The Physics Of Writing

I work for a bookseller - the best job ever for a bibliophile, especially one who's also a writer - and today I came across a book on motivation. Since I can't pick up a book without opening to a random page and reading at least one sentence, I found this one full of pictures - well, stick figure drawings- and brief but clear bits of information about what keeps us from doing what we want to or know we have to do.
     The page I opened to had drawings and words to depict the concept of inertia. It first used half the definition of inertia to explain why it's hard for us to get started moving, at all or in a certain direction. Simplified scientific statement: an object (body) at rest tends to remain at rest without a force to move it.
     This made me think of how hard it is to start a writing project. The book pointed out that sitting on the couch, wishing, hoping, desiring, dreaming about what you want or need will not help you get it. While thinking about your writing and putting the words together in your head is a good and often useful thing, it accomplishes nothing if you don't make yourself actually write (or type) the words.
     The other half of the simplified scientific statement is: a body in motion tends to stay in motion. This made me think how much easier it is to keep going with a WIP when you do it everyday or at least regularly. Even more, it reminded me of how hard it is to get back into working on a story or book when you've had some time away and lose momentum.
     To keep the physics analogy, words don't move themselves from your head to the page. They need a force - you - to put them there. So, like most things, inertia can be your friend or your enemy, depending on how you use it. My suggestion is to make it work for you, rather than against you.

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Day Jobs

     I'm taking a break from writing about my favorite writers and how much I wish I were as good as they are. Because they are amazing, I have something they don't: a day job. I'd like to one day find out how much and how well I could write if I had all my working hours to do it.
      I know from brief interludes of joblessness (or more often, times of having only one full-or part-time job and not two), that I do not make the best use of my available writing time when I have lots of it. I strongly believe that actually earning money from writing would be a huge motivator. I find otherwise I often feel like I am spinning my wheels, wasting my time, when I could be doing something that earns money.
     Having (almost) always had a day job - many, many of them - I have firm opinions about the best kind for a writer to have. Mainly that is  primarily physical, preferably mindless and low-stress. This allows the writer to spend most of their work day "writing" in their heads, which is what most of us do anyway. It also leaves the writer with plenty of mental energy to put that writing down on paper after work.
     Of course, having a mostly menial job means it's likely to be low-paying. This is also an advantage. It means the writer has no extra money to spend on any frivilous activity that might distract them from writing. It's also helps motivate them to be successful in their writing endeavors so they can make money from it.
     I currently do not have a mindless job. I process books for a bookseller and have to concentrate fully on everything I do. However, it is a job I love and therefore not stressful and it is very inspirational to be surrounded by books all the time. The really bad books you see published make you feel like you can write really well, and the really great ones make you want to.

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To Write or Not....

     It is said that to be successful in writing you have to write. A certain amount of time or pages or just anything - if not every day, then regularly - no matter what.
     I  recently came across a fellow writer who said we shouldn't waste our time writing if we're uninspired (or tired or frustrated), because whatever we create will just need to be thrown away or re-written the next writing session. Which is  a valid argument, but for some it may be better to have something, however bad, to work with the next session than the same blank page you left the day before.
     I recently spoke to another writer who also thought working on a WIP when you can't focus is a waste of time and energy, but she still advocated writing something everyday. If you can't work productively on your current project, then blog, write a journal entry or a letter to Aunt Jane. This also makes sense.
     The truth is, you have to make time to write and you have to use your writing time wisely. There is so much more to the writing life than just creating. Blogs and websites have to be kept updated, markets have to be researched, submissions sent out, outlines written, revisions made.
     Because I have a full-0time job and other commitments, I try to prioritize my work, with the most important work in progress being at the top of the list. If I can't make any progress on that, I go to something else. I have to be at my most alert to work on revisions, even more so than on a first or second draft.  Marketing and submissions I can do when I have no creative spark at all. 
     One trick I use to see where I'm at mentally is games and puzzles. (See "Solitaire As A Writing Tool"). A quick game of Spider Solitaire will let me know how well my brain cells are functioning at any particular time of day. Even better are Sudoku puzzles. If I struggle through an easy or medium level one, it's probably not a good time to tackle a difficult writing issue. If I zip through a challenging or difficult game or puzzle, I know I'm at the top of my game and need to take advantage of that.
     We each have to do what works best for us, but trying new things can help us find what it is that does work.

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