Jan 07 2009
Writing Through It
I love writing. Unlike most of the students in my writing classes, I truly enjoy developing paragraphs, writing dialogue, planning action, outlining–even revising.
But I don’t always like it. Sometimes, like today, it’s just another task, another “have-to” among my long list of “have-tos.” I’d love to lie about this, love to tell you that writing will always come easily, that it will always be a joy, that it will inspire the rest of your life every day. But that simply isn’t true. Some days I would rather take a nap than write, or vacuum, or do dishes, or sort dirty underwear. Sometimes I dread the computer, or get a page typed out and then just want to dig in the freezer for some ice cream, so that my hands aren’t free to type anymore.
“How could this be possible?” you might ask. You might also wonder, “Does this mean you aren’t a real writer?” (though I doubt that you’d ask me that). This dread isn’t only possible, though–it’s common, and if you keep writing, day after day, month after month, it will happen to you. Sure, you might not feel this way with a blog (I haven’t yet, for blog writing still feels like such a treat, and I get a great deal of happiness from it every day I write or get a comment on one of my blogs–especially when readers give me awards), but you WILL, DEFINITELY run into it as you take your writing more seriously.
The question is not whether it will happen or not, but what you will do when it does happen. Will you go get that ice cream, or sort your underwear? Will you take off for a walk, resolving to come right back to your novel once you’ve gotten your blood pumping? As you take writing more seriously, you will learn to work through these moments, finding your stride as you make yourself keep going.
Disagree with me if you wish. Tell me that writing which comes out during times like these is just crap. And I’ll say that two pages of crap that lead to thirty pages of great work are far better than a month spent not writing because you don’t feel like it.
Tell me that you never write unless you feel inspired to write. And I’ll tell you that you’ve already missed out on a ton of chances to write more, to improve, and to get closer to where you want to be as a writer. Writing is like marriage–it isn’t always happy, and it isn’t always easy. It’s work, but the rewards of a good marriage–of a steady, productive pursuit as a writer–are immeasurable.
So next time the feeling hits you, don’t give in to it. Leave the underwear in the laundry basket where they belong. Write anyway. Work through it, and see how far you can go. You might surprise yourself.
I knew you would disagree… but I stand by my suggestion. Obviously, if you try to write despite your desire to sort panties, you may very well find your results are so debilitatingly pathetic that you don’t write for a year.
On the other hand, most people simply don’t try. The feeling isn’t there, so they don’t even bring up the document at all. And thus they never know what might happen when they actually do push through the feeling. Yes, they might find the same results you have found, but they risk not realizing what they MIGHT do if they try a bit harder.
You know your results because you’ve tried them. Other writers may not yet know.
And we are different with the various projects as well. Yes, I have several projects to work on, but I have tremendous difficulty working on more than one in a given time period. I have to finish a project–at least a full rough draft–before I start something else.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being different, and I completely agree about trying it yourself, challenging yourself to find out what does and doesn’t work for you.
Wouldn’t the world be a boring place if we were all the same and the same stuff, the same processes, the same methods, the same foods, etc.etc.etc all worked the same for everyone?
No thanks! I LOVE diversity. It’s what makes you you, me me, and everyone else everyone else, individually speaking.
By the way, you should probably have been warned that I used this blog and my reponse to it to write my blog. Like a bonus Thursday thievery only on Wednesday.
I agree with you both, since I’ve exerienced it from both sides. However, I’m just now getting to the point of seriously considering professional writing instead of just toying with the idea. Everything up till now has been for my own pleasure. A proper portfolio is in the works.
Like Shakespeare, I tend to try to work through that feeling of burnout when it hits. It works better for me to also make a note of where I was at and go ahead with a short break, after which I make myself go back in fresh. It’s hard to take something you love and make a task of it; that’s gotten me on a couple of occasions.
However, like Stephanie, if I can’t make myself do it and know my work will suffer badly if I try, I just leave it alone for a while. Even in the writer’s block I was in, I managed a few poems and bits on the in-between times, with those times being months or even years apart.
Sometimes Inspiration only visits occasionally and you have to wrestle her when she shows up to get anything from her, while other times she comes bearing gifts and shows up often. You just go with her whims to some extent and go where she takes you. Once, when I was 14, I tranced out after an intense couple of hours and just wrote. When I came back into focus, feeling much calmer, I realized I’d just written about 6 poems that, to this day, are some of my most profound, if somewhat dark, work.
my problem is usually not not wanting to write - but not wanting to write what I need to write when it needs to be written …I would almost always prefer to be writing something else, right now…
one of the drawbacks of school …writing has, somehow, become all work and no fun any more…except, occasionally, for my blogs.
I need to make time for MY writing.
I so sympathize with you, flit. I spent all day carting kids around, cleaning bathrooms (why, oh, why, does every single house in WA have THREE bathrooms?), and doing laundry.
At least I wasn’t writing stuff I hated writing. I’m all through with that, at least for now. That’s one reason I don’t want to go into technical writing.
I admit, sometimes forcing through a block doesn’t work too well. Then again, I am BRILLIANT at revising. Even if the final draft you read of mine isn’t great, you should imagine how horrid it was the first time around, for I have undoubtedly done a great deal of work on it since the first time it came out. Maybe that’s why it’s important for me to write on, even if what comes out isn’t fantastic.
The truth is that if you want to write as a career, then you’re going to have no choice but to push through the feelings.
Unless you’re extremely successful, the hourly rate for freelance writing is worse than almost any other work you care to do (I’m assuming that, as a writer, you’re bound to be articulate and have good intelligence). I know a few people who write for a living and they put in 50- or 60- hour weeks.
That’s why I’ve gone back to the day job and keep my writing as a hobby these days!
I could not agree more. I don’t believe if it’s just a pastime or a hobby that one has to keep writing…but I am taking this more and more seriously, and that means making myself write no matter what. If writing is always at the bottom of my to-do list, I’ll never get it done.
Thanks for your comment! I’ll be sure to check out your blog!