I took a netbook with me to SFX Weekender, and despite all the fun and merriment I still managed to get a thousand words a day done whilst there. I was really proud of that, felt dedicated to my craft, a “real” writer. Then I took an 8 hour journey home, had a day of sorting out major real-life issues the following day, got good news the day after that, and suddenly… I’ve not written anything on the novel for nearly a week. I know why it happened and feel there’s good reason but still… Gah!
Persistence is so important in this industry and something every writer fails at from time to time. I used to think that because sometimes I never got round to writing every day or procrastinated, that I wasn’t a real writer. But falling off the writing wagon happens, procrastination happens. It’s picking yourself up, dusting yourself down and getting back on that proverbial horse that matters (although why you’d be on the horse if you had a wagon is beyond me!).
Anyways, I need to go write!
There are a lot of rules for writing. We’re reminded we need to put down a certain quota of words each day like we’re cutting pipe in a factory. We are told this, by both the living and the dead.
I’m doubtful it’s the best way to go about it. There’s no reason why writing should not be episodic. I think those who wring out their thousand words for the day, even if those words are not yet ready or aren’t the right words, aren’t doing themselves any harm. But they may not be doing themselves as much good as they think.
Sometimes you need to lie fallow. Let the words ferment and bubble unseen. Wait until they burst forth with a desperate need to get them out, get them down. Let them spark long nights and whole days worth of hard writing. And then lie back spent, exhausted.
We can damn our stories, drip them out, when sometimes what we need is either drought or a flood.