Yep--1000 words a day is a reasonable sustainable goal. (I don't know if you know this, but I've been a working writer making my living largely from that for ten years.) I will try for 2000 sometimes, but that's a very heavy daily load.
OTOH, if you're a writer, then I'm not sure that you make the decision that writing takes too long. It takes as long as it takes. Sometimes it goes really quickly (I've written a 1500-word column from scratch in 4 hours) and sometimes more slowly, but I'm going to do it regardless. Can you worry less about having the time to devote to creating output and just focus on what you want to make?
Thank you for taking an interest.moderately_madJune 24 2005, 21:34:29 UTC
My daughter is recovering and the money, as always, will get taken care of. I did curl up with the television last night, then promptly fell asleep again. Today is a much better day for it.
I can't recall but I may have added you to my list based on your profession. [...checking...] Yep. I did a search on 'magical realism' and you popped up.
You are right of course. I can whine about it all I like, but the writing will happen even if I "know" I don't "have time". This lj thing is helping me by making me more aware of my worst habits: going for days w/o writing anything writing in circles writing exclusively about emotions instead of thoughts
Dealing with those tendencies will go a long way toward making me more happily productive.
I'm more concerned about making space for the process, (a mental room of my own,) than I am about either raw output or any particular creative project. I know this balance issue is tied up with my feelings about housewifery and motherhood. And I really am lousy with time perception. ----------So.
( ... )
Re: Thank you for taking an interest.red_frogJune 25 2005, 01:49:42 UTC
What's your first love: fiction or non? Do you have a section of journal that deals with your own process? Do you usually meet the 1000 word goal? How old were you when you published for real? Do you have any links to your work that you like to share?In something resembling order
( ... )
Stop it. Right now.wynndowJune 20 2005, 14:55:13 UTC
I will only say this to you because I know you so very, very well. You need to let that whole thought pattern go. Right now. I've been through a lifetime with you, and you know that you are infinitely better, in every sense of the word, when you are writing. Anything, it doesn't matter what. You are a writer. So write. And stop beating yourself up about it. It's not selfish, it's not indulgent, and it's not a stick to beat yourself with. You are your very best self when you write. There are no rules for you about this. You don't depend on your writing to survive, or pay the bills, or anything remotely like that. You depend on it for your well-being, and to an extent, for your sanity. THAT is what writing is for you at this time in your life. If it becomes more someday, then deal with it then. For now, everyone around you benefits when you allow yourself to write and not punish yourself for it. And I will not sit by and watch you do that to yourself
( ... )
Oops. I forgot you would probably read this... no really. You are, of course, right. And yes, we've had this conversation before--just before I settled in and wrote 100 decent pages of the Lizzy novel, for example. (Though that's not the only time you've held my hand through this weirdness and I haven't always come out the other side productive.)
One reason I wanted to start lj was to spare my Beloveds some of the repetitive angst. I do this. And then I do this again. And my poor friends are just plain sick of it. (Understandably so--its not so different than ... oooh. Just had a thought that I'd rather share privately. I will get to that later. )
If its any consolation, I have absorbed that I yam what I yam. I'm not nearly so hung up on the form the writing takes as I used to be. Last night's post was more about time than about writing. Maybe it was just about me gearing up. I'm readying myself to jump into the deep end
( ... )
This is the one topic you are forever allow to bitch about! I just won't sit back and let you feel guilty for writing. You often put far too much pressure on yourself to meet certain standards that aren't nearly so relevant in your life today - and I'm WELL aware of the hypocrisy of that remark from me. But this isn't about me. Let go of standards that no one else will even notice - good enough is good enough! You know I'm always on your side about this, but I also don't care if you NEVER finish telling Lizzy's story. She's pretty damn cool, and I'm curious about what's going to happen to the poor dear, but it's just one of many projects in your life. And it's only one of the stories you have inside you. You may not understand how good lj really is for you - it puts you in contact with lots of writers who struggle with some of the same constraints, provides you with a place to ramble about whatever (always my favorite stuff of yours to read BTW), and gives you a vital outlet for everything. Very little in your life is real to
( ... )
Writing isn't like just going to the office and mindlessly aiding and abetting the destruction of the planet. Like you said, it's 'stream of consciousness' stuff. Very difficult work.
I like what Derrick Jensen said, that re-writing -is- writing; so is editing, so is transcribing, so is ... all of it! Most of my time is spent on the latter two, in fact. I used to feel guilty for now producing anything 'original': now I feel like this is how I'm -supposed- to approach my art. With that in mind, a thousand words a day is a snap, because I include that count in my editing, transcribing, etc. In fact, a thousand words seems foolishly trite. And when the original stuff comes (which it always does in its own time anyway, whether or not I want it to) I'm more than likely ready for it.
I don't know if any of that made sense. Just another perpective from another writer ...
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OTOH, if you're a writer, then I'm not sure that you make the decision that writing takes too long. It takes as long as it takes. Sometimes it goes really quickly (I've written a 1500-word column from scratch in 4 hours) and sometimes more slowly, but I'm going to do it regardless. Can you worry less about having the time to devote to creating output and just focus on what you want to make?
Reply
I can't recall but I may have added you to my list based on your profession. [...checking...] Yep. I did a search on 'magical realism' and you popped up.
You are right of course. I can whine about it all I like, but the writing will happen even if I "know" I don't "have time". This lj thing is helping me by making me more aware of my worst habits:
going for days w/o writing anything
writing in circles
writing exclusively about emotions instead of thoughts
Dealing with those tendencies will go a long way toward making me more happily productive.
I'm more concerned about making space for the process, (a mental room of my own,) than I am about either raw output or any particular creative project. I know this balance issue is tied up with my feelings about housewifery and motherhood. And I really am lousy with time perception.
----------So. ( ... )
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One reason I wanted to start lj was to spare my Beloveds some of the repetitive angst. I do this. And then I do this again. And my poor friends are just plain sick of it. (Understandably so--its not so different than ... oooh. Just had a thought that I'd rather share privately. I will get to that later. )
If its any consolation, I have absorbed that I yam what I yam. I'm not nearly so hung up on the form the writing takes as I used to be. Last night's post was more about time than about writing. Maybe it was just about me gearing up. I'm readying myself to jump into the deep end ( ... )
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I like what Derrick Jensen said, that re-writing -is- writing; so is editing, so is transcribing, so is ... all of it! Most of my time is spent on the latter two, in fact. I used to feel guilty for now producing anything 'original': now I feel like this is how I'm -supposed- to approach my art. With that in mind, a thousand words a day is a snap, because I include that count in my editing, transcribing, etc. In fact, a thousand words seems foolishly trite. And when the original stuff comes (which it always does in its own time anyway, whether or not I want it to) I'm more than likely ready for it.
I don't know if any of that made sense. Just another perpective from another writer ...
Shawn
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Oh, and where do those Functionality ratings come from? I must have some of those for my very own... :)
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