Yesterday I failed. And the day before that. It happens almost every day: I don't accomplish what I set out to in writing. Yesterday was Memorial Day, but I have so much to do on this current book that it was less stressful to try at it than to take the day off.
After about two hours or so, I wasn't making much progress. I ate. I rested. I came back to it and struggled through another hour or so when I realized it just wasn't going to happen. It was worse than pulling teeth.
Some days, I succeed!
But only rarely. Some days, I get done what I had been planning to get done in less time than I thought. I quit. I don't jump in to the next thing to bog down that day. I try to leave some in the tank. It's the getting to it that is the hard part, the mental stuff.
But mostly, most days, I fall short.
After a string of days and weeks and months of failing, I can see progress. I'm getting there.
This is nonfiction, a textbook-like tome that I'm working on that must follow strict rules and guidelines.
In writing fiction, the rules are a little different. If you come up with one good idea in a day, it's a good day. If you sat down and wrote, it's a good day. If you found just the perfect word you were looking for to dress up a sentence, it's a good day. Maybe you want to write 1000 words or 2000 words but if they are crap, it doesn't really matter What matters is that you wrote well, that you moved yourself and your writing craft and your work forward.
For now, through, I'll take another stab at things and see if I can inch this monstrous boulder up the hill.
After about two hours or so, I wasn't making much progress. I ate. I rested. I came back to it and struggled through another hour or so when I realized it just wasn't going to happen. It was worse than pulling teeth.
Some days, I succeed!
But only rarely. Some days, I get done what I had been planning to get done in less time than I thought. I quit. I don't jump in to the next thing to bog down that day. I try to leave some in the tank. It's the getting to it that is the hard part, the mental stuff.
But mostly, most days, I fall short.
After a string of days and weeks and months of failing, I can see progress. I'm getting there.
This is nonfiction, a textbook-like tome that I'm working on that must follow strict rules and guidelines.
In writing fiction, the rules are a little different. If you come up with one good idea in a day, it's a good day. If you sat down and wrote, it's a good day. If you found just the perfect word you were looking for to dress up a sentence, it's a good day. Maybe you want to write 1000 words or 2000 words but if they are crap, it doesn't really matter What matters is that you wrote well, that you moved yourself and your writing craft and your work forward.
For now, through, I'll take another stab at things and see if I can inch this monstrous boulder up the hill.
No comments:
Post a Comment