Writing
I saw an interesting little programme on BBC1 this morning, on just after the Breakfast News: 'What I'd really like to do'. Each day, the presenter Adrian Chiles has tried his hand at one of ten dream jobs compiled from a poll commissioned by the BBC, from being a doctor to a professional footballer. Today's featured career was writing. In his task to write a picture book for children, he took advice from a diverse range of publishing professionals, illustrators, journalists and authors (though Jeffrey Archer was at pains to say that he was, in fact, a 'storyteller' - yeah, that's one way of putting it mate!).
It was reassuring to find out that most of the novelists and journalists interviewed had problems getting started on a piece of writing and needed the motivation of deadlines to get anything done. Frederick Forsyth, apparently, types at least ten pages of A4 everyday before his leaves his desk. That sounds like an awful lot, though I guess writing fiction is a very different kettle of fish to producing a PhD thesis. But I like the idea of setting targets, or at the very least getting into some sort of routine when I'm trying to write. But there are just so many distractions! I think I'm doing well if I manage about three-four hours work a day. Is that too little? Or, just about normal?
It was reassuring to find out that most of the novelists and journalists interviewed had problems getting started on a piece of writing and needed the motivation of deadlines to get anything done. Frederick Forsyth, apparently, types at least ten pages of A4 everyday before his leaves his desk. That sounds like an awful lot, though I guess writing fiction is a very different kettle of fish to producing a PhD thesis. But I like the idea of setting targets, or at the very least getting into some sort of routine when I'm trying to write. But there are just so many distractions! I think I'm doing well if I manage about three-four hours work a day. Is that too little? Or, just about normal?
Comments
I agree with the need for discipline but I personally find it hard to do this as it is not like you can conjure up the 'creativity' for writing for 8 hours a day, sometimes the inspiration comes in the night or during a walk - its not 'on tap'! So I just fit the PhD in when I can and hope something coherent comes out :)
I did a Creative Writing course a few years back - it should have taken a year, it took more like three and a half (but that was mostly because my tutor disappeared off the face of the planet halfway through - it was very bizarre). I found writing to order very hard. But having said that, the more I tried to write the better I got. It's definitely a skill you can really hone and develop with a bit of effort (even if initial attempts are pretty poor).
Incidentally, I watched a programme on BBC4 last night about H. Rider Haggard. He wrote 68 novels in total. One of them only took six weeks - with no revisions! Okay, so his oeuvre was fairly formulaeic, but what I wouldn't give to be able to keep up that sort of output (I'm talking about quantity, not subject matter here - obviously ;)).