Comments on: The Room And The Will

By: Nicole

Nicole — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:33:28 +0000

Thanks for the reminder. I *can* write in a room full of distractions, but unless it’s during the month of November, I tend to forget that this is something I’m capable of. . .

By: Tally

Tally — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 06:37:07 +0000

the funny thing i find is that it is easier for me to write when someone is telling me not to or that i have to do something else first
or at the worst times in my life when every thing is crap
but reading is my have to
i’m addicted to the worlds that appear before your eyes something all but my english high school teachers lament as when i find a new series my grades start to drop
as much as i love writing what gives me the greatest thrill is reading others work and helping them expand it
so that’s where i’m headed

By: mpe

mpe — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:26:46 +0000

I think it’s often about excuses — covering up fear of failure, or deriving self-worth from how “busy” one is, or whatever.

But I once spent a few days unable to write — in extreme and constant pain, with no sleep, working literally nonstop to care for a sick newborn baby. Some months later, a healthy moneyed childless woman airily announced to me that “no day is so busy you can’t find ten minutes to write”.

Well yes, actually. For me it was a few days, for others it may be a lifetime. I think it’s important to acknowledge that.

And, of course, there’s the matter of access to literacy and writing materials.

Otherwise — I agree. If you want it, you do it. And if you regularly don’t do it, consider the possibility that you don’t want it.

By: Angela C

Angela C — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 14:04:20 +0000

I don’t know how you can write while people are talking. I start typing out what people are saying around me if I try that! It must be a skill, because my boyfriend can focus that way but I sure can’t. My brain even can get tugged away by music with distracting lyrics, let alone people having actual conversations. Doesn’t stop me from writing, though – even in high school I was always able to sneak off somewhere quiet, make good use of study periods, and eventually get a pair of headphones to block out other peoples’ conversations

But anyway, yeah. I relate to a lot of what you’re saying here. I feel like unfortunately a lot of women are told, and believe, that they aren’t allowed to say no to things. Because of this their schedule gets so packed, they don’t have room to do the things they really need to do for their own selves, or the things they really value. Learning how to say “No, I don’t have time to do that for you, because I have to do this for me” is really important, and I think that’s a big part of having “time” to write, or to paint, or to do whatever else it is you need to do to be healthy and happy.

By: Lauren

Lauren — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:50:27 +0000

I work as a freelance copywriter. I live off of the words I produce.

I was interviewing for a temp contract a couple months back and the interviewer said “So when do you tend to write? Are you a morning person? An afternoon person? When do you get writer’s block?”

It was one of those dumbfounded moments where you just stare blankly in response. I mean, I assume they might have had some sort of prima dona writer in the past and were wary of repeating the problem, but the only thing I could think of to say was “I’m a writer. If I don’t write, I don’t eat.” I don’t have the luxury, with my professional writing, to just not work because it’s the wrong time of day. Obviously I have dud hours and dud days where every word I put together comes out wrong, but I have to keep pounding the keys, you know?

It’s done marvels for my fiction productivity, too. And likewise my “write it all the way through, don’t get caught up in perfection” approach that NaNoWriMo taught me years and years ago helps me finish my copywriting drafts.

I can’t afford to wait for inspiration or that perfect moment. And I realized I don’t actually need inspiration or that perfect moment to write. They are nice when they happen but they’re not necessary.

I do fight the constant battle against distraction when I work, but that’s a matter of learning my weaknesses and trying to defeat them!

By: Heather

Heather — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:09:46 +0000

This is so true. One of the biggest excuses I hear for not writing is that people don’t have time. And when you are desperate for it, you just make time.

I work full time and have a husband and child and house to take care of, and I make time for this because it’s important. Really it’s about priority, though. Because if I’m not writing, it’s almost always because I’ve let something slip in and steal my time, whether that’s tv or games or whatever.

But it’s one of my goals to make a living with my writing so I can have eight hours of my day back. I have a feeling that’ll help me balance the rest of it better.