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11:38:00 AM EDT
Hearing Broken Loves -- The Blue Nile
Time to Write
I was recently sent Pen on Fire: A Busy Woman's Guide to Igniting the Writer Within by an editor who knows I occasionally write about writing (being, you know, a writer and all) and thought I might be interested in author Barbara DeMarco-Barrett's perspective on the writing process. This was a sucker's bet, incidentally, since I'm actually fascinated about how other writers do their writing (and, more to the point, how they suggest others do their writing as well).
The central concern of Pen is a simple one: Just finding the time to write. As DeMarco-Barrett writes:
In my experience -- with my own writing as well as that of my students -- the problem isn't just a lack of time. The problem is that we tell ourselves we need more time to write than we do. We're sure we need an hour to write anything coherent. So when we can't find that perfect hour when the phone promises to remain silent, when our loved ones are contentedly busy, and when nothing is demanded of us, we don't write at all.
Boy, does that sound familiar. I am not (as many of you may have noticed by now) a woman, but because I'm the stay-at-home parent and the adult in the family who works from home, I have a daily schedule which is more stereotypically female than stereotypically male. And once Athena comes home from school, my day becomes entirely disjointed -- not always a good thing, especially when, say, you have a book due in two and a half months. For someone like me (and I suspect many readers of BTW), it would be smart to learn how to write in short, controlled bursts, as Pen aims to teach.
In the book, DeMarco-Barrett warns (correctly) that e-mail and Web surfing can be a distraction to writers, but interestingly, I think that Journal writing is well-suited for teaching people how to write quickly in the time available to them. Most Journal entries are short and cover a fairly limited topic, and the serial nature of Journals means that we can think of them in a "disjointed" way -- i.e., it's all right if you don't have a huge block of time in which to write, because Journals can accomodate both quick entries and longer, more thoughtful pieces. If you've just got a little bit of time, that's fine -- if you've got more, that's fine, too.
I know there are several AOL Journalers who are also aspiring writers, so tell me: Do you find that writing a Journal has made it easier for you to write when you don't have a whole lot of time? And if so, do you think that this can be extended to your other writing?
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Yes, journaling has helped me focus more. I finally started writing a real novel something that I've wanted to do for quite a while and I find just treating the story line like on going journal is helpful. I haven't succumbed to writer's block as yet, but we'll see. My problem and I guess it's every new writers problem is what to do after it's all written....I'll stumble along....thanks...Sandi
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I think journal writing has helped me to budget time for writing and for myself, again (I always find time to write a little something), but I also find I become frustrated that my writing is not what it was/could be. In fact, it is because of this journal community that I have put my book on hold, as it allows me to see how/what other people write, and clearly, there are very few people who SHOULD write a book. I don't consider myself one of them. However, it has prompted me to consider TAKING SOME WRITING CLASSES to become a better writer, and to write that book "someday". Definitely a positive experience...And I very much want to read that book you are reading...JAE
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John, thanks for this topic. I hadn`t written enything in years befor starting my main journal. My 1st few posts were old essays, poetry etc. How ever the journal sure stirred my creative juices and I have produced more original work in the past year then in the 10 previous.
I am over 2/3rds through a novel, approximately 22,000 words, 150 pages. If you ever have some spare time, it can be found here.
http://journals.aol.com/deabvt/JAMESANDTHEANIMALS/
Thanks,
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While I do have grander aspirations, my journal seems to be the ONLY place I am writing these days. Maybe when Tyler starts preschool...
9/15/04 10:34 PM