t wait to figure out how to end this freaking novel. Because one way or another, it’s getting done. And it will be on that table in October at the adult book fair come hell or high water. And in this economy, both are possible.
Grab a spot in my 5-day creative challenge or 5-day journal challenge if you want to re-imagine what’s possible for you. You don’t have to commit to anything now or ever, but my God it’s fun to try things on. Even if you find they don’t fit, at least you’ll know.
