How do you combine the day job, which for most of us is
necessary, with writing, then perfecting, then reading and lastly rewriting and
rewriting again that first novel? According to Brenda Ueland author of If
you Want to Write, writers are out of all the artsy types the
laziest. Ueland doesn’t state this in order to denigrate the efforts of the
would be writer but simply points out that often writers, prior to publication,
do not always dedicate themselves to the countless hours of honing their craft
that others do to realising their dream.
“Of course, in fairness, I must remind you of this: we writers are the most lily-livered of all craftsmen. We expect more, for the most peewee efforts, than any other people. A gifted young woman writes a poem. It is rejected. She does not write another perhaps for two years, perhaps all her life. Think of the patience and love that a tap-dancer or vaudeville acrobat puts into his work. Think of how many times Kreisler has practiced trills." -Ueland, If You Want to Write.
And surely it is true. Most would
be writers, myself definitely included, do not commit fully to
the gruelling, sometimes downright boring, routine of putting pen to
paper. Professional singers, actors and other professionals such as tennis
players, gymnasts etc, fit their life around their passion. What they are
determined to achieve often comes first, despite any personal ramifications.
Meanwhile us writers often go to work, raise kids, spend time with family,
contemplate our futures, dine out, meet with friends and at some point perhaps
fit a bit of writing in at the beginning or end of the day.
Shamefully, head
bowed and eyes to the ground I must admit that I have in the past gone weeks
without writing a single word; after which I was plagued with guilt and sense
of having failed myself. In saying this I must offer a defence, no matter how
paltry. Truth be told the writer is a lonely, neglected soul, who unlike the
singer, actor, tennis player or gymnast often cannot afford to pay coaches to
help provide daily motivation and practical advice. The writer must delve into
the deepest reassess of their consciousness in order to access that internal
magic and bring it to the page. We have little opportunity to feed of the
natural adrenaline that results from participating in competitive sports or the
satisfaction to be derived from listening to the applause of an appreciative
audience. The writer must plough ahead and rely almost solely on
self-motivation and self-discipline. Nevertheless, no one said that working
towards publication was easy and thus the daily slog that is writing is a
necessity and the alternative of not committing to a routine will almost always
result in a dream unrealised.
So perhaps the answer is to acknowledge that whilst making time
to write is difficult, the act of doing so should not be viewed as a burden.
Despite the advice of many creative writing tutors I cannot write first thing
in the morning but find that I am exceedingly productive during the day.
Therefore I have found that by setting myself a realistic daily writing quota
and sticking to it, I can choose when I write. I may write some of that quota
during my lunch break and the rest after I’ve put my son to bed and as such
exactly when I write has become secondary and how much I write has become the
priority. Since I am currently rewriting my novel this translates to a reading
quota, in that I must read a certain amount of pages a day and again this can
be achieved by reading a page or two throughout the day. This approach would
not suit everyone but I do firmly believe that a routine, even if it is one
that is flexible in terms of times of day, must be committed to.
So writers, what works for you? How do you go about ensuring
that you write and thereby elude the writer’s most omniscient nemesis, the
dreaded Procrastinator.
Or are you one who is yet to discover a way to commit to writing? Feel free to
discuss, all comments are welcome.
“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long
bout with some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one
were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”
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