Writing to reach you
I’ve been in a writing zone lately. Every day, writing. In the car, in the house, upstairs and downstairs. It doesn’t seem to matter. As I’ve mentioned over at the Aldersgate Cycle blog, I’ve been so busy that blog writing isn’t really a possibility (except um, obviously right now).
I realized I’ve clocked about 70K in the last month and three days. Which is impressive.
But what really got me is that I’ve written 35K in the last ten days.
Though I’m typically very, um, unpredictable when it comes to writing, I have little in the way of explanation for this one. To my knowledge no one has spiked my drinks, and I’ve taken no performance enhancing drugs (unless you count red wine, coffee, and ibuprofen). Usually I’ll write for about a week, and stop, then not write for a month. Unless I have NaNoWriMo or something. But in the space of a month I doubled my WriMo work, and not even really that consciously.
And honestly, I’ve felt kind of crappy lately. My sister is fighting Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, our finances are shaky at best, we’re moving again, and I’ve got the third cold this year. It’s also February, which is, contrary to popular belief and T.S. Eliot, the cruelest month. Dar Williams had it right. Maybe this is escape. Maybe it’s determination. Maybe it’s me trying to make real to a promise I made myself, that I wouldn’t just be a writer in theory, but a writer in practice–that writing would become more than my hobby, it would become my vocation. My calling.
Anyway, this is not a gloating post; I am the first to admit that quantity does not equal quality. There’s much work to be done, but at the moment I’m feeling a little bit accomplished. And hell, I could really use that right about now.
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terrillbodner
I’m impressed! That’s a lot of words written and it sounds like you’re on a roll. Keep writing everyday. I know it can be hard sometimes, because there are many days when I don’t produce much myself. Have you ever tried the 3-Day Novel Contest? Google it if you haven’t. I like any 3-day weekend to devote to my writing. I don’t have to enter the contest to get my writing done, but the idea of the contest is a good one.
Jenn
Wow!
I came to the realization the other night that writing is a process as well as a practice. It’s about discipline and coming to the page prepared to work. I’ve spent the last 10 years making excuses not to write, or thinking that I need a deadline. Now, I’m making my excuses to those things that keep me from writing.
If you are writing to escape, at least you are finding a constructive and creative way to do so. And you’re right, February is the cruelest month!
qorvus
That is some serious writing being done there – by my count I haven’t hit 35K in five weeks of writing, much to my chagrin.
I’d love to be able to put out that kind of output, but everything seems to conspire against it.
Natania
@qorvus Wish I knew what kicked it on for me, but two things helped I know for sure. 1 – getting to know other writers, and getting involved in their processes. Whether it’s on Twitter, on a blog, whatever, getting to know writers and examine how they do it. (They don’t have to be published but that can help). 2 – try to eliminate the worst distractions. Video games, appointments, commitments, beer. It’s different for everyone. I had some pretty big roadblocks, mentally and personally, and I was able to gain a bit of insight into myself by eliminating them. The truth is, I was often my biggest roadblock.
qorvus
That is the trick I’m still trying to beat – eliminating the distractions and getting past the self-made roadblocks.