Taking a Break from Writing about Jewelry

The other day I did something really strange for me: I wrote about something that was not related to jewelry making. Heck, it wasn’t even for school. It felt so weird, like I was being totally wasteful of my time.
The day started out like any other. It was a Saturday, so I went to Michael’s to pick up some supplies for a jewelry book proposal I’m working on, then I stopped by Barnes & Noble to see if they had my new book (they did), and as I was checking out the bead and jewelry magazine section and contemplating a purchase, an idea for a writing piece I’ve been working off and on (mostly off lately) came to me. It’s a creative writing piece. I’m not sure what to call it at this point, a story, maybe. Initially, that’s what I’ve tried to concentrate on – getting the story out, figuring I could polish it up once I got that done.

But, of course, with school and my real writing work, the kind that actually pays, my story has languished on my hard drive in a folder I don’t click on much any more. I used to write stories all the time when I was a youngin’ in college, but since this kind of thing doesn’t create an income for me and my jewelry writing does, I find myself rarely working on it. And, when I do, like this past Saturday, I feel almost decadent, as if someone is going to walk into my office and find out I’m not being productive: “Ah ha, I caught you! Have you finished that article for Jewelry Craft yet? What about your blogs and your About.com site, Missy?”

It’s a very weird feeling.

I let myself write with abandon on Saturday after getting home from the bookstore, and now the story is continuing to form in my head, and I guess that means I need to keep writing it down, but it’s not easy when I have so many other things, practicle things, that must be written.