Relentless Forward Progress in Your Writing
My conversation with Matt Bell, author of Refuse To Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts.
This week for The Creative Independent, I spoke with
. He’s the author of 10 books, including Refuse To Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts, which happens to be October’s Book Club for Writers pick.
I met Matt at AWP Seattle (which is to say I found him at the book fair and ransacked him with compliments) and was thrilled when he agreed to do an interview with me. There were so many goodies in our conversation. I decided to round them up here.
⏳ ON WRITING ROUTINES
“Mostly it’s a couple hours a day, and then I do everything else. That way, I don’t spend the rest of my day going, ‘I wish I was writing.’ I don’t resent being in the classroom. I don’t resent being with my students or doing errands around the house or doing other things. I don’t need all day to write, but I do need my time. And when I’m not getting that time, I feel pretty frustrated. But it doesn’t have to be eight hours a day. And I don’t even think that would be useful most of the time.”
🗓️ ON LONG-TERM PROJECTS
“When I’m writing long-form fiction, the book is mostly bad the entire time I’m working on it. The big satisfaction comes very, very late for me, but there’s daily pleasure in surprising myself and playing with language and writing a sentence, trying to get seen and making a thing that is well-constructed, indulging in my weirdness. A huge part of the daily process for me is creating a space in which to think my own thoughts.”
🍎 ON TEACHING
“Being a novelist doesn’t always feel super useful, and being a teacher does—even if I’m teaching other people to be novelists, which is not useful! I totally believe that a life of making art is super useful, but it doesn’t feel like it every day.”
🏃 ON RUNNING
“I think the writing is the part you can control, and running is the same way. There’s a book on ultra-running called Relentless Forward Progress, and that’s all you have to do: continue to move forward at pace for a long time, and you can run any race. I think there’s something similar in the writing light. It’s not about who writes a book fast. It’s not about who publishes first. You just continue forward in your practice over time.”
💬 ON TALKING ABOUT WRITING
“I feel like the way creative writing used to be taught was like, there was a genius in the room and you just spent time around that genius, who didn’t necessarily ever teach you anything directly or talk about how they did things. And that seems a little ridiculous to me. It seems like it can be more direct. It doesn’t diminish my process to share my process. In fact, talking about writing has made me a stronger writer.”
✏️ ON WRITING ABOUT WRITING
“Refuse to Be Done has helped people I admire finish their novels, and I think that’s just great. Anything I can do that makes things more achievable for other people seems fantastic.”
Sooooo many goodies, right? Read my full interview with Matt Bell here.
Book Club for Writers + Refuse To Be Done
On Sunday, October 29 at 1PM EST, my Book Club for Writers will meet on Zoom to discuss Matt Bell’s fantastic book!
Who is this book for?
I recommend Refuse To Be Done to anyone who’s curious about writing a book-length work. Sure, the title has the word “novel” in it, but even if you’re interested in working on a different type of writing project, like a memoir or short story collection, you’ll get a ton out of this book. Matt has incredible tips for writers of all stripes.
How do I join the book club meeting?
Become a paid newsletter subscriber to join. Subscribe for the month for just $5, or save 27% and subscribe for the whole year. I’ll be announcing the book club’s 2024 selections during our October meeting! Click below to upgrade your subscription.
Next Steps
Get the book via Bookshop or your local library.
Add the book club meeting to your calendar.
Read the book and take notes on what stands out to you.
Join the discussion live on Zoom on Sunday, October 29 at 1PM EST. Paid subscribers will receive the link the day before our meeting.
Can’t make it live? Our recorded discussion will be available to watch later!
Yes, my conversation with Matt Bell did inspire me to write! But no, my conversation with Matt Bell did nottttt inspire me to start running. I feel pretty much the same as I felt when I said this during our interview:
I would just never. EVER. Do. That.
Okay! Go write something! Run if you want to! Or don’t! I’ll be here basking in the glow of the syllabus I made for myself last week.
💛 Hurley
"even if you’re interested in working on a different type of writing project, like a memoir or short story collection, you’ll get a ton out of this book."
Or a book-length poem, perhaps?
So excited for this book club!