Sorry for missing the last two weeks of these features. As you may have read, approximately two weeks ago I was diagnosed with cancer. They seem to have caught it early and the doctors are using the word “cure” a lot. However, there are a lot of tests and appointments that come with a cancer diagnosis, so my writing has been a bit curtailed, at least on the fiction side. And that is fine, even if I didn’t have cancer.
One of the most consistent pieces of writing advice is that you must write every day, without fail. Inspiration only comes from perspiration, no one ever not wrote their way to a bestseller, insert your favorite cliche here. Except I am not convinced that is true. I have always found that when I am doing something creative, whether it is work or writing, breaks are important. Walking away from a problem gives your brain time to process the situation, your subconscious space to do its work. Time away almost inevitably makes what I am working on better.
But even if it didn’t, forcing yourself to do something when it is not working is not, I think, conductive to creativity. Living life is better than struggling to produce words when they will not come. In the last two weeks, I went to see an excellent Broadway play, hung out with friends, spent time with my family, solved a tricky problem at work. All of that feeds my creativity, all of that makes me a happier, better person.
Now, maybe I am just explaining why I am a failed writer rather than a successful one, and if writing everyday regardless of output works for you, I am not going to try and convince you to do anything different. I just suspect, though, that the advice in question is more burden than help. The point of writing, of any creative activity, is the joy of creation. Obviously, if you want to get better, you must write (or paint or sculpt or …). But forcing yourself to endure writing time seems counterproductive. I have written four novels and a screenplay in the last three years. All of those words came not from trying to bleed onto a typewriter (like a word processor, except that’s all it does and it prints as you write!) but from living life and writing when the words flowed. It’s not that you should wait for the inspiration fairy to team up with your muse and come write for you. But there is value in experiences, and value in knowing when something is not working. And I don’t think it makes you any less serious about your craft to recognize that in yourself.
Weekly Word Count
Gonna pay the cancer card here. Been a bit busy so not much in the way of writing. Any writing time was spent plotting, though I did manage to finish the plots for two books.
Maybe you should try to pause WHILE you write. Just notice when you are getting agitated and take a pause without changing anything. Take a breath before the next sentence. You might find a better way to write it. Hope you get better . . .