![The Writer's [Inner] Journey](/wp-content/themes/thesis_151/custom/images/header2.png "The Writer's [Inner] Journey")
by Kim Hooper
Here’s a prediction: The human race will evolve so that our chins become attached to our chests, for better viewing of our iPhones. We are a society increasingly obsessed with technology. We browse blogs while waiting for water to boil. We tweet from the toilet. We have no patience because we don’t have to; everything is available to us right when we want it. Being idle and still is no longer a sought-after state; instead, it means you don’t have the right gadgets. Many people are excited by this, but I am not one of them. I tell my husband, “I’m going to develop ADD” and he says, “That’s okay, we have drugs for that now.” I don’t think he gets it though. For a writer, all this buzz is a constant threat. Every time I get into a story, I have to wage war against a number of potential distractions.
To be clear, I’m not like my grandmother, who refuses to own a computer and thinks that e-mail means there is a mail box attached to a machine and pieces of paper arrive in it, magically, in a very Jetsons-like manner. I have a computer. I have e-mail. Actually, I have two e-mail accounts. And a blog. And a Facebook account. I maintain that I’ll never engage in Twitter, as I think it sounds like something kids did at raves in the nineties. I made the switch, begrudgingly, from cassette tapes to CDs, then accepted that my music would exist only on my computer. Our car has GPS. I have a very meaningful relationship with the DVR. I have a cell phone, and I even send text messages. I’m not anti-technology; I’m just anti-sadness, and seeing what technology has done to my fiction writing makes me sad.
My writing mentors used to call me prolific. I could whip up a short story in a day’s time. I could have forty pages done in a couple days, a book done in a month. I entered a zone when it was just me and the story. I was with the characters, wondering along with them what would happen next. I could not be interrupted.
Until I could.
Here’s how it goes when I sit to write now: I open the laptop and bring up my latest work. I start writing. Within about ten minutes, I encounter some minor writer’s block. It’s not really a block as much as it is a pause, my brain’s way to consider the story and think about where I want to take it. In this silent space, previously used for contemplation and meditation, I think, “Hm, maybe I’ll pop on over to weather.com and see what the forecast is.” Before I know it, I’m reading e-mails, and responding right away because I don’t like a full inbox. Then I spend the next hour pondering a witty Facebook status update. By the time I return to my manuscript, all my creative energy is gone.
And there we have it: The death of the book writer.
In some ways, it’s great that we have all this access. I don’t have to go to the library anymore to research; I can Google. However, too much access is just as detrimental to the creative process. There is this pressure to stay up to date with everything. After all, people give status updates while in labor on Facebook. I don’t want to miss this. I’ve adapted my writing style to fit this fast-paced madness. I type up blog posts or quick online essays (like this one). But what about long-form pieces? Modern reality is not really kind to long-form – reading or writing. The issue becomes not only whether or not people will be reading books, but whether or not people will be writing them.
Writing a novel takes consistent dedication. It demands unplugging from the world, quite literally, in a way that is becoming harder and harder to do. After all, to market ourselves as writers, to promote our careers, we have to answer e-mails, tweet, maintain Facebook pages and blogs, keep up-to-date on the latest industry happenings, browse the news sites for ideas. Is it truly necessary to unplug to be a successful novelist? Maybe the more important question is if it’s even possible. Or, furthermore, is it possible to stay plugged in and be a successful novelist?
Writing books has always required discipline, but in a world when free time is at a minimum and small chunks of time are the only chunks of time, writing books requires not only discipline, but giving the finger to the way society is evolving. The alternative would be not sleeping. I suggested this to my husband, but then reminded him that I have a hard time staying alert with less than eight hours of sleep. He said, “We have drugs for that now.”
Photo credit: Kim Hooper
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Thanks, Meredith!
Maybe part of the problem is not only technology, but the ever-growing, oppressive influence of marketing in a consumer society that makes us look at everything first and foremost from the point of view of how to “sell” it and promote it. The emphasis now is on writing as a “consumable” item rather than on the introspective, creative process of writing as an expression of the writer’s imagination and experience of the world.
When the most important thing about writing becomes the question of how to sell it, how to package it, how to promote it, there is necessarily less time available for simply reflecting, day dreaming, pondering, wondering “what if”—all crucial elements of the writing process. I can’t decide whether I’m amused or dismayed now when I hear writers talk about “establishing a platform” and “networking” and all those other “in” terms writers now throw around at each other and the public.
One writer I know told me she spends two to three hours a day just commenting on other writers’ blogs (the blog being an absolutely necessity, it would seem, for any writer who wants a “platform”), so that those writers will, in turn, comment on her blog. I gave up trying to consistently and faithfully “comment” on the blogs of all my friends and fellow writers because I found it so time-consuming, even though I might have enjoyed the piece of writing. It was time-consuming for me because I wanted to make a worthwhile comment, not just a offer a brush-off “Hey, good job,” then move on to the next blog with another “Great work” or “Wonderful effort.” Sometimes, I just don’t have anything to say in response, even though I may have enjoyed reading the piece. Other times, I just don’t have time to write a comment that I hope is thoughtful and helpful. Another writer friend of mine, in referring to this need for a “platform” and the constant “marketing” of the writer, refers to the blog circuit as a writers’ circle jerk—everyone scratching everyone else’s back and hoping they’ll get their back scratched in return. Is that what it’s all about now? When the marketing and promoting become the focus, the reflection, the imagination, and the writer’s attempt to express experience in a unique voice all become less important and the writing process necessarily suffers.
Anyway, “good job,” Kim (and I mean that sincerely), and I do empathize with and understand your frustration.
All I can say is that writers like us are of a genius nature, as I have “given the finger to the way society is evolving” more often than I care to admit…OK. Maybe I brag about it a little, but still. I think we’re the only ones who get it.
I’m with you all the way down to the damn weather.com and would like to give an award to Susan above (you called her Meredith, I believe?) for best. comment. ever. Most blogs are actually little cult-like cliques that require more effort to amass pointless comments of “Ha ha. Good one,” and “I agree!” than some nuclear power plants evacuation plans.
As long as what you (we) write what matters to us–provided we can pull ourselves away from Facebook and the Serious Eats Web sites long enough to actually write–is all that matters. Well, that and what the weather will be 15 minutes from now…
Great article Kim!
I think it is possible to be a successful novelist and remain “unplugged” but for that to happen one would probably have to already be established, i.e. Stephen King or Jodi Picoult. These days, if you don’t Twitter and Facebook nobody gives you the time of day.
Susan makes great points in her comment. It is difficult to compete with these cult-like blogs. Reading what Susan wrote reminds me that I need to refocus on the purpose of my blog instead of commenting on dozens of others.
I’ve often thought that I should unplug from the Internet while I’m supposed to be writing. That is, just have a computer in my studio with no outside connection as I get too distracted too easily by not only blogs and news sites, but interesting Facebook threads, etc. I think about disconnecting my computer while surfing some more.
I have a 2nd separate, oldie laptop, that can’t handle much else on it but my word application. I use that to work on. There’s no temptation to check email because there’s no email application, no internet access, and no wi-fi. It’s a laptop so I can take it with me to the coffee shops. And if I don’t want to lug it around, I go that old fashion route: pen and paper.
Now, if I could just find a coffee shop where everyone isn’t talking on their phones. Maybe they have meds for that.
Thanks Kim. Very true piece. I was hoping that the evolution of the chin to the chest was going to be because everyone was reading books so much. Maybe it will be from reading their iPads eBookstore downloads.
This is a brilliant post. Should I tweet it to my fellow writers? If I do, I risk interrupting their work flow. If I don’t, they’ll miss out on your words of wisdom…. Must share….
I completely agree with you. I sit at this darn computer all day yet sometimes don’t get much writing done. So where does the time go? Email, reading blogs, answering comments on my blog, facebooking, tweeting, using Amazon to look up books I want to read, requesting books from the library, planning vacation, etc etc. And I absolutely agree with the first commenter – there is so much time spent marketing that it leaves little time for actual writing.
Merideth,
Such an insightful and time-appropriate topic. I’m struggling with the exact same thing. Thanks for sharing your view and your angst — nice to know I’m not out here struggling with it alone.
Joan
I can second (or maybe it’s third) the comments on needing to write, but then often letting my email/FB/bank account distract me. When I really need to write I plug myself into Pandora and listen to my piano concerto channel.
Blogging is also a deterrent to writing novels. I like to think of blogging as practice, but actually the writer does get sucked down other avenues, once seated at the computer. You post a blog, read someone else’s post, check the news, etc. How easy it is to put off writing that next chapter!
I was also struck by your husband’s line, “We have drugs for that.” How successful the drug industry has been at convincing us that whatever ails us can be solved with a pill! What about the side effects? They often get ignored. Drugs are chemicals, not magic potions.
Last night I was talking about the solitary process of writing, and someone asked if I was going to write my next book differently. I can’t. The process can be lonely and I think that’s why the Internet is so fun…but you do have to unplug it and zone in on your work to get it done. I take my laptop to the local library; no Internet access available, so I have no excuses.