Wednesday, October 30, 2002

Binge Writing

image I’ve seen a lot of talk in places about writing habits. Some people seem to have it in their head that writers write. Writers are supposed to write every day. Writers are not any good unless they write every day for the rest of their lives. That sort of nonsense.

That’s what it is.

Writers are people and all people are different.

Writing is not a sport. It’s not like you can train for writing. It’s not like good writing involves special muscles any more than bad writing does. Being a strong writer has nothing to do with exercise. It has to do with thinking. Thinking is what makes you a good writer. (And sometimes not thinking makes you a good writer, too.) Writing is drawing connections between things, making combinations and then showing them to us.

I say all this mostly as a rationalization. I am a binge writer. I write in huge vomitous spurts (if that’s a legal phrase). I will go months, even years without writing anything substantial and then I will sit down and in a matter of hours pound out a one-act play or a draft of a full-length within a week. Or, in the case of November, I will write a novel.

I write when my brain is full. Writing is a way of containing ideas for later use by others. I’ll have an idea. I noodle on it. I read about things related to it. I observe things that help me solve problems in it. I develop it in my head and then eventually it’s done and has to come out. Now, I know that not everyone works like this. And by no means is the thing done in my head. I don’t know every word, I don’t even know what’s going to happen.

Think of it this way: writing is like baking. I’ve got this recipe. I’m not even sure what it makes, but I put all of the stuff in it. I see what I’m putting in it and sometimes I add other stuff (you know, raisins would be really good with this, and pecans ... maybe a bit of lemon zest). Then I mix and pop it in the oven. That’s the typing part. It bakes and I wait. I type, I give it a sniff now and then and eventually it comes out and there’s a draft. I just know it’s ready and I need to take it out of the oven and taste it. Then I know what it is.

So, for any of you out there who feel guilty because you don’t have umpteen journals lining your shelves and you don’t work on a schedule of “five pages a day”, take heart. You can be a writer. You do have to write, mind you. But you don’t have to feel like not writing isn’t being a writer either. Eventually you let it all out.

Editing is another matter.

POSTED BY Cybele AT 4:07 pm     NaNoWriMo

Comments
  1. A cookie is just a chemistry experiment until you eat it.

    Comment by Amy on 2/17/06 at 3:28 am

     

  2. I am so glad I came across this post! It is so refreshing to hear that I am not some anomaly where my writing habits are concerned. I work in much the same way and have always worried that perhaps I’m not a “real writer.” Reading this gives me so much hope! Thank you!

    Comment by Bernadette on 5/30/06 at 7:43 pm

     

  3. Great post. Thanks. It is a tremendous help.

    Comment by Kate on 12/07/06 at 8:00 am

     

  4. Great story, thanks. A rare web jewel:)Always search the web for smth interesting, including cool music <ipod music download is a site where one can compile perfect playlists. A cushy spot for a music addict!

    Comment by FRANCES on 3/23/07 at 3:02 am

     

  5. I second that notion!  When I was writing my book, I discovered an technique called “Talktation”—basically, typing as fast as you can talk.  The idea is to just spew forth as many words onto the page as possible (it’s those “huge vomitous spurts” you’re talking about).  If you guide those spurts by focusing your ideas first, the results can be truly extraordinary.  The reason your binge writing is successful (in my humble opinion) is because it’s at those moments that you’re actually inspired to communicate your ideas.  Jiggle it a little bit, and you can have that inspiration more often.  But I love and agree with your basic premise: Don’t feel guilty if you’re not writing!  Cheers.

    Comment by writing fast guy on 5/25/07 at 2:27 pm

     

  6. I love this. But you can’t truly capture the dissertation writing process without noting the principle at as soon as you (I) hit stage Depression, every other grad student in your (my) department will seem to be permanently in stage Adrenaline, exacerbating the desire to huddle in the fetal position until next semester.

    Comment by galin on 8/23/07 at 7:00 am

     

  7. The reason your binge writing is successful (in my humble opinion) is because it?s at those moments that you?re actually inspired to communicate your ideas.

    Comment by work shoes on 1/26/08 at 2:20 am

     

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During November it's all about me writing a novel. Sometimes it's about whalewatching. You know, and then there's other stuff.