“Very few writers know what they are doing until they’ve done it.” - Anne Lamott
What do I get out of writing?
When I’m writing the rest of the world drops away. For a time everything else is forgotten. I’m focused on getting the words down. When I’m working on a blog post I’m either learning new things about myself or I’m relearning old lessons forgotten. When I’m writing fiction I’m exploring a world and characters through the sentences and dialog that I get down on the page. It’s really, really fun.
When I’m writing, fear and self doubt drop away. I just go. I put the words down. Sometimes I’ll write the same sentence three or four times, each a different way. I know I’ll go back and pick the right one later. Thank you Ray Bradbury. Other times I’ll draw a line through the last sentence or two and go a different route. That’s confidence I didn’t have until I started writing regularly. You know, I didn’t even realize I had this confidence until I wrote that last line.
Now and then I get around to finishing something. Mostly blog posts. It’s a good feeling to finish something.
What do I hope to get?
First, I want to finish things. I went from loving reading as a child to gaining an interest in writing as I got older. Over the years I’ve read a lot. The writing part has been shall we say, lacking. I have taken some steps. Starting this blog and finishing blog posts. Baby steps. The next step is finishing stories. I have plenty of ideas. Some are more fleshed out than others. I know which ones I should be concentrating on. I need to put in the time.
Second, I want to get better. Over the years I’ve spent too much time thinking about writing and not enough time, you know, writing. I’ve known for a long time that you don’t get better without practice. I’ve heard that particular advice from so many creators over the years. I’ve always nodded along in agreement with a serious look on my face.
But I didn’t write. There was always something else to distract me. Life of course. Sometimes something creative, like drawing, which I love and also don’t do enough of. More often it was my love of consuming fiction. Reading comics, reading books, watching TV shows and movies. I’m much better at limiting that now. Still, I don’t feel like it’s enough. But I have to say where I am now is an improvement. I have moved forward.
So. Let’s review.
What do I get out of writing? Pleasure. The discovery of new things. Confidence. The sense of satisfaction when finishing something.
What do I hope to get? I hope to become more focused. I hope to become more disciplined. I hope to become a better writer.
Why write about this now? This post came about because of a writing workshop I’m currently taking. Author Lawrence Block was planning on holding a month long, twice a week writing workshop in Brooklyn, New York. He canceled it because of the current health crisis. On Twitter he asked if anyone would like to take it home. For free. I jumped at the chance and sent an email expressing my interest. So twice a week I get an assignment by email and I write.
“You must write. It’s not enough to start by thinking. You become a writer by writing.” - R. K. Narayan
