Hi friends, A tv writer friend of mine who is a WGA member and has (obviously) been on strike all these months messaged me the other day: So I promised him I would sit down and figure out a way to support him and give him a little pep talk, and this is what I came up with this morning. He said it was OK for me to share it with all of you, strikers or not.
Love this Jami, thank you (and your friend) for sharing it with us... felt like you wrote this email pep talk just for me. We writers always need that soft, friendly encouragement.
I can only imagine what it's like to write, and have that writing pay for your food, and rent, and electricity bill.
I think it's a romantic dream for almost all writers, to become a professional, but intertwining health care and creative writing output would be a challenge for me to prevent each of these from affecting the other.
I write because I love it, and the pressure that I feel knowing only a few dozen people will read my work is empowering in its own way.
Best of luck to all the striking writers and actors!
Thank you! I went to an open mic to support a friend and was so inspired as i remember that open mics were a place to find and share my ideas.. just for me. And to see all these artists sharing works in progress! , it was impressive.
This is so good. Even though I've been writing all of these years, my love of writing had gotten lost for a while to the money-making nature of the content writing machine and I didn't love my writing anymore. In fact I was embarrassed of my writing. And then I paused that and came back to this love for words and this community of writers and this feeling that hopefully it will pay financially but if not at least I'll enjoy writing again. And I do <3
Big hugs for writing this and big support to all of the striking writers and actors.
Loved this. I'm not one of the strikers (though they have my support completely) but have had a fairly significant writing setback and this was exactly what I needed to read. Thank you, and thank you to your friend, for sharing this. <3
I love how you love and appreciate your friends, that you spend time, brain time and writing time, giving them what you think that might need in any given moment.
This is a wonderful letter. it won't put food on the table but it may move him forward to who knows what happens next.
Jami, this piece made me cry, in the best possible way--for the injustice all those artists on strike are going through, but also for the feeling you describe: "Just wrote to save my life." The writing is for the writer, first. Reconnecting with that IS life-saving.
As I read this, it resonated to me as a teacher displaced from teaching by covid, then as a writer who has only recently come back to writing to write. Each day I ask my Facebook friends for a topic and put words on a page then post them. As you describe sending your 1,000 words to your friend each day, I feel heartened in my work. Thank you!
Thank you, Jami (and your friend) for this piece. It is a pep talk but also an affirmation that all writers can benefit from. My writing sold a lot of clothing, housewares, and other products for many years, but I have a whole different writing life now, and it is so satisfying that it is for me, and anyone who chooses to read what I write, rather than the business world I worked in for so long.
“The perfect table and the perfect view and no money and just words.“ ❤️
Love this Jami, thank you (and your friend) for sharing it with us... felt like you wrote this email pep talk just for me. We writers always need that soft, friendly encouragement.
I can only imagine what it's like to write, and have that writing pay for your food, and rent, and electricity bill.
I think it's a romantic dream for almost all writers, to become a professional, but intertwining health care and creative writing output would be a challenge for me to prevent each of these from affecting the other.
I write because I love it, and the pressure that I feel knowing only a few dozen people will read my work is empowering in its own way.
Best of luck to all the striking writers and actors!
Thank you! I went to an open mic to support a friend and was so inspired as i remember that open mics were a place to find and share my ideas.. just for me. And to see all these artists sharing works in progress! , it was impressive.
This is so good. Even though I've been writing all of these years, my love of writing had gotten lost for a while to the money-making nature of the content writing machine and I didn't love my writing anymore. In fact I was embarrassed of my writing. And then I paused that and came back to this love for words and this community of writers and this feeling that hopefully it will pay financially but if not at least I'll enjoy writing again. And I do <3
Big hugs for writing this and big support to all of the striking writers and actors.
I’m in the midst of writing my first novel so I love this, but also can’t get that view from your loft out of my mind. What a dream.
It's OK I have a nice view now too!!
Loved this. I'm not one of the strikers (though they have my support completely) but have had a fairly significant writing setback and this was exactly what I needed to read. Thank you, and thank you to your friend, for sharing this. <3
I love how you love and appreciate your friends, that you spend time, brain time and writing time, giving them what you think that might need in any given moment.
This is a wonderful letter. it won't put food on the table but it may move him forward to who knows what happens next.
It is soulfood though 🙏
Well said!!!!
Exactly what I needed to hear this morning. Thanks.
Jami, this piece made me cry, in the best possible way--for the injustice all those artists on strike are going through, but also for the feeling you describe: "Just wrote to save my life." The writing is for the writer, first. Reconnecting with that IS life-saving.
As I read this, it resonated to me as a teacher displaced from teaching by covid, then as a writer who has only recently come back to writing to write. Each day I ask my Facebook friends for a topic and put words on a page then post them. As you describe sending your 1,000 words to your friend each day, I feel heartened in my work. Thank you!
LOVE IT!! ✊✌️❤️✨⚔️☄️
Thank you, Jami (and your friend) for this piece. It is a pep talk but also an affirmation that all writers can benefit from. My writing sold a lot of clothing, housewares, and other products for many years, but I have a whole different writing life now, and it is so satisfying that it is for me, and anyone who chooses to read what I write, rather than the business world I worked in for so long.
Such beautiful and fundamental advice!
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you from this WGA family. ❤️👊