I recently heard an interview with the exceptional writer and teacher Charles Johnson, who made a comment which made such sense to me. He said (slightly paraphrased from memory): “I am not really comfortable calling writing a career or a job; rather, it’s a way of life, a way of seeing the world.”
As a physician for over a quarter of a century, I understand this. For example, even now, when I go into an event, I’m looking around, seeing if there is an AED on the wall. When I see a baby, I don’t see a child, I see a possible ariway obstruction. And when I see an older couple at a restaurant, I don’t see a romantic dinner, I am seeing cracked ribs after performing a life-saving Heimlich. I am always on.
Now, as a writer, I am not quite where I need to be yet, but it is coming—and it’s coming because I have blogged every single day for the past one and a half years. Because of this blogging habit, I am seeking content to write every day. I’m constantly listening for an neat turn of a phrase while standing in line at the grocery store, or I’m looking for interesting scenes as I drive. Even, more sadly, when I see a homeless person sleeping on the street, I am beginning to see future characters arcs. And it’s this habit which is feeding my larger writing projects.
Am I as “24/7 turned on” as a writer as I am as a physician? No. After all, 25 years and 120,000 patients makes for very deep groves in one’s neural pathways! But the shift has happened, and I am looking forward to what my next 20 years—as a writer seeing the world—will bring.