Passion Projectwhat I most yearn to write
Contracted Projectwhat I get paid to write
Convolutionstoo much of one and not enough of the other – from either direction!
Pleasant Surpriseswhen contract writing transforms from assignment into passionate project or conviction writing leads to a contract

I’ve experienced all of the above and will continue experiencing them, no doubt.
However, it is the last one that trumps everything for me.
Over the years, the more I’ve pressed into my art and craft, the more satisfying it has become, regardless of how a project originated.
Whether it be a personal project born of conviction, or work resulting from a contractual assignment, I nearly always become intensely engaged by it – and immensely fulfilled.
It doesn’t necessarily occur prior to starting a project, but often afterwards – once I’m ‘in the tunnel.’
This is one of the most curious discoveries I’ve experienced along my personal journey into the creative process.
Words come as I write. Ideas flow after I’ve begun. Passion rises in the wake of discipline.
There are exceptions, of course, and I welcome the diversity.
But I know where hard work takes me, and I am grateful for the surprises.