We were lucky to catch up with Jenny Block recently and have shared our conversation below.
Jenny, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
I love being a creative. I love the freedom it affords me. I love to be able to work anywhere. I love that there’s no uniform required. I love that it allows me to express myself and to use my imagination. Of course, this is all true some times more than others. But, for the most part, my life as a writer allows me to be who I am.
I tried working in corporate America. I barely lasted a year. I hated the enforcement of “business casual.” They hated that I was always kicking off my shoes. I hated the cubicle. They hated that roaming the halls and stairwells was the only way I could combat writer’s block. They wanted me to be creative but they didn’t want to treat me as a creative.
I love creating my own path. Being a writer has meant and led to so many different things for me. I have four books out. I do speaking engagements. I cover weddings and wedding adjacent stories for the New York Times, almost weekly. I write about my LGBTQ community. I push myself to try new things and discover new tastes and sounds and adventures and surroundings to keep myself inspired. And I get to talk to the most incredible people doing the most incredible things.
Sometimes I do wonder what it might be like to have a “regular” job – to not have to come up with the next great story idea; to not have to “be in the zone” in order to get work done; to not have to be constantly saying, “Pick me! Pick me!” to publishers, editors, agents, and the like; to not wondering where the next gig might come from; to not worrying that the muse might never return. I wonder what it would be like to start the task, do the task until the task is done, and then begin the next task. But I know I would go mad because I have tried it before. For me, the burdens of a “regular” job far outweigh the benefits.
So, I imagine I will keep working on my sofa in my art filled study with my dogs beside me snuggled beneath our favorite blanket, wearing bike shorts and a slouchy, oversized sweatshirt, creating new worlds, sharing old ones, and doing my best to make meaning of this often incomprehensible world in which we live.
Jenny, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I was a college writing professor for more than 10 years. Then I started writing – anything and everything. Now I am the author of four books and the writer of a zillion articles about everything from sex and love to food and travel to lifestyle and art.
I parlayed each story I wrote into another story for better and bigger publications as I went along. I am proud of every story I have written and honored to have experienced those wonders and learned from those people.
I look forward to doing more speaking at destinations and events as I have done on cruise ships and at resorts, conferences, bookshops, festivals, and the like.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Pay them. All too often we are asked to do things for free or for “exposure.” The mortgage company does not accept “exposure” as payment, I assure you. If you wouldn’t ask your doctor or dentist to do their work for free, why would you ask a creative? I know what we do can seem easy or like a hobby. But it is neither. If you need creative work done, hire a creative. It’s unfair to even ask for it to be done for free as it puts the artist in an awkward and uncomfortable position.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My fourth book came out right when the pandemic began. My tour, the parties, my readings, everything was cancelled. I wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. All that work and my book was being put in the corner.
Instead I did what so many creatives – and others – did during that incredibly trying time. I pivoted. I heard of a really interesting wedding that was happening. I found a contact for the New York Times. I pitched the editor. And I have been writing for the paper ever since.
Being a creative will test your resilience. A lot. It’s all a part of the job. You get very thick skin doing this gig. But, for me, it’s always been worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bethatunicorn.com
- Instagram: @thejennyblock
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheJennyBlock
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyblock/
- Twitter: @Jenny_Block
- Other: Link to my latest book- Be That Unicorn: Find your magic. Live your truth. Share your shine. https://amzn.to/3OpalTl
Image Credits
Terri Glanger – Photo of me in white gown and pink fluffy jacket and on the unicorn Aryka Randall – Photo of me sitting in purple circle Emy Rodriguez Flores – Photo in Blue Gown in “outer space”