I’ve had a bit of a dry spell with regards writing. I’ve been working on stuff but it’s mostly in short, quick bursts. Poetry in the main, editing here and there. Since February I’ve hardly written a word of prose. I used to feel bad about these lulls, feel like I had to be writing every day. When I was doing my Masters in Glasgow, one of the teachers spoke about doing 500 words a day. They meant it as “that’s a good day’s work” but we latched onto it as “bare minimum.” It took me a long time to realise that this thinking is counter-productive. Writer’s block happens when you try to write before you’re ready. Once I accepted that there would be days when 500 words was out of reach—because of the day job, because of mental and physical health, because of living my life, or simply because I was running on empty—I felt a lot better and I actually became more productive. Changing my thinking about productivity and what creativity actually looks like (it rarely looks like sitting at a desk for 8 hours) freed me up to be productive and creative.
Thank you for sharing. I work like you and I’ve been told the same thing that I’ll never finish anything. In my case I actually am having a hard time finishing things! That’s in terms of Book manuscripts. I think I finish a lot of short pieces. I really agree with you in terms of the life of the mind and creativity it’s actually really helpful to always have a bunch of balls in the air.
Your consistent output over the years is impressive and humbling! Perhaps even more so is the ability not to lose your work as you change computers and laptops over time. I don’t know how many essays, short stories, and plays I’ve lost going from disk and zip drive backups to more modern devices, in moving boxes that went missing to and from Vietnam, and flash drives that devastatingly disappeared from a university office desk once...
Thank you for sharing. I work like you and I’ve been told the same thing that I’ll never finish anything. In my case I actually am having a hard time finishing things! That’s in terms of Book manuscripts. I think I finish a lot of short pieces. I really agree with you in terms of the life of the mind and creativity it’s actually really helpful to always have a bunch of balls in the air.
Your consistent output over the years is impressive and humbling! Perhaps even more so is the ability not to lose your work as you change computers and laptops over time. I don’t know how many essays, short stories, and plays I’ve lost going from disk and zip drive backups to more modern devices, in moving boxes that went missing to and from Vietnam, and flash drives that devastatingly disappeared from a university office desk once...