Wednesday 12 June 2013

On being a jobbing writer

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It isn't easy being a writer. Not my sort of writer, anyway. Without contracts or security, but still with an aching need to write, to entertain, to tell stories that readers want to read.

On with the motley by Jan Jones

Doing makework
Hopping from project to project
My whole life spent in the remaindered aisle
eyes darting from shelf to shelf for the
bargain-of-the-moment

Motley, always motley

A scrap of beauty here
A half-elegant phrase there
Buried in the rush for a temporary high
I long for a year’s space
To cloak myself in a world of my own fashioning
To explore leisurely
Spending a day finding just the right word
Knowing my characters down to the base of the iceberg
Security

But the car needs petrol
The children need MP3 players
So it’s on with the motley and smile
And pare the ease of sleep to the bone.

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6 comments:

Philip C James said...

It sets my frustrations into context. Stop moaning, Phil, and write!

Thanks, and a nicely visual piece of writing - elevates it above the level of the average writing-as-safety-valve piece :)

Unknown said...

How you can say so much with so few words always astounds me.
That's your genius, Jan; you pare it down to what is needed, no falderal, the real deal.
xxx Jen

Jan Jones said...

Thanks, both. Some days, only poetry hits the spot :0

Joanna said...

So beautifully written and I agree with it all. x

Jan Jones said...

Thank you, Joanna :)

Unknown said...

Beautiful!
lx