For ages I wanted to be a writer. I wrote in a notebook daily on my lunch break for years. They weren't traditional journal entries though. I'd write essays, short stories and bits and pieces of novels I wanted to complete. I even sent a few things out to get published with no luck.
One day I decided to get serious about it. I joined a writer's workshop. I wrote a novella to completion. During this time, I took a job as a web developer. I had no real experience, a friend just thought I would be able to do it. But I always considered it a means to an end. I was just programming because it's what people paid me for, and I had bills to pay.
The more serious I took writing, the more I started procrastinating. I was at the stage where to be a professional, I couldn't just keep scribbling out rough drafts in a notepad. I had to edit, get feedback, and refine my work. I started to resent it but would never admit it. It's writers block, I would tell myself. So instead, I would take on more software work. More websites led to more applications led to more programming languages. I'd lose hours and hours that felt like minutes punching code into the machine. But this is just temporary, it's what people pay me for. I don't love this, I still want to be a writer, don't I?
The way a protagonist in a romantic comedy realizes they love their best friend more than their insane partner-- I fell in love with programming. I didn't want to write because I wanted to keep working on software. Writing for me was fun but writing to get published just sucked. That's what you get when you follow your opportunity instead of your dreams, a career becomes a passion.
One day I decided to get serious about it. I joined a writer's workshop. I wrote a novella to completion. During this time, I took a job as a web developer. I had no real experience, a friend just thought I would be able to do it. But I always considered it a means to an end. I was just programming because it's what people paid me for, and I had bills to pay.
The more serious I took writing, the more I started procrastinating. I was at the stage where to be a professional, I couldn't just keep scribbling out rough drafts in a notepad. I had to edit, get feedback, and refine my work. I started to resent it but would never admit it. It's writers block, I would tell myself. So instead, I would take on more software work. More websites led to more applications led to more programming languages. I'd lose hours and hours that felt like minutes punching code into the machine. But this is just temporary, it's what people pay me for. I don't love this, I still want to be a writer, don't I?
The way a protagonist in a romantic comedy realizes they love their best friend more than their insane partner-- I fell in love with programming. I didn't want to write because I wanted to keep working on software. Writing for me was fun but writing to get published just sucked. That's what you get when you follow your opportunity instead of your dreams, a career becomes a passion.
Michael Rispoli
Software Engineer & Creative Technologist
Software Engineer & Creative Technologist