Curbing research is an ouch! I love the learning part of writing ... however, as I think about this, I also know it's a bandaid for not feeling competent to write about what I want to write about ... a striving for an "A" rather than an authentic dive into the issue. Thanks!
May 23, 2023·edited May 23, 2023Liked by Sarah Fay Writers at Work
I like your embrace of productivity but to be reasonable about it (love this concept of touching it, even for a few minutes, to keep your head in the game). This is always what has worked for me after many years of being a working writer. When I leave a writing project for days and let it stretch into weeks and into months, and yes, sadly, into years, it can be impossible to get back into it, depending how long it has been neglected, or worse, abandoned altogether. I appreciate the reminder to resist the research because it's an invitation to procrastination wrapped up in something essential to do with the project. I put TK directly into the manuscript and will return to all those research points in a later draft.
If I could use the measure of time to prove my productivity, I would already have my 10,000 hours. I’m sure I have at least that many in the research category. Writing historical fiction set in an obscure time and place demands a LOT of research. But guilty as charged for doing too much of it. We write HF because we love the time/place. It’s the best kind of procrastination. But I do write every day (ok, 99% of days), not because someone said I must, but because I MUST. If you know what I mean. Productivity makes me happy. I'm skilled at finding time in strange places - by necessity, but I don't always make the best use of it.
Curbing research is an ouch! I love the learning part of writing ... however, as I think about this, I also know it's a bandaid for not feeling competent to write about what I want to write about ... a striving for an "A" rather than an authentic dive into the issue. Thanks!
I like your embrace of productivity but to be reasonable about it (love this concept of touching it, even for a few minutes, to keep your head in the game). This is always what has worked for me after many years of being a working writer. When I leave a writing project for days and let it stretch into weeks and into months, and yes, sadly, into years, it can be impossible to get back into it, depending how long it has been neglected, or worse, abandoned altogether. I appreciate the reminder to resist the research because it's an invitation to procrastination wrapped up in something essential to do with the project. I put TK directly into the manuscript and will return to all those research points in a later draft.
If I could use the measure of time to prove my productivity, I would already have my 10,000 hours. I’m sure I have at least that many in the research category. Writing historical fiction set in an obscure time and place demands a LOT of research. But guilty as charged for doing too much of it. We write HF because we love the time/place. It’s the best kind of procrastination. But I do write every day (ok, 99% of days), not because someone said I must, but because I MUST. If you know what I mean. Productivity makes me happy. I'm skilled at finding time in strange places - by necessity, but I don't always make the best use of it.