This has been my experience; I’ve been a writer since I could. After college I didn’t know what to do to support myself. All I wanted to do was write, but I couldn’t make a living doing that, not until I finished something and made it good, which takes time. I moved in with my parents to help. By chance I got a lot of babysitting jobs (sits), a few hours here and there. It’s a rewarding experience in and of itself and it’s also made me a more efficient and better writer. Now onto the seven reasons I’ve found babysitting to be a good paying job for a writer (in no particular order);
1.Babysitting teaches patients; Since writing takes time, one of the things I knew I needed to learn was patience. Looking after children, trying to get them to eat, go to bed, forces one to be patient. And I’ve found myself more patient with myself when I write.
2.Exercise the Body ; Writing requires a lot of sitting time, looking at a monitor. Legs get antsy. The eyes get tired. Running after children, hustling to fix lunch, lifting babies is a good way for me to stay active during my “day job”. Then when I get home I’m not restless, I can sit in a chair for hours. I’m physically exhausted but mentally I want to jump the walls.
3.Getting Focused; During some of my sits, night sits, the kids are asleep a lot of the time. After the dishes are taken care of, I open my laptop and write. Sometimes a baby will wake up, I quickly push save and get him or her back to sleep, patiently. But without the toys at my house, my DVDs, VHS tapes, and my bed (sleeping is fun), it’s easier to focus on my writing.
4.Toughens the skin; Children can be sweet, as long as you’re not forcing them to do anything they don’t want to. As a good babysitter I’ve found structure to be important, maintaining the same structure the parents impose. Sometimes a child will say “You’re not my friend anymore.” Or “I don’t like you”. That’s part of the job, just like getting criticism and rejection is for writing. As a babysitter I’ve learned not to take the “rejection” personally, which was hard at first but it’s helped me grow a thick skin.
5.Get over yourself; Forging professional yet friendly relationships is important for a writing career. Editors, agents, they’ll all have an opinion in what you should do. The same goes with parents in babysitting and with parents you have to listen to them. It’s their kid, so babysitting is good practice in doing what you’re told and a good antidote for the “I know better” mentality.
6.Be Silly; One can be silly at a sit, releasing the tension of being serious in front of a computer all day.
7. Write what you know; They say write what you know. Learning about people through every stage of development has helped me create deeper and more interesting characters. Do you know how having a sibling affects a person as an adult? What does a parent’s occupation have to do with how a child develops? I’ve seen people at their most mundane, but I’ve seen there’s a purpose in the mundane. It affects how people deal with things during tense and dramatic moments. The range of character possibilities increases exponentially the more people I meet. Some habits and personality traits that I never thought of have come to my attention and I put them together to create unique characters (not at all like the people I meet).
Now babysitting doesn’t afford me much. I could probably live with a roommate on noodles (to afford writing books, movies, novels) if I had to but I like living with my folks. One more thought; babysitting is hard work and takes a lot of compassion and sacrifice, but it’s worth it in the end. The children are loving and the parents grateful.
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