![The Writer's [Inner] Journey](/wp-content/themes/thesis_151/custom/images/header2.png "The Writer's [Inner] Journey")
There’s a thought-provoking article by Susanna Daniel in Slate titled: “What Took You So Long Way? The quiet hell of 10 years of novel writing.” In it she writes:
“Writing is hard—writers say this all the time, and I think probably only other writers believe it. But it’s not nearly as hard, in my experience, as not writing.”
I get that. In fact, it reminded me of a short essay author Amy Wallen wrote about the exruciating-ness of being asked: “So, how’s your writing/how’s your book selling/when’s the movie coming out/when will you be finished?”
In it she wrote:
If a woman is trying to get pregnant, maybe taking fertility drugs, checking her ovulation cycle and temperature at regular intervals, or even getting the painful injections of fertility drugs, it would seem insensitive to ask her “So, pregnant yet?”
For Susana Daniel, the baby (using the above analogy) has arrived. Her first novel, Stiltsville, which she began writing in 2000—and sold in 2009 to HarperCollins, was published this month. (Congrats, Susana!)
Writing this post reminded me of an essay that journalist Kathy Sena wrote. In A muse will not get you published. But writing even when you don’t feel like it will she writes:
And forget even aiming for perfection. It’s not only the enemy of the good, it’s what drives us to take a short break from a perfectly serviceable writing session and then find ourselves on the couch, two hours later, full of Lay’s potato chips and wondering what Susan ever saw in George Costanza.
Indeed.
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Writing is something one has to do, otherwise one would not do it because the journey is so difficult. Getting a novel published is enormous. Finishing that novel involves such effort that anyone who has never tried totally cannot comprehend. Thanks for linking these authors and their similar thoughts.
Yeah, I need a mildly organized brain in order to write. For instance, a total hangover will mess me up, which is why i don’t drink much. But usually writing is more a routine than a muse-induced activity.
Interesting to see Alisa’s comments, I tend to need an orderly desk/office in order to write — or at least start on a new writing project. In the middle of a piece, though, there’s often paper, books, and notes strewn all over the place.
But at the beginning, I like a clean slate for a fresh start. Helps me to get my thoughts down clearly if I’m not distracted by clutter, I guess. You?
Love these comments. I can write just about anywhere but I need complete quiet to concentrate and refine – and that part of the puzzle takes a lot more time and concentration.
Exactly!
And if you think writing is hard, see how squirmy you get when someone demands that you NOT write for a while (for whatever reason).
Susan: You are so right. I couldn’t agree with you more.
I write because I have to. It may not come out coherently all the time, but with each try it usually gets closer to the truth. It’s almost like practicing the piano; in order to play that great masterpiece, you have to keep plucking away at the keys.