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> It’s a lot of writing to do in any given week, but I don’t care. I want to write it all. I write all day to work, and then I think about writing all night to
by aazaa 5y ago
> It’s a lot of writing to do in any given week, but I don’t care. I want to write it all. I write all day to work, and then I think about writing all night to relax. In the late afternoon and evening, I am constantly, to paraphrase the great Walter Mosley, “percolating.”
I remember an author once saying there are two kinds of authors: those who like to write and those who like to have written. The interviewee was in the latter category.
Given that this article is about writing, here's a comment on the writing itself. It needs a rewrite. It's a good rough draft with maybe the kernel of a good idea, but in its current form is barely readable. It's stream of consciousness writing that doesn't fulfill the promise made in the title.
Or, maybe it does in fact fulfill that promise. If the goal is quantity of words - and 10,000 words a week in particular then never editing a rough draft is one strategy to get there. Just keep writing, never stopping to reconsider anything. Treat the screen you're typing on as an append-only log file. If so, well played!
There are readers who like to read and those who like to have read something. I went to this article with the intent of getting actionable advice to make writing easier. Half way through the article, this author hasn't even articulated a problem I can identify with.
Here's how to start the edit. Throw away half the words, then throw away the half that are left. Now start again.
Maybe the difference between writers who like to write and those who like to have written is that the latter take editing the mess they've created far more seriously than the former.
- cainxinth 5y ago> “…there are two kinds of authors: those who like to write and those who like to have written.” I’m a writer and a runner, and that’s exactly how I feel about both. I rarely like starting, it’s sometimes pleasant but often grueling during, and I always feel a great sense of satisfaction afterwards.
- bumby 5y ago>there are two kinds of authors: those who like to write and those who like to have written. I like this a lot. It succinctly points to an thought that's been at the forefront of my mind lately. It seems to align with Daniel Kahneman's work about our two versions of our "self": an experiencing self (the writer) and the remembering self (the one who has written). As you allude, sometimes those two may not align in terms of what brings them happiness or fulfillment. It makes me think I should be working to make sure I'm the one who optimizes for the experiencing self rather than the remembering self. Besides the fact that we spend much more time "experiencing" life than "remembering" it, the latter seems too often correlated with things outside our direct control like status etc.
- BeFlatXIII 5y agoComments like yours are why I often read the HN comments before clicking through to the actual article being discussed. Thank you for saving me five+ minutes.
- throwanem 5y agoYou should click through to the article. However little it may suit the taste of the grandparent commenter - or suit mine, for that matter, at least in the methylphenidate style and triumphalist tone - there are some things of worth in there, nonetheless.
- throwanem 5y agoAnd what have you to show for the process you describe here? You seem very confident you've got the right idea, but without the opportunity to see the resulting work, it's impossible for anyone to tell whether you merit being taken seriously or whether instead you're just blowing air.
- ericmcer 5y agoReminds me of when people set a goal of: "Read 30 books this year!". I don't want to bash anyones goals but it kinda misses the forest for the trees.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- Rd6n6 5y agoI just wrote the first 53k words of a new hobby (character driven horror) novel this month. I think it’s between 1/2 to 2/3rds done and it’s been a lot of fun so far. It takes some dedication but the hardest part is starting, especially when everyone assumes their first story will be great. After you put in the time and practice and then write your first 10 pages, the next 180 are relatively easy. The first things people write will be bad. You have to just practice until you get past that and most people get discouraged before then. It’s an extremely fun and relaxing hobby if you can get past that bump Edit: sigh… I have an in progress writing prep app with a trailer and everything but it’s not hosted yet, so I can’t link to it. Serves me right for putting it off