What Happens When You Depend on Writing or Other Art to Survive

Writing and other creative arts are supposed to provide expressive outlets and support mental health. But when you have to depend on writing to survive, life gets a little dicey. These are my tips to survive it.

You might have heard people say that you shouldn’t make your hobby your work because then the hobby will lose its luster and appeal — you won’t enjoy it much anymore. But for so many creatives, their art isn’t just a “hobby.” It’s a part of them. They can’t imagine doing anything else and feel obligated to the craft.

So, when you depend on writing to pay bills and things get financially hard, it’s incredibly painful. It feels like we have to choose between life and death sometimes, because to take different work would be to deny everything we are — what would be the point of living that way? Where would the joy be?

If you’re not going to quit writing, then, you have to find a way to manage the stress of it so that it can continue to be a natural part of the way you cope with life. It’s a delicate game, because we can’t always count on how others around us will be or what resources we’ll have tomorrow. But with this video, I offer what’s been helpful to me.

Let me know in the comments on Instagram if you use any of the tips and which ones appeal the most to you!