[personal profile] rj_anderson
[livejournal.com profile] 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 [livejournal.com profile] 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.

Date: 2008-12-17 11:22 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] 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.

Date: 2008-12-17 07:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rj-anderson.livejournal.com
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...

This is very true! And when you learn to tell the difference, let me know. :)

I also agree about the reading. If that had been part of her main post I would have been considerably less enthusiastic about it. I've done more reading in the last year than I have for a long time, too... I was always a big one for reading, but a lot of it was re-reads, whereas now I'm reading the new stuff.

Date: 2008-12-17 10:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] persephone-kore.livejournal.com
I think this may be where I am simply not... something or other... at heart: while I recognize, obviously, that there are worse fates, I honestly recoil from the idea of losing the ability to enjoy other people's stories. To the point that if I would inevitably or even probably have to accept that as a consequence of becoming a better writer, or of studying literary analysis, I'd probably give up the writing improvement and literary analysis.

Date: 2008-12-17 10:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] rj-anderson.livejournal.com
The thought of losing pleasure in reading for its own sake makes me recoil, too. Fortunately I have so far managed to separate my reader-self from my writer-self for the most part, so this hasn't been a problem.

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