Labor Day and Writers

When I was a Spanish teacher many years ago, Labor Day meant my summer vacation was over and I’d be returning to work. I’d be getting up early the next day —Tuesday morning – to attend a school-wide meeting, and then I’d get my room in order. The kids would be coming in on Wednesday. New students and new classes. No matter how many years I taught, I had butterflies in my stomach that first day of school.

I’m long retired from teaching and subbing, but I’ve never retired from writing. We writers continue to write well past retirement age. When we finally stop, it’s usually for health-related reasons and not because we've hit a certain birthday.

We writers keep odd hours. Some of us write well into the night. I find I’m most productive in the late afternoon. We write on weekends when others are playing golf or tennis. We write on vacations if we have deadlines or need to get edits in to our publishers.

Do writers retire? I know someone who did but began a new book a few years later. I expect to keep on writing indefinitely, until my sentences no longer make sense.

As for Labor Day being a holiday from work, I expect I’ll be writing at least an hour or so today.

What about you?

Are you writing this Labor Day?
How many more years do you plan to write?
Would you continue to write if your last project turned into a best seller?
Leave a comment and share your thoughts.