{"id":15128,"date":"2021-04-20T02:43:34","date_gmt":"2021-04-20T02:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/?p=15128"},"modified":"2022-12-18T21:38:58","modified_gmt":"2022-12-18T21:38:58","slug":"the-great-escape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/the-great-escape\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great Escape"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\r\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><strong><em>In this series apprentice Imari Berry selects essays from Jessica Conoley\u2019s archives.\u00a0 Imari shares why the essay resonates with her as a newer creative, &amp; Jessica\u2019s original essay follows.<\/em><\/strong><\/figure>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong><em>Imari chose this essay because: &#8220;It&#8217;s so authentic and inspirational. It shows step by step how one&#8217;s dream can become reality.&#8221;<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>4\/20\/15-email from agent after reading my whole <em>The Color Eater<\/em> manuscript.\u00a0 I\u2019m super excited because I know an\u00a0email like this means I\u2019m getting close. There\u2019s merit in my writing. Includes the phrase \u201cI really liked a lot about it; the writing was excellent, the action was well-executed, and the different powers people had were super cool.\u201d Followed by lengthy suggestions where the story could be fleshed out in addition to an invitation to resubmit once re-writes are done.\u00a0<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>4\/22\/15-Panic attack at the idea I am getting into serious rewrites again.\u00a0 Overwhelming terror at the thought of trying to go to my evil day job <em>and<\/em> intellectually find the headspace to world build the entire bad guy domain, infrastructure, and back story for a half a dozen secondary characters.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>4\/27\/15-I call in sick because the thought of going in to evil day job makes me want to die.\u00a0 I hide in movie theaters all day.\u00a0 First I see <em>The Age of Adeline<\/em> and then Adeline\u2019s husband in <em>The Woman in Gold<\/em>.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>4\/28\/15-I sit down at my desk, check my voicemail, and burst into tears.\u00a0 I am not a crier.\u00a0 <em>This<\/em> is a bad sign.\u00a0 Work brother convinces me not to walk out; I make it to five o\u2019clock.\u00a0 I call my dad on the drive home. Even he agrees a comfortable salary is not worth this misery.\u00a0 Opening the door to my condo, my roommate looks at my tear-stained face. I declare, \u201cIt\u2019s time to quit.\u201d<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>4\/30\/15-1 p.m.- I meet with my money guys.\u00a0 They tell me I don\u2019t have to work for nine months, and longer if I\u2019m smart.\u00a0 \u201cLike-no work.\u00a0 At all?\u201d\u00a0 I make them say it three times.\u00a0<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>4\/30\/15 \u2013 2 p.m.-I take my grandparents a tiny pie to tell them eighteen-year-old Jessica made good decisions and earned thirty-five-year-old Jessica a lengthy birthday vacation.\u00a0 I leave the pie to distract them from the fact I will not have a paying job for the first time since I was fourteen.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>4\/30\/15 \u2013 4 p.m.- email \u201cI was asked by a local librarian to identify active and aspiring writers to attend a forum with an internationally known author\/editor who specializes in science fiction and fantasy. Your friend suggested your name.\u201d\u00a0 Immediate response \u201cyes, please!\u201d Immediate research of who is in town that weekend.\u00a0 Ummmm, George RR Martin is here.\u00a0 Holy shit. What if it\u2019s George RR Martin?<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/3\/15-I walk down the hall and tell my roommate. \u201cI just had no idea I could feel this happy.\u00a0 I keep wondering when it\u2019s going to disappear.\u201d\u00a0 He replies, \u201cWhat if this is normal.\u201d\u00a0<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/6\/15-Email@company that bleeds my soul dry: \u201cDear Boss, Thank you for helping me through my ten-year career.\u00a0 I have decided it is time to pursue my birthday vacation with the attention it deserves, please accept this as my two weeks notice.\u201d<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/7\/15-I turn down a request for a job interview, because I realize I may never have another chance to write for an entire summer. I also realize I\u2019m thirty-five.\u00a0 If I spent the first third of my life doing all the things I was supposed to, maybe, just maybe, I get to spend the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> third doing what I want to.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/8\/15-I wonder if Mom will hate Obama less because the only reason I really felt I could quit is because I can afford health insurance with Obamacare.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/10\/15- I solidify my rules for my writing summer.\u00a0 1) I have to leave the house once a day. 2) Write. 3) Read anything and everything I want, but focus on Pulitzer Prize fiction winners. 4) Tell people \u201cno\u201d &amp; don\u2019t over commit.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/12\/15-A friend a few years younger than me tells me she\u2019s so proud of me for quitting.\u00a0 Says so many women would never be in a position to do this, especially not on their own.\u00a0 For the first time I realize that my quitting is affecting more people than just me.\u00a0<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/13\/15-I obsess that George RR Martin is in town the weekend of the 22<sup>nd<\/sup>.\u00a0 What if I really get to have last day at evil work on the 20<sup>th<\/sup> &amp; then go to private event with George RR Martin two days later.\u00a0 I might die.\u00a0 I literally might die.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/16\/15-Things I\u2019ve noticed since I decided to quit: I no longer want to binge watch television.\u00a0 It\u2019s easier to work out.\u00a0 All of my health problems since the beginning of the year are non-existent. Alcohol doesn\u2019t sound as tasty.\u00a0 I don\u2019t feel guilty for all of the things I <em>should<\/em> be doing.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/17\/15-I sleep fourteen hours.\u00a0 Quitting is exhausting.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/20\/15-My last day at work.\u00a0 They bring me doughnuts. That\u2019s nice.\u00a0 But really all I can think about is the event in two days.\u00a0 What if it\u2019s George RR Martin?<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/22\/15-10 a.m.\u00a0 It\u2019s super secret author day.\u00a0 What if it\u2019s him\u2026 I\u2019m getting ready for the event and think <em>When I\u2019m a writer this is what my life will be like.<\/em> I stop brushing my teeth.\u00a0 Today I am a writer, and this <em>is<\/em> my life\u2026<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/22\/15-11:55 a.m.-It\u2019s George RR Martin<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/22\/15-12:27 p.m.-I ask him a question.\u00a0 Out loud. With my words.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/22\/15-12:29 p.m.-He says, \u201cThat\u2019s actually a really interesting question.\u201d And then answers me for the next five minutes.\u00a0 He\u2019s looking at me.\u00a0 Like in the eyes.\u00a0 He\u2019s talking. To me.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>5\/22\/15-3:11 p.m.-I\u2019m still alive.\u00a0 I write this blog post.\u00a0 I\u2019m a writer.\u00a0 And this is my life.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>By Jessica Conoley<\/p>\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>4\/20\/15-email from agent after reading my whole The Color Eater manuscript.\u00a0 I\u2019m super excited because I know an\u00a0email like this means I\u2019m getting close. There\u2019s merit in my writing. Includes the phrase \u201cI really liked a lot about it; the writing was excellent, the action was well-executed, and the different powers people had were super&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,270],"tags":[4],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Great Escape - Jessica Conoley<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This essay shows how a writer escapes the dread of a miserable job and goes into a career they have been longing for.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Great Escape - Jessica Conoley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This essay shows how a writer escapes the dread of a miserable job and goes into a career they have been longing for.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/the-great-escape\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jessica Conoley\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-20T02:43:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-18T21:38:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Notebook-desk-plant-mockup.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"938\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Imari Berry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lelshllc@gmail.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Imari Berry\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/the-great-escape\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/the-great-escape\/\",\"name\":\"The Great Escape - Jessica Conoley\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-20T02:43:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-18T21:38:58+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/#\/schema\/person\/7da6f0e26e0ec1643bd18634679d72a2\"},\"description\":\"This essay shows how a writer escapes the dread of a miserable job and goes into a career they have been longing for.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/the-great-escape\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/jessicaconoley\/\",\"name\":\"Jessica Conoley\",\"description\":\"Author, Editor, Speaker, &amp; 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