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I spent this past weekend noodling around with words and a great time. So I thought I’d wax rhapsodic about five things that I love being a writer.

Living the dream I’ve wanted to be a writer since I knew what one was. After taking a sidetracked into higher education and a “real” day job (and following that, a long period of unemployment), my big flare smacked me upside the head and I came to my senses. And now, I get to do and be something I’ve dreamt of doing since I was a small child. I’m finally living the dream. And it’s every bit as wonderful as I’d imagined when I was four years old. I am a lucky, lucky woman.

The creativity Every day, I get to play with words and make up stories. It means spending a lot of time in your head, playing with ideas and invisible friends. Essentially, you get to be a kid all day (the grown-up part is writing it all down with correct grammar). Spending my life creating is pure joy. It also keeps very weird dreams at bay. It isn’t always easy, especially when brain fog and chronic pain gets in the way, but I have never once thought of doing something else.

The flexibility Being a writer is the ideal job when you have a chronic illness. You can make your own schedule, which is wonderful for those of us whose days may be unpredictably hijacked by the disease, medical appointments, and all the other flotsam and jetsam that is involved in a chronic life. Having a bad day? Stay in bed and write in the evening or the next day. The flexibility also works in other ways. For instance, when a friend you haven’t seen in forever is having a meeting near you, and you can cut out for a long lunch.

The dress code Just as you can work when you want, you can also wear what you want. No one is going to care — or even know — if you write that best-selling novel we all dream about in your PJs. The only time you have to look relatively professional is during Skype calls with clients, and (blessedly) few insist on those. The only drawback to being able to wear whatever you want is that you usually do. After looking like a flop entirely too long, I instituted the role that I have to wear proper clothes during the day. Jeans and a sweater are still relaxed, but it’s more dressed in a pair of yoga pants with holes in them.

The people This is a bit of an oddity, given that I work from home and share my workspace with Lucy the Doofus Cat. Let me explain. Once I’ve written something, it gets published somewhere. Well, most of it. I have a lot of files that won’t see the light of day, possibly ever. The pieces that are worth being out in public get read, and if I’m lucky, they tell me what they think about the topic, about the piece I wrote. That’s the real buzz. Connecting with the people who read what you write. It’s like having a never-ending discussion with friends. And that’s one of my favourite things to do.

What do you love about what you do?