Regardless of the length of one’s lunch break, most of us would agree that it would be nicer if it was a bit longer. Sometimes it feels like we can hardly finish our meal before it’s time to get back to work. So when a person manages to complete a huge project using just that little piece of time, it’s sure to raise some eyebrows.

A person asked for advice when they discovered that their wife had managed to not only write but also publish an entire novel while on their lunch break. Other readers set OP straight and helped them understand the error of their ways.

Working over a lunch break can be a sign of an unhealthy work-life balance

Image credits: Bonnie Kittle (not the actual photo)

But one person discovered that their wife had completed and sold a novel all over her lunch breaks and wanted advice

Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)

Most answers to OP’s question were not sympathetic

Image credits: JENÉE DESMOND-HARRIS

Some authors simply write constantly out of a love for the craft

As much as OP protests, writers penning great works in the downtime of other jobs is a time-honored tradition. Stephen King held a variety of odd jobs, from being a janitor, a gas station attendant, and later a teacher, all while working on some of the stories that would make him a household name today. Similar to Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, of “A Song of Ice and Fire” fame also worked as a teacher, while writing in the background.
While OP seems unhappy mostly about “breaking their agreement” it’s important to acknowledge that a person with a true passion for writing, which seems to be the case regarding their spouse, will simply write one way or another. The fact that OP’s wife can actually turn a “little hobby” into a solid stream of income should be seen as a blessing and not something to complain about.

For some reason, OP is under the misguided perception that their wife could have been home earlier if they had, for example, worked through lunch. This is generally not how lunch breaks work. If anything, a more coherent complaint would be that she is risking her health by not having a solid midday meal for what appears to be weeks and months. Others could argue that she is not getting sufficient rest, the main purpose of having any sort of break. However, given the wife’s interests, it’s possible that writing is her break from the monotony of a “regular” job.

The real issue is a lack of communication

Overall, while we do not know OP’s financial situation perfectly, their economic logic simply does not hold up. There are roughly 260 workdays in a year, assuming that she really did write for an entire hour every single day, that’s $100,000 for 260 hours of work. That comes out to about $384 an hour, which is a very, very good rate, no matter how one might try and spin it. While it’s possible that OP’s household is so wealthy that this money is meaningless, it seems unlikely that the wife would then be still working a “regular” job at the same time.

Indeed, one has to wonder why the wife was hiding the “secret novel” the entire time. On the one hand, many creatives prefer to keep projects close to their chest, so as to not be too influenced by others opinions. On the other hand, it’s also possible that she knew that her partner’s reaction would be negative, regardless of the piece’s success.

This might point to a deeper lack of understanding among the two. One feels hurt because of how they interpreted a broken promise, the other hides a large, year-long project for unknown reasons. OP feels like they were not supported throughout this time with a child, however, they already felt this way before they had any knowledge of the novel. It seems that they should have, instead, communicated earlier, or, like any good spouse, inquired why their partner was feeling down.

Netizens thought OP was overreacting

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