Ooh! Piece of Candy!

There is terrifying freedom that comes with writing articles for my site. When any and every topic is fair game, choosing an exciting story idea feels a bit like I'm playing that arcade game with the claw.

Instead of candy or plush toys, however, my machine is filled with potential story ideas, and the claw works as a middle man between inspiration and the physical work of getting the story written. The trouble with the claw is that it often either grabs a claw full of inspiration or comes up empty. There is very rarely one storyline getting pulled up at a time. This is the claw game, not fishing.

The difference here is that with fishing, although I find it to be a ridiculous waste of time, you know what you're getting into. You sit and wait for that one fish to come along and take the bait. Similarly, with the claw game, there's little to no mystery. You know you'll get candy, you're just not sure how much. But either way, a claw full of candy is exhilarating!

A claw full of potential ideas, however, can get overwhelming, messy, and quickly become tangled around each other or interwoven.

Imagine if, instead of grabbing individually wrapped sweets, somebody unwrapped everything and dumped it into a giant bowl. Imagine the potential chaos of popping what you think is a cherry-flavored Mike 'n Ike in your mouth only to find out it's a cinnamon-flavored Hot Tamale! This is a bit what untangling the inspiration is like, and often the easiest way to figure out if one idea fits with another is to taste it - experience it.

A few weeks ago, a small start-up hired me to be a copywriter. My first professional writing gig! Writing for this publication isn't like fishing or playing the claw game. It's more like knowing you have a quarter in your pocket and seeing a set of candy vending machines in front of you. You know you will invest the quarter in a decision that will disappoint your dentist. You can see your candy options displayed before you. All you have to do is choose the option that feels best.

The guidelines and parameters simplify things. I'm given topics my articles should be focused on, an expected number of articles to write per week, and when to have drafts submitted to the editor by.

Take a quarter, pick a candy, turn the knob, enjoy!

If you want a specific variety of candy, the vending machine option might be best for you. If you have a desire for sweets and you're up for a challenge, maybe the claw is best for you. I'm not sure how making a simple trip to the corner store to get your preferred candy bar factors in here, because surely that would be the most comfortable option. Maybe that end of things is like reading an article? The easiest way to experience the sweetness?

However, what if what you genuinely like isn't the candy reward, but the process of playing the game and turning the knob. Funny thing is, I wouldn't say I like candy. I feel pretty confident saying I do not have a sweet tooth. I do, however, have a strong desire and determination to do the work. When presented with a challenge, I rarely shy away. If given the task of trying to figure out the best way to manoeuvre a mechanical claw to get the most candy, I'm sure I could figure it out.

What I have been experiencing recently, though, is a complication when I try to access the work. Because one form of work comes with parameters and deadlines, I know the schedule I have to stick to to get the job done. It's like knowing you have to make your vending machine choice before your parent is done with the grocery shopping, cause once they're finished, we're leaving, whether or not you have candy.

The realizations I'm coming to with the claw game is that I also do well with a little bit of pressure. Someone is standing in line behind me, eagerly waiting for their turn? No worries, I'll finish my turn, collect my winnings, and clear out. This is why lines and arcade tokens exist. To incentivise pressure.

Without that pressure, I spend too much time considering my options. Where is the exact piece of candy that I want to try to get? How should I move the claw so that I have the best possible chance of attaining that piece of candy? Rather than playing the game, I get lost in my head, considering strategy and how to execute the play.

Consideration is not work. It is adjacent to the work. You can spend all day planning out the perfect route to get to the optimal candy for you, but until you move the levers and do the work, there will be a barrier between you and your goal.

The point is to find the joy in either the vending machine or the claw game. Whether you are merely turning a knob or calculating the optimal route to direct the claw in, the work is necessary.

It doesn't really matter how long the process takes. Either way, you get a sweet reward!