tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post4503132343666229958..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: Risks and Regrets - Elen CaldecottUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-13606633821243843642010-12-09T14:01:12.414+00:002010-12-09T14:01:12.414+00:00Oh Elen, I so absolutely empathise with this post....Oh Elen, I so absolutely empathise with this post. The thing is to do what you do whole-heartedly. If you take the risk, don't paddle in with longing glances back at the safe sunbathers on the shore. Dive right in and start making friends with the sharks!Leilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02890097085059764567noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-30559116344302137382010-12-08T21:39:52.283+00:002010-12-08T21:39:52.283+00:00Hi Linda - how exciting! I'm pleased you'r...Hi Linda - how exciting! I'm pleased you're able to make time for your writing. Good luck!Elen Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00445201005486291612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-15973015271013703962010-12-08T12:56:46.301+00:002010-12-08T12:56:46.301+00:00Well, I'm really glad you made that choice, or...Well, I'm really glad you made that choice, or we may never have had the pleasure of your books. I too have taken the plunge, and I've taken some time out from work to write, although I admit I paid off the mortgage first. It's still scary, though, and occasionally I look wistfully at my peers and family when they jet off on fabulous holidays or pay the grocery bills without shuddering. I think what finally decided me was a vision of myself at the end of my life (cheery, much?) looking back. Would I be proud of the choices I'd made, or not?Lindahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13912774665400125173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-21117596707612694512010-12-08T12:08:03.424+00:002010-12-08T12:08:03.424+00:00Life is short. There are unsafe choice is called d...Life is short. There are unsafe choice is called daring for a multi-layered reason. ;)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15459671422564355990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-51494497225423627322010-12-08T11:26:01.358+00:002010-12-08T11:26:01.358+00:00Ha! Yes, I was lucky to have a very supportive par...Ha! Yes, I was lucky to have a very supportive partner who didn't mind me chucking a career away on little more than a whim.<br />As for the hair... a cut is a good three months overdue. Bird's nest.Elen Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00445201005486291612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-11013957433751093492010-12-08T11:13:35.528+00:002010-12-08T11:13:35.528+00:00I'm glad you were able to make your choice at ...I'm glad you were able to make your choice at the right time for you - as well as being slightly envious of the M.A. (Agree with Sue re hair, by the way!)Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-35089960291067196502010-12-08T10:55:00.993+00:002010-12-08T10:55:00.993+00:00Must just say, Elen, that you still have a fashion...Must just say, Elen, that you still have a fashionable hairdo, or at least you did last ime I saw you!Sue Purkisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09084528571944803477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-41514883226514196552010-12-08T09:28:42.441+00:002010-12-08T09:28:42.441+00:00Ah, I see now. I've never had that particular ...Ah, I see now. I've never had that particular decision to make! I'm lucky that my day job is for my local Council, which has been great for combining work with parenthood and is now great for combining work with parenthood with writing.Rachel Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05715389519195155154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-14835604308066906022010-12-08T09:15:05.123+00:002010-12-08T09:15:05.123+00:00Oh Rachel, I still have the day job! I didn't ...Oh Rachel, I still have the day job! I didn't mean to imply that I was finanically skipping through daisies with my writing. No, I meant that if I was going to be a corporate high flyer then I would have needed to be totally committed to that. I would have had to be totally flexible with where and when I worked, doing whatever hours were needed. I couldn't have combined that with a fledgling career as a writer. I do admire anyone who can though!Elen Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00445201005486291612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-17327802238422327682010-12-08T08:55:36.748+00:002010-12-08T08:55:36.748+00:00I did something similar. I do not regret doing it ...I did something similar. I do not regret doing it because, in the end, it was the only decision I could live with - but that has not stopped me thinking that it would have been nice to have had a "proper job" that had some financial security! Is it possible not to regret and regret at the same time?catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-37264429478663453662010-12-08T08:55:22.607+00:002010-12-08T08:55:22.607+00:00What an interesting post, Ellen, and it sounds lik...What an interesting post, Ellen, and it sounds like you made the right decision for you, which is what matters. Although you felt that 'I couldn't do both,' for me and lots of other writers doing both is a perfectly workable option. Perhaps it depends on where you are in life and what commitments you already have. I started writing in my mid-thirties and already had the job, the mortgage, the husband and the kids, so any decision to give up the day job would have had rather drastic implications for them. I'm still doing both, fitting my writing around my day job and it's going pretty well. I don't think there's one route that's right for writers. You can do an MA, or you can go to evening classes or writing groups or you can just do your own thing in your spare time. It's a question of finding what's works for you.Rachel Wardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05715389519195155154noreply@blogger.com