Dangerous Writing Excuses
As we’ve discussed, inertia can work for your writing or against it. If you’re on a red-hot streak, it’s easier to keep going (which is why it’s so important to write every day like clockwork). Conversely, if you stop writing, it takes ten times the effort to start again.
Usually, writers stop because of doubt, neurosis, excuses, (insert your own personal writing-related psychological issues here). Much worse than these, however, are a class of excuses that crop up when things are going great.
Lately I’ve been lured from the keyboard to do interviews and other publicity for GHOSTS, GEARS, and GALACTICA. Now that GHOSTS is out, everything is getting more or less back to normal. I’ve slowly been re-building momentum as the hype subsides.
Usually if I’m not writing, I’m eventually overwhelmed by guilt and I get back to it posthaste. But with publicity it’s easy to fool yourself into believing that you are writing. Heck! It’s probably even good for your career!
But thinking like that is dangerous.
Sure it’s necessary. Sure it feels great to soak up the limelight. And sure, it might get my work in front of new readers...
…But it’s not writing. It’s writing about writing—which may be the ultimate way writers fool themselves into not writing.
Well, enough of this. Draw your own conclusions. I have to get back to writing MORTAL COILS.
Usually, writers stop because of doubt, neurosis, excuses, (insert your own personal writing-related psychological issues here). Much worse than these, however, are a class of excuses that crop up when things are going great.
Lately I’ve been lured from the keyboard to do interviews and other publicity for GHOSTS, GEARS, and GALACTICA. Now that GHOSTS is out, everything is getting more or less back to normal. I’ve slowly been re-building momentum as the hype subsides.
Usually if I’m not writing, I’m eventually overwhelmed by guilt and I get back to it posthaste. But with publicity it’s easy to fool yourself into believing that you are writing. Heck! It’s probably even good for your career!
But thinking like that is dangerous.
Sure it’s necessary. Sure it feels great to soak up the limelight. And sure, it might get my work in front of new readers...
…But it’s not writing. It’s writing about writing—which may be the ultimate way writers fool themselves into not writing.
Well, enough of this. Draw your own conclusions. I have to get back to writing MORTAL COILS.
posted by Eric Nylund at 6:47 PM
18 Comments:
This is true with many things in life, I have to agree.
It's easy, as you said, to bask in your own glory and marvel at your own accomplishment. It may lead to further inspiration and become a temporary muse of some sort, but by the same token, you could gloat too much to yourself and sort of take it easy now that you're on "the high road". I know exactly what you mean. I feel like I've wasted a lot of time this way.
But it is true. It is simply not accomplishing anything and your skill globally atrophies. If you aren't careful, you'll kick your own self!
I'm basically repeating what you said, but I can relate...big time.
It works the same way with studies in school. Sometimes you can get so overwhelemed by the work load that you really just shut down. Other times, you're so motivated and so eager to get it done, that it just backfires right in your face...or you get sidetracked with either excuses or other projects.
And then there's this! Writing on here! I could be studying or writing on my own projects right now.
J/K. This site and this forum is actually cool. But I think the moral is: Don't get too caught up in one thing. Maintain a balance, and you won't lose sight on a particular thing. Strange, but it's been working so far. ;)
Great advice--good to know that other writers experience distractions, too.
Say, any word on when the "Gears" novel comes out?
Thanks! Keep writing!
I wish i had that problem. Then i wouldn't have the other one of motivation.
I find that my excuses for not writing tend to be very reasonable and generally keep me from doing it. Still, i know that I need to do it and thus force myself to take up different projects. I'm write now freelancing as a journalist for a few websites doing editorials, working on some of my own stuff, and school. But when I stopped for a few months, my problem wasn't getting back into writing, it was getting back into writing well.
I had a two month period where I basically wrote just my signature, and when i started writing again, it was terrible. I was just rereading some of the stuff I wrote and the ideas are there...the writing isn't.
Still, we all have our uphill struggles. Some are just uphill both ways, and others don't have a hill that ends, and others have hills that have bigger slants, and others...
You actually feel guilty if you don't write?
Wow. I have to force myself to press the keys and my comp is full of half-finished stories (or just one paragraph) I haven't had the heart to finish - or even properly start. I have all these great ideas at 11pm at night, start writing it the next time I can then lose interest because I find a hundred things wrong with what I wrote.
Well, it's nice to see you have your priorities sorted :) Then again, I suppose in writing interviews and stuff you get a different sort of practice than writing a novel you want to write.
EMF—yes, balance is good. As long as I get my daily writing done :)
Frogwart—I have no clue about a GEARS novel. That’s entirely up to EPIC and I haven’t heard anything from them about one.
SB—keep struggling, man. I’ve been exactly where you are. You should see some of my first draft stuff…it’d make you feel a lot better about your writing, I guarantee it!
CP—yes, guilt is a great motivator! You should get some.
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Here's an interesting survey on blogs.
My blogging experience has become a bit more incorporeal in light of my recent marriage. Certainly there exist social priorities above the moniker of writing (such as marriage or even communication with the community, such as in your case) that don't detract from the prerogative itself. I admire the self-evaluation and control exerted to maintain (if I might say) pure awesomeness on your part, Mr. Nylund, but I in no way feel the interviews and your proceeding reflections have decreased your quality (and in fact, ironically, they have perhaps helped you focus more greatly to higher [hopefully] narrative as of this recent introspection).
On that note, please talk to us more :)
I could just be an optimist, though.
Yeah, I'm starting to feel bad about my ongoing Fan-Fic series nowadays. I keep finding myself preoccupied with school, UNSCDF, and now this Contest, along with many other things.
I used to crank out stories weekly (although I was just starting out, the quality wasn't that good). Now I tend to take my time, and take things much slower. I write quite a bit, get the "rough idea" down (though it's not an "outline", it's written just like regular, uh, writing!), and then I might pick it up three or so weeks later, re-read everything, find something's just badly written, and take it out. Or, I might come back to it, and only change a few things here and there, or nothing for that matter.
I guess I just don't have the time to write very much these days -- although that's probably not a true excuse. I have time, just not a substantial amount of time to write what I want to (or maybe it's just that my writing takes a back seat to other things I don't know!). Either way, when I DO come back to write after a while of not writing, just like Electro Force said, my "skill" has noticeable declined.
Oh, and this may be something small, but did anyone else notice that Eric said "now that GHOSTS is out..."? I might be reading it wrong, but by the way he put it, it makes it seem like Halo: Ghosts of Onyx is already out in stores. If it is, I truly missed a pretty big memo ;).
My friend was joking with me the other day how he already had a copy. I was like yeah, whatev.
I must just go check it out...
<_<
>_>
Say Silva, are you guys close to final judging of the fanfics? I was under the impression that the process would take a week. Any news? Thanks.
Major Silva, i know exactly what you're talking about. It feels like there isn't any time to write, even though you know there really is.
I have this struggle daily. Though in time, i've come to realize that it isn't that i don't have the time, it's that after exerting so much energy throughout the day, I just don't have the capacity to write anything while trying to do so. Obviously, you can force yourself to write, which I have done, and only crap came out.
I find that when this happens, its not that the writing sucks, its that the idea's and imagination just isn't 100%, because your tired. That's why I find that I write best in the morning (after i've woken up) and at night (after a nap and when I have a good 3-10 hours to write).
hehe! i dont need to worry about that. why? because, like i said, i have a vivid imagination and whenever i have a new idea on the story, i try to finish it as soon as possible because i'm afraid the idea may go out of my head. :)
Perhaps all writers should be provided dopplegangers that run about soaking up limelight, parading works and generally schmoozing.
Also, Yiddish mothers.
nikoda - I don't know about a Yiddish mother, but I'll take a doppleganger. It would be great to have someone to go to class for me and take notes.
SB - Unless I have an idea that's bothering me so much that I can't sleep, I usually write junk when I'm tired too.
As to GHOSTS being out, part of me keeps hoping that my fan fic entry was good enough to be one of the winners. So I'm holding out until the contest results are out.
I used to do fanfiction. I kept runnin into times when I'd stop writing. Soooo hard to get back on track. I never ended up finishing it. All i had left was 1/3 of a chapter, and an epilogue when I quit. I don't regret it though. I've totally lost all interest in fanfiction.
But anyways. My point is, I kinda understand how ya feel. Hard to get back into the swing of writing.
I am having the same problem, right now i am in the process of writing several works: a two novels (co-authoring one), two fanfics (halo), and a video game; and guess what I am stuck, not sure what to write for any of them, well it would be nice if I could get my hands on the one I am co-authoring because the other author lost the manuscript (compostion book form).
There is no momentum, no inertia. Only the perception that it exists, the motion of the self.
Or whatever. I feel some lack of inertia when I sit down to write, certainly, but then the words create their own flow, their own energy with just a light push in the right direction.
I hate leaving things unfinished.
Nicely put. Leaving something you write unfinished is like eating half a meal. You're still hungry and not quite done, and it will bother you until your finally ready for another meal. And in the offchance that you get back before then, the food's going to be cold, and you won't want it.
Wow, i squeezed the crap out of that metaphor.
Me too, this is my greatest problem and to think that I've stopped writing for 2 years but now I'm back in business.
I also find that writing at night before I sleep is better than daytime.
Another distraction is my bed because it tempts me to sleep!(LOL)Or if not my bed, videogames do it.
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