Writers write. In the class I’m taking on Mark Twain, Professor Quirk pointed out that everything we know about Shakespeare could barely fill a single page, while what we know about Twain fills volumes upon volumes. Over his lifetime, Twain had twenty-eight separate book releases, this not including short story collections. He wrote thousands of letters, hundreds of speeches, published articles, kept journals. He wrote so frequently that actual volumes have been composed relating what Twain did every day of his life starting in his early twenties. This blows my mind.
My biggest problem since starting this program has been finding the time to get my own writing done. Between lesson plans, grading, and my own course work, it’s too easy to fill every day with getting through the week’s work load, neglecting what I came here for: creative non-fiction. It’s frustrating. As a creative writer, short writing periods don’t work for me. A lot of creative writing is discipline, but there’s also that intangible element of inspiration, and I have a hard time getting to the point of being inspired if I’m only working in short bursts. I appreciate planning classes in short bursts, doing research and its accompanying writing in short blocks, but I’ve never made much progress on a creative essay without devoting a significant time binge to it first.
Without wanting to, I’ve been employing this method of writing in small doses for the last few weeks, and what I’ve gotten so far is disjointed, uninspired work. Boice probably isn’t addressing creative writers in this chapter, but I wish he would! Give me some good news, Boice. Twain had a writing space built at a high altitude that most readers wouldn't be persistent enough to climb to. So if you see me perched with my laptop in some strange space next week--on top of the condemned refrigerator in the copy room, for instance--be happy for me. I might actually be getting some writing done!
In so many, painful, awkward, gah, ways I agree with you. I feel like my creative writing has really fallen by the wayside because it is difficult for me to write in short spurts with it. I have to really get into a mindset to craft what I want to do, and little jittery thoughts don't cut it. My week does get cut by all the other work I have to do for my other classes, and teaching, the latter of which I feel bad putting last because if the kids do poorly, clearly it's my fault for not explaining something properly. So, yeah. Bah.
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ReplyDeleteSo nice to hear someone else is struggling with this! If you find a way to make it all work, let me know!
ReplyDeleteI think the Boice-brevity method may work for poets more easily than other kinds of creative writers. My poems aren't anything like what you'd call extended narratives. They're so short, in fact, that if I change a single word, I feel like I've had a productive work session. (I love you, Virgil and Homer, but narrative isn't my style.) It's a little harder for me to work just anywhere, though. I have to work while my brain is relatively fresh and rested, so not late at night or in a noisy restaurant.
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