What are you prepared to sacrifice?
Think what you you are prepared to sacrifice. Writing a novel takes many, many hours, and those are hours you could spend planting roses, raising children, earning money – or even just having a nice life. What, in your life, is going to disappear, to allow you the time to write a book?” Louise Doughty in A Novel in a Year.
Ouch.
That hurts. It is also the reality about writing a novel or a non-fiction book. It takes time – lots of time. Some books can take hundreds – even thousands – of hours of research before even a single word is written. Do you have what it takes – the discipline to see it through day after day, month after month? Do you have the time away from all the other demands on your life?
Sacrifice
For most people attempting to write a novel, something has to give. Will it be your social life? Perhaps you need to give up television, or going to parties or going to see a film. Is it the garden you will totally neglect – or the cleaning, ironing, washing and dishes? Something will need to be sacrificed.
Alternative method:
Of course, you may not be prepared to make any sacrifices at all. You may take the easy road and only write when you have a spare hour here and another there – perhaps an hour or two a week. In that way you should be finished your masterpiece in ten or fifteen or even twenty years. The choice is yours.
Good writing.
Why do you want to be a writer?
No Comments »26th February, 2008; Category: The Writer's Life
I was reading a book about writing a novel* a few minutes ago. The author challenged her readers to write a simple one sentence statement: “Why do you want to write a novel?” This started a train of thoughts in my mind about the whole concept of why I am a writer – a much broader theme than that proposed by the author of that book.
Why do you want to be a writer?
I assume you are reading this blog and this post specifically because you are interested in writing. Perhaps you are looking for hints and ideas for writing – I’ve written plenty of those over the years – just go to the contents section in the sidebar. Whatever your motivation for wanting to be a writer, there are some common themes amongst would-be writers. These could include:
- Enjoyment: many people write purely because they enjoy the process of writing.
- Creativity: most writers love the creative aspects of writing, carving out poems or stories or ideas through their writing.
- Communication: there are many writers who have strong or burning opinions that they want to share with others. Communicating these ideas through their writing is very important to them.
- Money: Money? What money? Seriously though, professional writers are those who depend on getting paid for their words. Putting food on the table is a serious motivator for them.
- Fame: This is a slippery one. I do not think this is a serious reason for most people, though some might be motivated by it.
Most of the above reasons are quite valid. For me, however, there is yet another burning reason.
Because I have to write
I have to write. This is who I am. This is the way I have been created. From a very early age I have been a writer. I am a storyteller. The urge, the passion, the vision, the desire – call it what you will, but I must write. Without writing I am less of the person I am meant to be.
I must write.
*”A Novel in a Year” by Louise Doughty
Further reading:
- Why do I write? Another article I wrote some time ago on this theme.
Good writing.
Are you a student of writing?
Many people get the idea that they are going to have a go at being a writer. They get out some pens and paper, or fire up the computer and set to work. The vast majority do not get much further than that. Most people do not take the time to become a student of the craft of writing, they do not make the effort to learn how to do it.
Are you an aspiring writer? If so, you need to do your apprenticeship, learning as you go. There is no short cut method. It takes effort and time. I will ignore the Chosen Few who are so gifted and are naturals; they do not need help in developing their skills. Most of us do. If I want to play a classical piece of music on a pianoI just cannot sit down at the key board and play; I must spend many hours, days and even years learning and practising before I will be half-way good at it. So it is with writing.
Here are some ways you can learn about the craft of writing:
- Read books about writing.
- Subscribe to magazines about writing.
- Join a writers’ group.
- Join a writers’ Centre.
- Attend conventions and conferences.
- Attend seminars and workshops for writers.
- Search for suitable article on the internet.
This list is just a start. Your learning process should be a life-long.
Over the years I have read many magazines and books about writing. This morning I added two more to my library. I am looking forward to reading them. I’ll share snippets from them on this blog as I read them. The books I bought are:
- “Eats, shoots and leaves” by Lynne Truss. This has quickly become a classic in helping people grapple with punctuation.
- “A novel in a year” by Louise Doughty. I read a great review of this book on the weekend just gone and was delighted to find it in my local bookshop. (The curse of a malady called “impulse buying.”) It could also be very useful in helping me write a novel as a part of my Masters of Arts course which I start this week.
Good writing – and studying.
Less blogging and more writing
A few days ago I wrote about the studies I am doing over the next two years while I complete my Master of Arts in Creative Writing. Yesterday my wife (who is also studying) and I went to the college for Orientation Day. We had our mug shots taken for the student ID card and then had a whirlwind guided tour of the library and resource centre facilities. After that we were invited to afternoon tea into the section called “The Loft” where all the Humanities lecturers have their offices. This is a section right up high in the building just under the roof, hence its name. It’s a cosy, intimate and friendly part of the college and somewhere we can hang out if we need to talk to the lecturers.
During the afternoon tea we were given some extra information about each of the courses. We also received our reading lists and assignment topics. On reflecting upon the lecture topics and reading through the assignments I was rather relieved at the level of expectations. I can do this was my immediate thought, something that ran quite contrary to other thoughts or terror and panic racing around my mind at 5:30am earlier in the day! The writing assignments include the usual essay type activities, but the emphasis is going to be on the creative writing process and actually creating new works. That is exactly what I wanted out of this course. It will keep me focussed.
One of the three units I am doing will be less writing but more reading. It is called “Literature and the Christian Faith.” I’ve been saying for some time that I need to be doing far more reading. Now I have to make good on that resolution. It will be the most demanding of the units I am doing as it does involve that extra reading.
As a result of my year of study I will have to cut back on my blogging and do more writing and reading. One thing I will do, however, is to use this blog to reflect on my reading and studies. So don’t go away – I’ll still be around. It’s just that the frequency of posts will become a little erratic at times.
Meanwhile – good writing.
Absolutely Scrabulous
No Comments »11th February, 2008; Category: The Writer's Life
Over the weekend my daughter introduced me to the wonderful game of Scrabulous. This is the old board game Scrabble modernised so that it is playable over the internet.
You can play with someone else, solitaire or against the computer. What a wonderful waste of time. My daughter was beating me soundly until the last few moves. Several high scoring moves right at the end won the day for me – much to her chagrin.
While this game could be addictive, and it could lead to a great deal of time wasting, there is a serious side of it for the writer. It is an excellent game for sharpening the thinking skills. It could possibly be used effectively as a daily warm up activity before beginning the writing for the day, providing one doesn’t get hooked and play multiple games. In the same way I currently use the daily cryptic crossword in the newspaper as a warm up writing related activity.
Good writing.