Writer's Block

I have a tradition. My school newspaper, The Sojourn, comes out every Thursday. Ever since first semester, I've brought a copy to a friend of mine here on campus. Last semester, it just worked out well because I had a class with my friend. So as soon as I would sit down next to her, I plopped a Sojourn down on her seat.

It was fun, I liked doing it. But when this semester came, things changed a little bit. First of all, my friend now works for The Sojourn with me. And second, we no longer have class together on Thursdays. But I'm a very sentimental, tradition-loving kinda guy. So I kept it going. Even though she now works across campus during the time I normally give her the paper, I make the trek out and walk up to her desk with a paper in my hand, and a smile on my face.

This Thursday, there was no paper. But out of the blue, I felt the need to go over and bring a paper anyway. So I went and brought a copy of the issue that came out with my friend's first article in it... my friend's front page article... the headline story.

I handed her the paper.

"Remember your first story?" I asked her. "Remember how amazing that felt to see it on the front page? Remember how fun it was? This business has a nasty little habit of dragging people down; making them cynical. Things are gonna get tough; things are gonna be stressful. But you can't let it get you. Whenever you start feeling like that, just look at that paper and remember how great it was that first time."

I told her this because she's a gifted writer, probably better than I'll ever be. But I've had more experience working at a newspaper than her, so I felt able to give this advice. Because I wish somebody would have warned me. I still love writing, it's my passion. But it's not as fun as it used to be. It's just work. I don't want this to happen to my friend.

Maybe this talk wont be something my friend remembers. But I think it's a lesson that all journalists need to remember: Writing is fun. It's what we love to do. But when we let it consume us with the work aspect of it, that's when we get cynical, that's when it becomes a job, that's when we start to lose that passion. That's when we forget why we're journalists.

And when that happens, you can close your legal pad, turn off your recorder, shut down your computer, and burn your AP Style book.

Because then it's all over.