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Some things I’ve learned things abt myself as a writer in the past month.
One is how impt a skill it is (which I’ve developed quite well) to be able to get an assignment &, regardless of the length, make a writing plan that will maximize its quality in time available, no more.
One is how impt a skill it is (which I’ve developed quite well) to be able to get an assignment &, regardless of the length, make a writing plan that will maximize its quality in time available, no more.
Part of this plan means knowing the limits of your time, maximizing your writing quality within time available that leaves time for as much sleep/socializing that you want or need (I’ve needed v little in the pandemic) + leaving time for what I call an “internal edit”
I can’t stress enough how important understanding setting up a good internal edit is. How much time do you need so you’re not pulling an all niter? What other work do you need to curtail sooner to leave room for the internal edit? When to let go for editors to do THEIR work?
I’ve also learned how important space is to writing. I’m used to putting up w anything to write, especially in the pandemic. I’ve literally field stories on OWS or BLM on a curb, my feet in a gutter.
But it’s not good to be cruel to our bodies in the physical act of writing.
But it’s not good to be cruel to our bodies in the physical act of writing.
We are trained to idealize desks and order. I love 2-monitor setup. But I’ve been thinking of artists in studios lately, esp Pollock. Mentally (& when possible, physically) Pollock has become a model. It’s imp to get up. Splash paint. Sketch in one corner & THEN come back...
...to your canvas (ie, your desk, computer, manuscript).
Bc writing & ideas are so devalued (a hobby, something you do “on the side” from 5 to 9, like a Dolly Parton farce) I’ve had to unlearn a sense of lack. When really, as @KieseLaymon says, there’s a Black abundance!
Bc writing & ideas are so devalued (a hobby, something you do “on the side” from 5 to 9, like a Dolly Parton farce) I’ve had to unlearn a sense of lack. When really, as @KieseLaymon says, there’s a Black abundance!
I can elaborate a bit on my own craft particulars @DearSplenda. It depends on knowing yourself as a writer, which develops over time. I’ve been professionally at this on/off abt a quarter century now. https://twitter.com/dearsplenda/status/1358458153386586112
It starts w looking at the assignment and breaking it into units of time, then honoring my internal timelines NO MATTER WHAT & honoring that deadlines are for me and how I feel abt the work, not for my commissioner.
For ex, if I’m commissioned to write a 10 chapter book & have 11 month to write it, l’ll write a chapter a month & have a month for my internal edit, no matter WHAT.
10 graf op-ed & 2 hrs to write? 10 min/graf & 20 min to edit, no matter WHAT.
10 graf op-ed & 2 hrs to write? 10 min/graf & 20 min to edit, no matter WHAT.
You get better at this w time. But key is finishing a unit & moving on. You can deal w whatever you felt like you missed in the internal edit. You can ALWAYS write around something you “missed.” But you MUST leave time to edit around it.
Trick is NOT how much time you have. You can write something punishable in ANY amt of time, esp. when there’s $ & a deadline. Trick is dividing writing goals by units of time, counting backwards from your deadline, & ticking off the tasks w time to edit internally. That’s it!
What’s been a challenge lately is how to write w a sense of beauty & space & not come from a rushed place of panic or lack, but from abundance.
But this ALSO requires asking: How to use the time available for the best work?
As @prisonculture sez, project mgmt is important! https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1358461363526459393
But this ALSO requires asking: How to use the time available for the best work?
As @prisonculture sez, project mgmt is important! https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1358461363526459393
Another trick is to not waste time complaining to others abt deadlines. Worry is wasted energy; spend that time doing the work, or resting/playing but NOT whining. Similarly, if you lose time, don’t fret, just do math & proceed. For example:
If you had 22 hrs to write 10 pages @ 2 hrs/page + 2 hrs to edit & something happens (your kid gets sick, your computer crashes) & you lose 8 hrs, don’t spend an hr (or even 1 minute!) wailing “Woe is me!”
Just say “Ok, I now I have 10 hrs to write 1 page/hr + my edit.”
Math!
Just say “Ok, I now I have 10 hrs to write 1 page/hr + my edit.”
Math!
Something that’s also helped: It feels personal, but it’s not, really. Ppl may love or hate your work, but your words/work aren’t literally *you*.
When I was a weekly columnist, I thought of it this way: I wasn’t playing a character, but the columnist was public face anyone could yell at. It wasn’t me! It was one thing I wrote. They might feel like they knew me; they didn’t.
Understanding this helps lower self pressure.
Understanding this helps lower self pressure.
That’s part of the magic of writing. You have these words inside you. Then they are out of you. It’s freeing!
Something that’s gotten better over time is my ability to makes cuts before handing off for edits. Still try to channel Philip “cut the violins” 
Glass. But also, w Twitter, you can always Tweet out “here’s a gem I didn’t have room for.” Knowing this makes my editing go faster. https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1327821564256129027
Glass. But also, w Twitter, you can always Tweet out “here’s a gem I didn’t have room for.” Knowing this makes my editing go faster. https://twitter.com/thrasherxy/status/1327821564256129027
Writing that is short or written quickly isn’t isn’t necessarily vapid, and writing that takes more time or more words to do isn’t necessarily deeper or better. Just as great sprinting or marathon running takes training muscles to do well, so does writing for any length or time.
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