"I want to be a writer... but I hate writing"

[anghara]

On the newsgroup that I call home, the usual discussions turned up some interesting statements. People who if not stated outright then certainly implied that they were writers or wished to be writers are now on record that they enjoy the planning part of the game, and the editing part of the game, but they "choke on the middle

Comments

[jade_faith]

You've given me inspiration to make an attempt at writing again. ;)

[rugor]

If you really are a writer, you write, through the good and the bad. Even the slogging feels good once you're past it.

[heleninwales]

Well, to be fair, there isn't just one activity that you can point at and call "writing". I think it's perfectly reasonable to like some aspects of a job and hate others.

If jumping out of airplanes made you feel sick to the stomach, would you keep skydiving?

Yes, a lot of people would. I've heard many actors say that they actually vomit before going on stage, yet they make a career in the theatre. People often do things that terrify them for the sake of the times when it's pure ecstacy. I was frightened a fair bit of the time I kept and rode horses, but the scary parts were necessary to get to the wonderful parts.

[anghara]

The money quote here is this:

the scary parts were necessary to get to the wonderful parts.

What got me going on the above rant was that there was a serious implication somewhere in the original exchange that the entire idea of writing was the "scary part", and that the "wonderful part" was the ability to wave a finished book under people's noses. Which ALWAYS gets me going. Growl.

But of course there's scary parts, and crazy parts, and shitty parts. The point is, I *KNOW* there are. And I still wouldn't do anything else for a living if I had any choice at all...

[eneit]

a quote from a drummer who left a reasonably succesful band after 20 years; "I love music, I loved everything about being in the band, except for recording the albums; playing gigs; and practicing."

[anghara]

Let me tell you a parable

[eneit]

yes, I thought that quote would make sense to you *g*

[dendrophilous]

Well... I'm glad you love every minute of it.

I don't think there's any profession or hobby on the planet that I would love every single bit of. Ice skating? Dislike the expense, the pain in my feet, the runny noses, the long drive to the rink. Cross stitching? Tedious: sorting the thread, setting up and taking down the frame, keeping track of where I am in the pattern. Writing? Frustrated with going over beginnings dozens of times, checking for dropped plot threads, reading the whole manuscript out loud to make sure the prose flows.

The key is, those things make me happy *on balance*. Flying across the ice, watching a picture take form in thread, seeing my story become whole and watching my characters grow. Those things make the harder parts worth it.

[anghara]

Another money quote:

Those things make the harder parts worth it.

Those things, the hard things, the thigns you accept you have to go through for the payoff - and which you may resent at the time they are happening, or which might frustrate you to no end, or any one of a dozen negative reactions - but you understand that they are part of the gestalt, part of the process, and that the bitter comes with the sweet and is part of the taste when you take a bite.

[dendrophilous]

We aren't disagreeing, though I still wouldn't say I love every minute of it. I don't have a problem with anyone saying they hate the thorns but love the bougainvlliea, either. (Or "like" and "dislike", if we're getting hung up on emotions here.)