A writing thought in passing

[Jack Scribe]

in the current issue of VF, there's a short interview featuring fashion designer Oscar de la Renta. Here's a small bit when the interviewer touched on his long, successful career:

 

Youve been designing for over 40 years, the interviewer reminded him.

 

My goodness, yes. I remember one time asking Gore Vidal why Truman Capote dried up. He told me that Capote was so successful he forgot to exercise his craft every day. I always say that every day for me is a learning process in the midst of tremendous anxiety about whether I can do it all over again.

 

Yet Oscar seemed so relaxed. I am relaxed, he emphasized, smiling. The anguish is always inside.

 

This can very easily be translated to writers. I also recall some advice passed on by an author in a radio interview. He strongly recommended that authors write for an hour first thing in the morning. It was his belief that we store and wrestle with ideas in our sleep and writing after waking up could be very productive.

[Nephylim]

When I am working I use the half hour after I drop my son off at the school bus and before I have to leave for work and not only do I find this the most enjoyable time to write, being alone and undisturbed with my coffee and my cats I also find that I produce good work... so you may very well be right.

 

Having said that I write any time any place anywhere that I can get away with switching on my latop It's an obsession.

[David McLeod]

I've been told, and have repeated often, that there is only one rule that applies to all writers: if you want to be a writer, write something. By extension, if you want to be a good writer, write something often. Every day is an ideal; I can't always do that, but I'm always prepared, with pads and pencils around the house and in the car.

 

 

[kitten]

I've been told, and have repeated often, that there is only one rule that applies to all writers: if you want to be a writer, write something. By extension, if you want to be a good writer, write something often.

 

From personal experience I totally agree with this. Until about 5 years ago I'd never written any fiction at all, and that was obvious from my first story, which was so awful I never even put it on public view. After 5 years of writing whenever I got the chance, I like to think that I've improved a lot. Of course, part of the way one improves is by learning technical things (e.g. punctuation) but most improvement (e.g. in style) is gained just from practice.

 

Every day is an ideal; I can't always do that, but I'm always prepared, with pads and pencils around the house and in the car.

 

This would indeed be ideal. Unfortunately, because I can write creatively only when I have at least an hour alone and in silence, I can never manage that ideal. This requirement is not something I can change, and it applied also to studying when I was a student. I could never study effectively in public places (even quiet ones like a library) and could do it only when I was alone in my room. Maybe my brain is just too easily distracted by external stimuli!

 

Kit

[Ashi]

This would indeed be ideal. Unfortunately, because I can write creatively only when I have at least an hour alone and in silence, I can never manage that ideal. This requirement is not something I can change, and it applied also to studying when I was a student. I could never study effectively in public places (even quiet ones like a library) and could do it only when I was alone in my room. Maybe my brain is just too easily distracted by external stimuli!

 

Same here. In addition I require totally mental silence before I could write, so reading forum posts like this is currently helping me procrastinate.

 

At the same time, if I ran into writer's block, I drive to other places to take my mind off (or take a mental cruise, like coming here). Sometimes issued encountered can be solved by a change of environment. I hope that's a good advice for some who didn't already know this.

 

Some people are calm, self-disciplined writers, but I found myself to be a moody writer. I wonder how many are like this. I need to be in the right mood in order to write. I am lucky that's the way for the past few weeks (by ignoring people, friends or foes, for whatever the reason I didn't want to talk to, or escaping from the soapy environment really helps). I'll say if you are one like me, capture the moment, be as prolific as you can and just write, because no one really knows how long a writer's streak will last.