i received some feedback the other day that suggested i remove “writing for fun” from my bio/blurb thing – so, after some thought, i decided to delete the offending words – problem solved!
however, the advice did kind of bug me – and this is not a dis on the giver of the advice, as they were simply highlighting a rather common sentiment in today’s world:
that is, that tasks performed without the (immediate) prospect of financial gain are seen as being intrinsically of less importance than those tasks performed for money – and so, the “reasoning” goes, these tasks must then automatically be performed with a lower degree of care and/or focus on quality
this is of course, complete bullshit
those of us who work on our passions in our spare time – be it writing, visual arts, crafts, music or whatever – more-often-than-not bring far more energy, creativity and focus to our “hobbies” than our mere paying jobs could ever hope to see
the fact that we find performing these difficult, time-consuming tasks, fun, would, in a less insane world, be seen as cause for praise ... and not something we should be hiding
[yes, there are those who do stuff for FUN who do not give it their all – but i’d argue the percentage of people half-arseing it is no higher than among those who do stuff for CASH]