Slaying the Authorial Guilt Monster

[rj_anderson]

matociquala speaks Great Wisdom, and not for the first time:

I hereby declare today, December 16, 2008, the first annual freedom from writing guilt day. On this day, I empower everybody who is engaged in some kind of creative endeavor who reads these words to quit feeling guilty for doing it wrong.

She then goes on to mention five popular pieces of writing advice she will henceforth be ignoring, and ends with the only four musts that any working writer really needs to follow. It's a mighty fine post, and I am grateful to megancrewe for pointing me to it.

For my part, I am slowly coming to the realization that I tend to write in bursts -- not really dramatic bursts where I spend eight months of the year daydreaming about the next novel and then whip off the entire first draft in six weeks (though there are successful, published writers who do that, too), but I definitely do need some down time in between projects or I start feeling frazzled and unhappy about the whole process of writing.

Exactly how much down time I need, I couldn't tell you -- I suspect it varies with the length and ambitiousness of the project I'm working on, and the length and ambitiousness of the project that's gone before it. Not to mention all the external stresses and commitments that can interfere with my ability to be creative. But I am coming to realize that forcing myself to write to a regular schedule may not be the best process for me... not if I want to be in this business for the long haul, anyway.

And now I am going to have a nice relaxing cup of tea and some of that stuff in my icon. Mmm.

Comments

[imaginarycircus.livejournal.com]

I work differently but also need downtime. I think of it like pie crust or puff pastry. It needs to chill and rest before you bake it.


Hmmmm. I read that post and I actually disagree with it except that different writers do work differently and there shouldn't be guilt about that at all.

[jenwriterr.livejournal.com]

I tend to revise as I go. My rough drafting is very, very rough with lots of telling rather than showing. It works for me, but once I complete a chapter, I like to go back and revise it before moving on. It keeps the love alive for me, and gives me the confidence that my book isn't a terrible piece of crap. I'm not published yet, but I've found a method that works for me. Not every writer is going to do things the same way.

Great post!

[mary-j-59.livejournal.com]

Thank you for that link; it's excellent! And what a relief to know that successful, published authors sometimes skip a day of writing. For years, I have criticized myself for (1) not writing every day and (2) not sticking to one project at a time, and (3) not being able to work at more than one project/type of writing in an average day. I've gradually been coming to the "rule" that I should try to write almost every day - but not beat myself up if I can't manage to - and that I should strive to finish projects and put them out there in some form. And now I know there are others who work this way. Yay!

Those are the only two rules I'm sticking to. Brenda Ueland, author of If You Want to Write had two more. She said the only rules she followed were: Always tell the truth, and never do anything you don't want to do!

Oh, and I loved what the original poster said about (not) forging ahead, too. Sometimes you just don't know what comes next, and you have to find out. That's part of the process, for me. I can't outline everything in advance because I have to be in the process of listening to/following the characters to discover what they do.

Still looking forward to reading Knife -

[deva-fagan.livejournal.com]

Interesting article! I agree wholeheartedly that while rules can be good guidelines, the most important thing is to stick with what works.

I need downtime too, and I do feel sort of bad about it. But when I push it, and start a project too early, I often end up having to toss it.

I just have to try to be good about recognizing what is real necessary downtime and what is just me looking for an excuse to procrastinate...

I can see why as a writer gets more and more busy the writing time would cut into the reading time, but I do believe it is really important for writers to keep reading a wide variety of stuff. If anything, getting published is making me read even MORE.

Also, I am envious of your baked goods.