Saturday, September 16, 2017

Writing Time Conundrum

It's past 11 p.m., not a good sign for a writer who goes to bed semi-early. I'm tired, but this blog has been calling me to give it a good helping of something for a while. Hello, blog, here's a spoonful.

My toes are cold because I'm outside shoeless on my screened-in porch, a new addition to my life. I wish to report that my writing is flowing freely these days on the porch and that the next novel is just moments away from being for sale. No. Not the case. My life has become far too busy. And here is where I stumble: What do I give up to take back the writing time?

Random cute puppy photo from my sis-in-law.
My cousin asked me a few months ago if I made any money at it. You mean, writing books, I asked. He nodded. No, I admitted. Not the fake stuff. Not the stories from my imagination. Nor the poems. Those don't turn the lights on or put gravy on my potatoes, and that's why it's hard to justify the necessary concentration/time it takes to put out something good. My "product," if you will, has a process, as does every writer's. Mine comes out about the same way I read, quite slowly. I was never a quick reader. It takes me weeks, often, to finish a good book, even if it's a page-turner. I don't rush through reading, and this also makes me a slow writer.

Although these blogposts take me about 20 mins to draft. Why is that? I just basically spit them out at you. Sorry about that. Here's a tissue.

There's a chicken/egg catch, too. If I wrote more, I might get faster, and I might make more money, and then I could write more. You see where this is going. So, here I am writing. Is it working yet?

2 comments:

  1. Jen, I hear you. How do we justify the time and energy it takes to write a good book? I'm a slow reader/writer, too. Often, I am reminded how much the house needs cleaning and my family needs to hear from me, etc. In fact, I get overwhelmed by what I "need" to do that I just sit in front of the computer and play majong or solitaire. But I have a strategy now. At least once a day, I leave the house, drive down to the river's edge and write in my notebook. Also, hanging around with other writers helps. Hearing their struggles--like yours--lets me know I'm okay. And I tend to write more after such encounters.

    Good luck, Jen. I love your writing. Never rush it--except when the writing rushes you.

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  2. God, that's great to know you've found a work-around. I really hate the feeling that it's a waste of time, and I also get overwhelmed. I tend to need to do the dishes and the laundry and the vacuuming before I feel settled enough to write anything of substance. Egad, I've turned into my mother, who never left the house disheveled.

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