During a discussion with my business writing class the other day, I mentioned that I work seven days a week. Holidays for most people are simply workdays for me. They groaned at the prospect of working at a job to such an extent. “But,” I said, “My work is my play. And I am having a blast.” Oh, were they relieved. Playing is fine; in fact, it’s something to strive for.

My father always said to make your hobby into your profession.

In my case, I love to teach and write. And I’m doing both now. I’ve achieved one of his life directions.

So why is writing like play for me?
For the most part, writing is fun for me. Play is fun (usually). So writing is play.

I thoroughly enjoy the process of describing and explaining ideas that can help my readers or audiences. I love creating nonfiction books, and I love creating screenplays. Each genre offers a different type of play activity for me, both of which are wonderfully fun and exciting.

Nonfiction books allow me to explain processes and activities I completely enjoy writing about. In my case, most of my writing is about writing. But I also write about cryptograms, travel, metaphysics, and other topics. I’m a generalist, so I enjoy a wide variety of topics. I get to create exercises for my classes and books, figure out the best way to organize and present materials. I get to do research on topics of personal interest, and then write about what I’ve learned. I get to write about my personal experiences, both the highs and lows, the successes and failures, the achievements and the disasters.

Screenplays allow me to play God, to create worlds and characters, to put those characters through Hell and out the other side. Screenplays allow me to explore myself because each character is a little (or a lot) of myself in a different situation. Screenplays allow me to justify fantasizing, running variations of the story through my head to find the best way to write the scene, so that the audience can experience the situation.

Play is fun. Of course, there are times during play when the fun lags. For example, I remember playing hide and seek, and waiting through tedious moments, wondering if I would be found. Writing is the same way. Some activities of writing are tedious and boring; others are down right frustrating. But those moments pass, usually quickly, and then we’re on to the fun stuff again.

So writing is play (at least for me).

How is writing like play for you? Leave your comment; share your experiences with others.
Do you want to use this blog in your ezine or on your blog? You have permission, as long as you send notice of publication with a link, to katie@ploegersservices.com,

and include the following paragraph with links intact in your post:
Katherine Ploeger, MA, MFA, is a writer/editor/publisher, teacher/trainer, writing coach/script consultant. She publishes practical, process-oriented information for nonfiction writers and screenwriters on her blog, Katie’s Writing Notes.  Also check out her information at ploegersservices.com.