A lot of the discourse about writing is driven by professional writers. Perfectly natural: pros have to think deeply about writing every day.

But I keep thinking that a writer like me (emphatically not a pro) is not always well served by applying that discourse to myself.

For example: The phenomenon known as "writer's block" is a problem for pros because no writing = no money.

But for me... I don't actually have to think of it as a problem to solve. I can think of it as a "recharging period".

I can even think of it as a circuit breaker against sinking more of my precious effort and rare writing time into a story that I don't really feel that strongly about. Because, unlike for a pro, my problem is how to fit writing into a life not built around it.

As a non-pro, I also don't have the same urgent needs to cultivate money, readership, or professional recognition. I *can* cultivate those things. But I don't have to. I can *choose* what is important to me when it comes to writing and publishing.

As I've gotten older, writing has remained very important to me... but other things have become more important compared to twenty years ago. My work takes more of my time. I'm married now. I have a house. I volunteer. I have to spend a lot more energy on my health.

So the problem for me these days is not "how can I be more productive?" or "how can I make more money?" The problem is "how do I make sure I keep writing, when it is only my sixth or seventh or eighth priority?"

Because it is important to me. It's an important way that I express my humanity. It gives me pleasure. I get a very affirming sense of community from submitting short stories to zines. I want to keep doing it for another thirty or forty years, even though it is not my career.

Anyway, that's how I have been thinking about writing lately! And part of that has been identifying which of the many many MANY challenges writers face are actually problems for me... and which are not! :)