I love happy coincidences like this. Today's chapter in Writing From the Inside Out is about finding the reward in your work. Not financial or concrete rewards but the intangible satisfaction of having done good work.
As I write this blog at 6:48, I've already written over a thousand words this morning. I woke around 3:30 and after fighting insomnia for two hours, I finally got up, brewed some tea, and got to work. And it felt good!
That feeling is the topic of this chapter. Palumbo talks about how marketplace concerns can suck the heart out of a writer if we let them. To avoid the drain of the real world concerns, we need to allow the work, our practice of the craft itself, to become its own reward.
Marketplace requirements change with the seasons. Fads come and go. But good work, from which writers have for centuries drawn sustenance and power, is a kind of "secret of happiness" residing solely in the artist's heart.
And it's yours to discover, if you choose to, every time you write.(p. 56)
What do you think? Is he being unrealistic? Or are you able to separate industry concerns from craft? Is the act of writing enough for you?
I just wrote a comment on my blog about us being kindred spirits. Reading your post today confirms it. If I can't sleep, I'll often just get up in the middle of the night, put on the coffee and start writing too.
ReplyDeleteIt's not easy, but you have to push industry concerns - and anything else you can't control - out of your head during writing sessions.
Way to go on the 1000 words!
My insomnia usually works the other way around - keeps me up late rather than gets me up early - but I head for the tea as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm in an interesting place on this topic because I've written for decades without making a serious attempt to get published (a flurry of queries a couple times and one novel picked up, unsuccessfully, by an agent), so I was pretty much doing my own thing with my writing. Now I've decided to make a real push at realizing the dream and the demands of the marketplace on both the work and the author are a bit daunting. Am I too 'cross-genre'? What's hot right now? How can I get more traffic on my blog? Do I need a vampire?
It was a lot easier when all I did was write.
I think we have to be aware of the market trends, and keep it in mind as we write. And even then, that might have to do more with the publicity and marketing authors are expected to do. Regardless of the trends, those stories written from the heart have a certain way of shining through, finding a home with their readers.
ReplyDeleteHey Phyllis! I agree that it's all about what you can control. There's so much conflicting advice. I think it behooves us to listen to it, take it into consideration and then shove it aside, as you said. It can paralyze you or risk sucking the life from your story if you don't. JMO of course.
ReplyDeleteLinda, I'm usually a night owl as well, but I think too much tea last night had me wired this morning. Once I was awake, I couldn't get back to sleep.
ReplyDeleteI'm like you in that I've been writing off and on for over 20 years. Periodically I'd make a push, but it was never the driving force in my life. That lack of drive may mean I never get published, but that's not the end of the world because I write for me. I hope I can share my stories with others, but it won't crush me if I can't. Once upon a time I felt differently, but that took away my enjoyment in reading and writing.
Joanne, I agree we need to be aware. I also agree that stories from the heart shine through. I'd add that I think it also often shows when someone is writing to a trend and not something they care about.
ReplyDelete