Belatedly, thank you so much for the kind words! (Also, I am constantly taking afternoon naps and then regretting that I didn't take a moment to grab my nightguard. 🙃)
I think you've made some good decisions. Obviously, writing is damn hard work, but it's neither a 9 to 5 job nor is it sitting around waiting for inspiration to randomly strike. One technical thing, I learned as a musician. You can practice a new technique and frustrate yourself into a corner! Yes, you're doing what youre6 supposed to do - work hard! But you can find yourself not getting anywhere. If found - quite accidentally - that If you put the guitar down and give it a rest for a couple of days, when you.come back to it, the technique that eluded you is there! My feeling is sometimes your brain nerds to catch up with the inspiration of the idea. So time away, goofing off, let's the mechanics catch up with the inspiration. I also found that to be true when writing lyrics or the minor bit of dialogue work I've done. (Although, in that case there's usually a deadline. I love people freaking out, just so I can say, "Chill, I'm going to write you out if this mess!" Lol!) The things I've read when you've spoken about writing worried me some. You can overachieve yourself out of being brilliant. I'm glad you're not running yourself into the ground anymore. Sometimes 'dem fish ain't biting! One thing your learn as a musician is, if you make a mistake one night, there's always another night and you'll get it then. (BTW, I'm not a, "....oh, that's good enough musician. I've made he o an men cry for not being prepared for a rehearsal! But, on stage, mistakes will happen and I just say, "You'll get it tomorrow night!" So, get the work done, but have reasonable expectations - the point you seemed to have reached. Go for a walk, a drive, or spray paint obscenities about Trump on the side of a Wal-Mart.... Oooops, I mean, not that I have ever resorted to that kind of behavior. Again, for what it's worth, I feel you've made the kind if positive decisions that will help your writing now and done the road. I want you to be writing for decades to come and enjoying it! - Tom Payne
My trick is to call everything writing. Lying on the bed staring at the ceiling? Writing. Weeding the garden or walking the dog? Writing. Listening to a book on Audible? Research for writing.
I love Culture Study by Anne Helen Peterson. She talks a lot about hustle culture and burnout, too. This was a necessary read for me this morning, Hurley! Thank you.
I’ve never actually hustled my writing (I always felt like that was the lush, lingering part of my life) but I’ve definitely hustled my writing career, which I think was helpful in small bursts but then exhausting after that. I’m currently at the end of a year-long hustle burst (that was leading up to me starting my newsletter and publishing my first book) and now I am so ready to just do the peaceful thing and write! Marie Kondo-ing everything else right now......
Belatedly, thank you so much for the kind words! (Also, I am constantly taking afternoon naps and then regretting that I didn't take a moment to grab my nightguard. 🙃)
Fellow tooth grinders, unite! You are very welcome, my friend. Thank you for continuing to inspire us all.
I have been circling around similar thoughts lately. (Isn’t the girlboss era so cringey now?!) Thank you for articulating this!
I think you've made some good decisions. Obviously, writing is damn hard work, but it's neither a 9 to 5 job nor is it sitting around waiting for inspiration to randomly strike. One technical thing, I learned as a musician. You can practice a new technique and frustrate yourself into a corner! Yes, you're doing what youre6 supposed to do - work hard! But you can find yourself not getting anywhere. If found - quite accidentally - that If you put the guitar down and give it a rest for a couple of days, when you.come back to it, the technique that eluded you is there! My feeling is sometimes your brain nerds to catch up with the inspiration of the idea. So time away, goofing off, let's the mechanics catch up with the inspiration. I also found that to be true when writing lyrics or the minor bit of dialogue work I've done. (Although, in that case there's usually a deadline. I love people freaking out, just so I can say, "Chill, I'm going to write you out if this mess!" Lol!) The things I've read when you've spoken about writing worried me some. You can overachieve yourself out of being brilliant. I'm glad you're not running yourself into the ground anymore. Sometimes 'dem fish ain't biting! One thing your learn as a musician is, if you make a mistake one night, there's always another night and you'll get it then. (BTW, I'm not a, "....oh, that's good enough musician. I've made he o an men cry for not being prepared for a rehearsal! But, on stage, mistakes will happen and I just say, "You'll get it tomorrow night!" So, get the work done, but have reasonable expectations - the point you seemed to have reached. Go for a walk, a drive, or spray paint obscenities about Trump on the side of a Wal-Mart.... Oooops, I mean, not that I have ever resorted to that kind of behavior. Again, for what it's worth, I feel you've made the kind if positive decisions that will help your writing now and done the road. I want you to be writing for decades to come and enjoying it! - Tom Payne
My trick is to call everything writing. Lying on the bed staring at the ceiling? Writing. Weeding the garden or walking the dog? Writing. Listening to a book on Audible? Research for writing.
I love Culture Study by Anne Helen Peterson. She talks a lot about hustle culture and burnout, too. This was a necessary read for me this morning, Hurley! Thank you.
How did I miss her newsletter?! I love her writing and just subscribed. So glad this resonated with you! <3
I’ve never actually hustled my writing (I always felt like that was the lush, lingering part of my life) but I’ve definitely hustled my writing career, which I think was helpful in small bursts but then exhausting after that. I’m currently at the end of a year-long hustle burst (that was leading up to me starting my newsletter and publishing my first book) and now I am so ready to just do the peaceful thing and write! Marie Kondo-ing everything else right now......