For Writers

I think I’m finally clear on “no promotions” at my job.  For years I’ve been pushed about by the impetus to succeed in my profession, and there has lately been some spillover in my writing.  It’s what Joseph Campbell calls a “concretized symbol” that will “push you around.” 

But this morning I had a lovely synchronicity in that I read my journal entry for February 14, 1992, and found total agreement with a passage from Campbell that I read last night.  Campbell warns the artist (and specifically a writer) not to let his work (the art) get contaminated by his job (his employment). 

For people with such impetus, he affirms, “. . .to keep up with your responsibilities and your fitness and still nurture your creative aspect, you must put a hermetically sealed retort, so that there is no intrusion, around a certain number of hours each day—however many you can honestly afford—and that time must be inviolate.”