Is Hack Really Such A Bad Thing?

Hack is usually used as a derogatory adjective. To be a hack writer means that you grind out thousands upon thousands of words without thinking about the art of writing. You are viewed as nothing more than a word factory. Is that such a bad thing?

Think about the dime store pulp novels of the fifties. There was something for every taste including romance, mystery, and western. These novels carried a low price tag and new ones were available at least every month. They were not going to win the Pulitzer Prize for literature, but they were stories that people enjoyed reading. They entertained the hard working Americans.

Let’s look outside the realm of the written word. Almost everyone I know enjoys a hard hitting action movie. Remember the eighties when Stallone, Seagal, Schwarzenegger and Van Damme would produce movie after movie of nothing but action, cursing and killing? Those movies weren’t winning Academy Awards, but just like the pulp novels they were entertaining and people enjoyed watching them.

The same thing occurs on television. You cannot surf through a dozen channels before hitting so called “reality television.” There is hack content if I have ever seen it, but look at what it has in common with everything I just talked about. It is produced with quantity being more important than quality. It is not winning any awards. It entertains people. And it is in some sort of demand or else it wouldn’t be worth producing.

So what is wrong with being a hack, especially in this digital age when it is easier than ever to produce and distribute your work? Speaking of the digital age, the majority of the websites you see is full of hack content. No matter what subject is covered the words need to be written and site owners pay writers to produce high volumes of content to fill those pages. 

Now I would be insane or stupid or both to suggest that quality does not suffer when focusing on quantity, but to say that there is no quality at all would also be insane or stupid or both. The audience that enjoys this type of entertainment is not stupid. They like to be entertained as a form of stress relief. This is the entertainment that does it for them. 

So there is nothing wrong with being a hack. In fact, hacks get paid. If you want to make money at what you love then you need to be a hack. If you are happy at your day job, then I guess you can produce that artsy stuff.

Better yet you can do both because, as Ben Affleck said in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, “You have to do the safe picture then you can do the art picture.”

School Is Back In Session

Yesterday was my oldest son's first day of the second grade. And thank God for that!!

I have two sons, and trying to write when they are both home is a major pain in the butt. Doing art isn't as hard, because I can put them at their table and let them paint while I do my projects. They even love doing that with me. But writing requires a different form of concentration and it really isn't something that they can do with me.

Now that my oldest is back to school, it is giving me some time that allows for more writing. I still have my four year old in the house, but I can play with him for a bit after I get his brother on the bus and then pop in a movie for him. That usually gives me ninety minutes of work time. Two hours, if I am lucky.

I am really looking forward to the days when they are both in school full time. Ahhh... that is going to be nice.

Get Your Priorities Straight

When it comes to works in progress and other projects, be sure to keep your priorities in order. A lot of the things I talk about on here I do to earn a paycheck. So here is my list...

Do the projects that currently make money first.

Do the projects that will be making you money second.

Do the projects that don't make you money last.

Now I just need to apply this all the time instead of some of the time.

Damn The Man

All of our lives people are told to get an education, find a secure job, and work hard at building a successful career. But all you get from that is becoming overworked and under appreciated. Maybe if you define success as a six day work work and an expendable position in a big corporation, this way of life would be for you.

So you get paid a salary. No matter what you do or how many hours you work, your pay scale is the same. You work harder, the company makes more profit, yet you get paid the same. Maybe you get a quarterly bonus or a measly raise every year, but at least you have a job, right?

A bonus is nothing. It is like tossing a dog a bone. You do it to shut him up and make him behave.

Why is this accepted as the way life should be? Why can't we break away from these chains? What if we did not have to answer to someone that forces us to do things their way and for their gain?

I say no more. We can do things our way for our own gain. Work hard for yourself and no one else. If you want to break away from the norm, you must create streams of income that you control. The harder you work to maintain your income the more cash flow you can create for yourself, not for some company.

My time has come. I am saying "DAMN THE MAN". I am working for my gain.

The "traditional job" is fine for millions of people. But for thousands there is no need for a "traditional job" that makes you miserable every day. Work to live, don't live to work. I can now schedule my work around life instead of being forced to schedule life around work.

And thats the way it should be!