Resolutions
So today I'm supposed to post about resolutions.--and now that we're about a month into the new year, it's a good time to take a moment to see how they are going.
My writing resolutions are going terribly. They always do. How about yours?
Now the fact that my writing resolutions are going terribly doesn't surprise me in the least. For me, writing doesn't lend itself to resolutions. I can say "I will write five pages a day," or "I will write for 5 hours" and make myself stick to it--but I won't necessarily walk away with something that's usable by the end of it. Forcing a specific kind of productivity rarely seems to work--and yet I'm forever setting a timer, checking work counts, and checking off boxes on a list.
But sometimes writing requires work that's hard to quantify. Sometimes it requires that I go wash dishes--because this is where a lot of plotting happened in my mind. Sometimes it requires I spend a couple of hours fiddling with a small but crucial detail. Sometimes it involves reading a book or watching a movie to look at ways that other people's stories come together (or don't). Sometimes it involves taking a break.
None of these things are easy to quantify, but all of them are important. And this year, I'm resolving to treat them accordingly.
My writing resolutions are going terribly. They always do. How about yours?
Now the fact that my writing resolutions are going terribly doesn't surprise me in the least. For me, writing doesn't lend itself to resolutions. I can say "I will write five pages a day," or "I will write for 5 hours" and make myself stick to it--but I won't necessarily walk away with something that's usable by the end of it. Forcing a specific kind of productivity rarely seems to work--and yet I'm forever setting a timer, checking work counts, and checking off boxes on a list.
But sometimes writing requires work that's hard to quantify. Sometimes it requires that I go wash dishes--because this is where a lot of plotting happened in my mind. Sometimes it requires I spend a couple of hours fiddling with a small but crucial detail. Sometimes it involves reading a book or watching a movie to look at ways that other people's stories come together (or don't). Sometimes it involves taking a break.
None of these things are easy to quantify, but all of them are important. And this year, I'm resolving to treat them accordingly.
Comments
Post a Comment