My passion may be to write fiction, but sadly that hasn't begun to pay the bills quite yet. In the Days may have sold a few copies, but nowhere near enough for me to retire to my private island and spend the rest of my life doing the kind of writing I love. Every writer/artist no doubt wants to spend time doing the work that they feel passionate about, but only a very small number of fortunate souls can actually make money on that kind of work. To the masters like Brandon Sanderon, George R. R. Martin, and all of the comic book writers who work for companies like Zenescope, Marvel, DC, etc., I have one thing to say, "You gods be damned lucky bastards." They can spend their days doing what they love, but for the rest of us, it's another day of placing our fiction-loving noses to the grindstone. Being an artist or writer is all about passion and creativity. Doing a day job is probably the least passion, creative thing in the world. When I think about all the poor writers who have a regular job as an accountant or a lawyer, I find myself getting claustrophobic. Those kind of jobs would probably stifle my creativity far more than my current job does. Thankfully, the job I have now is as a writer. Sure, I may write the kind of informational content you find on sites like FitDay, HealthAmbition, CareerAddict, and Red Scooter, but at least it's writing. I get to sit at my computer and do what I love, even if it's not as much fun as writing a story. But it gets tough to sit and write blog posts on fitness or party planning when all I want to do is sit at the beach and write my novel. I have a story bursting out of me, but for 6 to 8 hours a day, I have to keep that story locked away. As a creative person, it's tough to put up with the daily grind. Sometimes I just want to scream, and it's hard to apply myself to my content writing. The fact that my day job is so close to my passion almost makes it harder for me to sit down and write for fun. It feels a lot like the work I'm getting tired of. But, that's the price we pay for enjoying our lives. I can't quit my day job just to write fiction, because I have a family to feed and bills to pay. I have to content myself with fitting in my novel writing however I can, the way most of the other great writers have done it. At least I have the time to sit and write, while others struggle just to make ends meet. I have a wonderful job, even though it feels a bit like a grind. If I can keep that in mind, it's much easier to keep working when all I want to do is kick back and relax.