2 - Writing Fiction as a 'Pursuit'

What I mean by writing fiction as a 'pursuit' is this: writing fiction with some sort of thought-out, consistent plan for when and how to write, and for some purpose in addition to enjoyment. By this definition, the opposite of writing as a 'pursuit' might be writing as a 'hobby' or 'dabbling' in writing. 

To counter any understandable impressions that this is an elitist distinction, let me state my position that writing as a pursuit is not better than writing as a hobby; they just serve different purposes. Let me also state my position that doing things only for enjoyment—including making art—is worthy and important! Long live the hobbyists and the dabblers of writing and all other fields! For my own part, I make a point of doing things only for enjoyment frequently. I often think I ought to do it more frequently. 

Also, I do enjoy writing fiction, and wouldn't have turned my writing into a pursuit if I didn't enjoy it. However, there are several other things that animate my desire to write, and in pursuit of those things, I've constructed a plan for my writing. For me, that plan takes the form of a strict daily routine, but a plan can take many other forms as well. 

The truest evidence that my writing is a 'pursuit' is when, on a particular day, I'm not enjoying the process of writing, but my other motivations and the plan I've constructed take precedence over enjoyment and I continue writing anyway. The author Brandon Sanderson once compared these moments or days of unenjoyable writing to chopping wood, which is a pretty good analogy for drudgery unless you enjoy chopping wood for its own sake. I don't, and sometimes writing does remind me of chopping wood, but that's okay, because I'm not doing it just to chop. I'm trying to get a fire going. 

This definition of writing as a pursuit is very broad: there are uncountable different non-enjoyment reasons that might animate someone to write and many different plans they might adopt. Expounding on the reasons that animate me, and the plan that I've adopted, and how both are evolving, is the purpose of the rest of this blog.