Writing One Day At A Time...A Page, A Chapter
Bringing thoughts to the written page....
Modern privacy, one of a writer's tools....
The phone rings
It rings again.
Insistently.
Bell Laboratories is to blame for that.
That urgent timing between rings.
Just the right interval.
Knowing it as man's contrivance, makes it easier to ignore.
Voicemail does the rest...modern privacy, if not tranquility.
Better still: turn the ringer off.
Writing's a hard game.
"Writers write." Hemingway said so.
True; when they can;
A page a day. a chapter a week.
Whatever works out, for now.
Goals are fine, but don't be a slaggard.
"Page done! Go play!"
Not so fast!
Keep the ultimate goal in mind.
"Strike while the iron is hot."
That doesn't just apply to blacksmiths making horseshoes.
The writer "on a roll" shouldn't let a phone call, or an achieved goal stop them in mid-thought.
Write on until more serious duties impose themselves,
or until fatigue clouds the mind,
and the writing produced won't maintain the needed quality to justify the time.
Having an agent helps.
They don't get paid until the writer does,
so the agent (especially if there is an advance involved)
will prompt their writer to finish on time.
But creativity isn't always in agreement.
That old bugaboo "writers block" sometimes is a wall of many blocks.
Interruptions intervene.
"Do Not Disturb" hangs on the closed door's knob,
but thoughts intrude.
Classical background music sometimes helps.
Foot tapping is out, except for writing lyrics.
Liking the subject and the characters helps.
Sometimes the characters can be quite insistent, too.
"Hey! How about me boss?
Part of me is still there in your fingertips!"
The poems are that way, too.
One of mine even resurrected itself,
when my name was already at its bottom,
signed, but apparently not sealed.
Who put all these words in my head?
How soon will they run out?
When will the flow stop?
Not now, I hope!
Not soon either. It's only the start of the week.
_______
© 2012 Demas W. Jasper All rights reserved.
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Comments
I really enjoyed this Hub... Thanks
Awesome.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts. I really enjoyed the hub.
Interesting thoughts, we can be our own worst enemies at times!
- Author
Some folks are fortunate enough to love their "work" and to look forward to each day, often well into the night. A happy writer is that fortunate person. The best part? There is no end to perfecting their craft, and once in awhile readers even read their finished products.
So very true! I am so easily distracted sometimes, especially when working with longer works---
- Author
I operated in the past on so much that was only impulse, not controlled, centered on the real legitimate priorities. I still have to guard against that helter, skelter approach and dedicate my time to what is really important in meeting my lifetime goals. That is what makes self-discipline such a challenge to learn and master.
So true, so true....:)
You're so right. A page a day can be a great achievement on some occasions.
Whatever get you inspired and writing. I've inherited so to say my dad's incredible talent. When I'm writing something that requires a lot of concentration there can be music, there can be sounds my ears have shut them all out and I don't hear anything until I finish writing and return to this world so to say. Dad could do this so well. When writing poetry I need music to sort of pick up a rhythm.
I have yet to figure out why the inspiration to write comes or how long it will last. I just do my best to take advantage of it! Good hub.
- Author
Want to write, make time to write, think of a subject, and write (with as few interruptions as possible.) If you have chosen a topic you are comfortable with...better yet excited about...the words will flow. Writing has never been as easy and convenient as it is now; no laborious erasing or taping over, checking for spelling errors is done almost automatically, I still use a hardbound dictionary but one is available on your computer from a variety of sources, fact checking is as easy as looking up words, and publishing (via HubPages, of course) is a breeze. Shakespeare could have done so much more, if he had had what we modern writers have at our beck and call!
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