Writing and Sustainability

I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately to sustainability. Sustainability is most often associated with environmentalism and over consumption. Fossil fuel, for example, is a finite resource and therefore unsustainable. There is only so much oil and coal to be had. Whether there is enough to last the world twenty more years or three hundred more years, at some point the resource will run out. An energy policy based on the primary consumption of fossil fuel is unsustainable.

It isn’t just the Environment

This is not an article about environmentalism. While that is one of the most common arenas in which sustainability is discussed, sustainability can be applied to any situation in which a resource (fuel, money, time, food, etc.) must be relied upon. When you consume more than you add, you reduce the number of resources that you have. This is true for a society, a family or even an individual. If I make $70,000 a year, but I spend $75,000 a year, I am maintaining an unsustainable lifestyle. At some point, unless a change is made, I will either run out of reserves. I will spend any money I have saved and I will use up any money that people are willing to loan. If I do not change on my own, change will be forced upon me. The situation will grow worse and worse until it either fixed or disaster strikes.

Some Things Cannot Last

Life itself, at least on an individual basis, is unsustainable. Your body is a finite resource. Each day on earth, you use a little bit of it up. Even a healthy lifestyle is unsustainable. A well-cared for body still comes with an expiration date. If you’re lucky, you have a hundred years. Most of us have somewhat less. Sometimes, when we think about sustainability, we have to be realistic. Just because a resource, such as your body, is finite, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it. It just means that you have to use it wisely and well, with the knowledge that it won’t be around forever.

Writers and Resources

When you are dealing with a finite or variable resource, you need to plan for that. This is especially important for writers. A writer frequently has to deal with limited resources. Money, of course, is the ultimate limited resource. When you are out of money, it is hard to do much of anything. Time is a limited resource, especially when you have lots of work or a deadline to face. Interest and enthusiasm are variable resources. You can only do work you don’t enjoy for so long before it starts to take a toll.

Be Smart

Sustainability is all about smart planning and having the strength to limit your use of things that either need to be replenished or cannot be replenished. In the coming days I plan to discuss some of the steps writers can take to build a sustainable career. For now, think about all of the things that go into keeping your career afloat, and which of those resources are sustainable and which are not.