We were talking about whether another friend was "a writer" - and it was an interesting question. He has ideas, an imagination, turns of phrase, poetic images, but is the novel the place for him? I've seen his work, a bit - it is a classic example of having ideas, but no idea how to connect them, how to make a narrative, a story. The plot's all good - excellent events, plenty of action, but do we care enough about these people? These talents and ideas don't make you a writer, what a writer needs is a ghastly amount of tenacity, and buckets of supportive self-criticism, i.e. the ability to look at your sentences and think "Christ! How could a piece of shite like that have been typed without me throwing up!" One needs to experience the utter boredom and frustration of re-reading something you know to be good(ish), yet wondering if it isn't somehow a little thin, and wondering how to put flesh on it....
Being a writer is not about being published. I've said for years that no one recognises your creative work until you are being paid for it, I used to believe you could not call yourself a writer unless you were paid for writing. I still believe that to a certain extent, but but really "being a writer" is so not about the money, kudos (ha!), or being published. It is being able to fail and do better, fail and do better, fail and do better until you get to the point where you can't see how to do better. At that point, if you know the work is not yet right, you need advice, and you need to take some of it.
A friend said to me the other day "we all really admire the fact that you've kept on going with the book".... a more cynical me might have imagined she was saying "even though you keep failing dismally!" but she is a kind friend, and I think she was saying that "we" would just have "melted" by this stage. But as my dear friend Tara Moore would say, "writers go on regardless, how can we not?" I'm not sure if it's genetic, there's nothing like it in my family, but it does seem that what makes one write is a feeling that "there is no alternative". I cannot melt now, and resign myself to housewifery. I shall carry on sending out TRF while continuing to re-write Conscience 1. Once all the agents in London have rejected TRF I shall start sending them Conscience 1. I am about 10% through the re-write... and marvelling at how much shite I managed to sneak into the first draft!
So I shall continue to "fail better"!
la lotta continua.
Being a writer is not about being published. I've said for years that no one recognises your creative work until you are being paid for it, I used to believe you could not call yourself a writer unless you were paid for writing. I still believe that to a certain extent, but but really "being a writer" is so not about the money, kudos (ha!), or being published. It is being able to fail and do better, fail and do better, fail and do better until you get to the point where you can't see how to do better. At that point, if you know the work is not yet right, you need advice, and you need to take some of it.
A friend said to me the other day "we all really admire the fact that you've kept on going with the book".... a more cynical me might have imagined she was saying "even though you keep failing dismally!" but she is a kind friend, and I think she was saying that "we" would just have "melted" by this stage. But as my dear friend Tara Moore would say, "writers go on regardless, how can we not?" I'm not sure if it's genetic, there's nothing like it in my family, but it does seem that what makes one write is a feeling that "there is no alternative". I cannot melt now, and resign myself to housewifery. I shall carry on sending out TRF while continuing to re-write Conscience 1. Once all the agents in London have rejected TRF I shall start sending them Conscience 1. I am about 10% through the re-write... and marvelling at how much shite I managed to sneak into the first draft!
So I shall continue to "fail better"!
la lotta continua.
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