Why I Write

I enjoy writing for money, it’s everything Noah Berlatsky describes in his October 9, 2013 Salon article, "Why Unsuccessful Writers Give the Best Advice".  In it, he contrasts himself with Ta-Nehisi Coates, a celebrated writer who'd recently been profiled in The Atlantic, quoted as saying that in his writing Coates never achieved "that perfect thing that was in my head, so I always consider the entire process about failure."

Aside from those times I write to be paid, I am far more often compelled—best word to describe it—to write great quantities of made-up stuff that, having a life of its own, strongly resists shaping itself for any other audience but me.  It’s embarrassing, but enormously satisfying.  I certainly rewrite my creations as necessary, but I’m not preoccupied with perfection, really, only clarity.  Nor even in my compulsion do I experience the existential struggle Coates describes.  I just need to write.  It would be nice to be paid, but fulfilling my needs is welcome compensation.

I will say that if I only wrote for money, I could say I write because it’s expedient to do so.  The writing for myself, out of compulsion, is what makes me a writer.

Leadership

To be a writer is to be a leader, and to be a leader you have to have followers.  Everyone has their own ideas, but not all ideas are created equal.  When you consider leadership, consider conflict resolution.

To be a persuasive writer you have to learn to be a diplomat.  To convince anyone of anything you have to beguile them with your charm.  Or at least write clear sentences and meaningful paragraphs. (Perhaps paragraphs are passé.... Think PowerPoint^® bullet points.)

Write it down and they'll read it.  Lead and they shall follow.

Write, Type, or Speak?

I think differently when I write longhand, no question. I could say that typing on a keyboard, whether a computer's or typewriter's, is more efficient and accurate because my handwriting grows more and more difficult to read as I get older. More thoughtfully, I say that writing longhand is more emotional, evocative, painterly, while pecking keys is more logical, literal, geometric.

Speaking text is the great mystery, though, for me. Like all of us, I certainly say things in a different grammar and cadence than I write them, and with voice recognition technology I can say anything I wish to write--and the version resulting is more different than what I would have typed or handwritten are different from each other.

Specifically:

when writing specs or final drafts I type
when writing poetry or journaling I write longhand
when writing dialogue or musings I use speech recognition

I'm sure there's fascinating psychology / neurology underpinning our various methods of communication.

Make It Happen

Anyone for a footrace? Want to give yourself a deadline? Comment here if you're interested, I'd be happy to encourage you to give yourself a time limit. It works for me, maybe we can help each other get things done. Just gentle reminders, no trash talk.

Any takers?

Value of Deadlines

I recently had a reading of a play I've been writing for more than a decade in front of a dozen or more playwrights (led by Sarah Gubbins, FAIR USE and many other plays). The opportunity presented itself at Chicago Dramatists, with which I'm pleased to be associated as a Network Playwright.

I got very useful feedback, but the main take-away was the power of the deadline. I had learned less than a week before the reading that I'd get this opportunity and had to distill hundreds of pages of notes and a couple hundred more pages of dialogue and stage directions into a comprehensible first-draft, bona fide script.

Never underestimate the power of a deadline. For better or worse.

Blogging Hiatus

Please read today's post on my Meta blog, which explains my recent absence from these pages.

Forcing Myself to Write

It’s odd that I should have to force myself to write when I so much love the act of writing.

But it’s true. This blog is an effort, because there are constraints. I have to pick a relevant topic, write whether or not I have a deathless idea about it, and then I must meet a self-imposed deadline, posting something every working day.

It’s also challenging because I’m writing exactly on topics about which I’m unsure. I’m unsure how to make a living writing. I’m unsure how to reach an audience. I’m unsure how to pursue clients. I do it all, but I don’t pretend to be an expert—yet.

It’s those things about which we are most unsure that often provide us with our best material. And it’s those things about which we are most unsure we are well advised to know, for safety’s sake.