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comment by DanQ
DanQ  ·  4074 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: There is Nothing to Writing

Sometimes I describe myself as a professional comedian.

Many years ago, I did a bit of open mic. I was pretty good at it, and got given a paid gig as a warm-up to a "real" comedian. That was the only time I've ever been employed as a comedian. The one time I ever got paid for it.

It's not that I didn't like it - it was fun. And I'm sure I could have done more. But my interests are diverse and my life is busy, so I moved on. A little while later, a friend of mine had her first novel published, and started describing herself as a professional author. I joked that I must then be a professional comedian.

Maybe I'll do it again, one of these years. I enjoyed doing it, and I'd enjoy it again. But right now I'm busy with other things: my "day job", running a non-profit, volunteer work, a couple of courses, and - when I find the time - a spot of paramotoring. But everything changes, and perhaps someday I'll find myself on stage again ("the one guy in the room that's not laughing", as I've described it before).

Was I a successful comedian? No. If I'd have been doing that paid gig over and over, 36 hours a week, I still wouldn't earn as much money as I do now (and when would I find time to write new material). But success is what you make it. For me, all I needed was to once be a "professional comedian", and to know that I could go down that road again.

Everybody at that gig thought that I was there for them. But I wasn't. I was there for me.