It's funny the comments on writing for money - it's something I've been wondering about recently with those writers doing "pay to subscribe." That's really, truly not why I'm writing. I don't want to be paid, I just want people to read what I write. That's why my blog is free, and will continue to be. On some level it feels horribly privileged of me to admit that, because I am lucky enough to have a job and don't need money from my writing on top of that. But especially for the pieces I'm doing at the moment, to me the only thing that matters if that they are read, and they are shared. Yet I too struggle with marketing, it feels terribly fake! Thank you so much for your posts.
I agree with nearly all of this, but I wish you had not include the Doctorow quote. I allowed myself to become convinced of that (admittedly very seductive) idea about the headlights/fog/etc and I ended up with a 300 pg "novel" with no structure, really no more than a collection of related incidents. It's not even revise-able. It needs to be redone from page one. I wish I had spent more time reading about writing before I began, trusting that somehow I'd get to the end and it would all make sense. I now believe Doctorow's approach works only for literary writing (and it turns out I wasn't that kind of a writer). I warn people against following this line of thought whenever I get the chance.
There's the thing about writing advice that maybe we should stress more: it's not a one-trick pony. It doesn't apply to everyone. Doctorow's quote is perfect for me since that's the way I write. I know going in where I might be heading but I don't outline any of my stories. Not even my longer pieces. I let the story lead and I follow. If I need to take another path I'll find it in the rewriting. But I know me. I'd never get anywhere if I didn't set off exploring first.
I can almost tell now which writers do the same. Their writing is full of happy surprises. You can almost see the bells going off.
But if outlining and structure work best for you, please don't change! Just as we don't all write about the same topics, the good thing is we don't all write the same way.
I'm a huge Doctorow fan, and a huge Michael Chabon fan (and, now that I think of it, John Irving), so using this quote seems appropriate to me. Is it 'literary writing'? Could be. There is a rhythm and lyricism to their works that appeals to me more than a structured piece might. In the wrong hands, structure can become formulaic and overdone quickly, but that's not to say it never works. It obviously does.
If you have another approach that works for you and want to talk more about it, well, that's why we're here! Thanks for joining in.
That Doctorow quote really works for me. What it tells me is to trust the process of writing. I usually write my articles, especially my longer ones, by knowing where I'm starting and basically where I want to end up, but with not a lot of idea of how I'm going to get from one to the other. I see the analogy saying that you do basically know where you are going in the fog, you just can't see it. If you just drive in the fog without knowing where you are going at all, though, then you might end up somewhere you don't want to be.
I envy you. I spent a # of years writing this way and ended up with stuff that was of interest only to me. Nothing wrong with this, but it was definitely not what I had in mind, and it was a huge disappointment when I finally realized it. This is a disappointment I'm still processing. I'm not saying that outlining works better, I'm merely saying that pantsing failed in my case, totally, when I fully expected otherwise. Honestly, not sure I'm going to keep at this. I'm quite discouraged.
I can only tell you that sometimes it does take years to find where you're supposed to be. I spent years working on novels before I realized I wasn't a novelist, I'm an essayist. I'm a short story writer. Short pieces are the most fulfilling now, but I don't think of it as a waste of time.
I learned a lot about writing through working on those books and I loved much of what I wrote. They might have worked better if I had plotted them but I just wasn't interested in doing that. I'm happier writing short, but it took a long time to get there.
I hope you'll keep going. You may have to regroup and rethink, but if your skills are there it would be a shame to end it now. Do you love writing? If you can answer yes, then you're half way there.
I can really relate to this. I'm awful about marketing myself and don't get much validation for my writing. But that personal satisfaction of having produced something is important. At times I do have the satisfaction of having produced something that I enjoy reading (other times I can't stand to read it but that's another story).
Welcome to the club! Satisfaction and disappointment--wash, rinse, repeat. My feeling about re-reading something you've written a while ago and hating it is it's a sure sign you're growing as a writer. If you never grew you would never recognize your mistakes.
I don't/haven't in the past considered myself a writer, but maybe I am. I started my newsletter to share my love of books, reading, and everything adjacent to both of those. I'd love to make money, but that is NOT why I do this. Who knows what the future holds for me but in the next two years, until I retire, I have a full-time job that pays good money and gets me closer to retirement every day. Maybe when I retire, I'll decide differently on my newsletter, but until then, I struggle with writing, content, and finding readers just like everyone else. I guess that does make me a writer.
Sorry I missed this, Gayla. It looks like you have the luxury of finding your niche as a writer without feeling the pressure to do it NOW. That's a gift. You get to experiment for a while and maybe your newsletter is just the place to do it.
You're always welcome here, of course. Your comments are food for thought.
It's funny the comments on writing for money - it's something I've been wondering about recently with those writers doing "pay to subscribe." That's really, truly not why I'm writing. I don't want to be paid, I just want people to read what I write. That's why my blog is free, and will continue to be. On some level it feels horribly privileged of me to admit that, because I am lucky enough to have a job and don't need money from my writing on top of that. But especially for the pieces I'm doing at the moment, to me the only thing that matters if that they are read, and they are shared. Yet I too struggle with marketing, it feels terribly fake! Thank you so much for your posts.
What Monique said! 👏
I agree with nearly all of this, but I wish you had not include the Doctorow quote. I allowed myself to become convinced of that (admittedly very seductive) idea about the headlights/fog/etc and I ended up with a 300 pg "novel" with no structure, really no more than a collection of related incidents. It's not even revise-able. It needs to be redone from page one. I wish I had spent more time reading about writing before I began, trusting that somehow I'd get to the end and it would all make sense. I now believe Doctorow's approach works only for literary writing (and it turns out I wasn't that kind of a writer). I warn people against following this line of thought whenever I get the chance.
There's the thing about writing advice that maybe we should stress more: it's not a one-trick pony. It doesn't apply to everyone. Doctorow's quote is perfect for me since that's the way I write. I know going in where I might be heading but I don't outline any of my stories. Not even my longer pieces. I let the story lead and I follow. If I need to take another path I'll find it in the rewriting. But I know me. I'd never get anywhere if I didn't set off exploring first.
I can almost tell now which writers do the same. Their writing is full of happy surprises. You can almost see the bells going off.
But if outlining and structure work best for you, please don't change! Just as we don't all write about the same topics, the good thing is we don't all write the same way.
I'm a huge Doctorow fan, and a huge Michael Chabon fan (and, now that I think of it, John Irving), so using this quote seems appropriate to me. Is it 'literary writing'? Could be. There is a rhythm and lyricism to their works that appeals to me more than a structured piece might. In the wrong hands, structure can become formulaic and overdone quickly, but that's not to say it never works. It obviously does.
If you have another approach that works for you and want to talk more about it, well, that's why we're here! Thanks for joining in.
That Doctorow quote really works for me. What it tells me is to trust the process of writing. I usually write my articles, especially my longer ones, by knowing where I'm starting and basically where I want to end up, but with not a lot of idea of how I'm going to get from one to the other. I see the analogy saying that you do basically know where you are going in the fog, you just can't see it. If you just drive in the fog without knowing where you are going at all, though, then you might end up somewhere you don't want to be.
I think you've got it! Perfect description. What I get from it, too, is to take your time. Just as you would through fog.
I envy you. I spent a # of years writing this way and ended up with stuff that was of interest only to me. Nothing wrong with this, but it was definitely not what I had in mind, and it was a huge disappointment when I finally realized it. This is a disappointment I'm still processing. I'm not saying that outlining works better, I'm merely saying that pantsing failed in my case, totally, when I fully expected otherwise. Honestly, not sure I'm going to keep at this. I'm quite discouraged.
I can only tell you that sometimes it does take years to find where you're supposed to be. I spent years working on novels before I realized I wasn't a novelist, I'm an essayist. I'm a short story writer. Short pieces are the most fulfilling now, but I don't think of it as a waste of time.
I learned a lot about writing through working on those books and I loved much of what I wrote. They might have worked better if I had plotted them but I just wasn't interested in doing that. I'm happier writing short, but it took a long time to get there.
I hope you'll keep going. You may have to regroup and rethink, but if your skills are there it would be a shame to end it now. Do you love writing? If you can answer yes, then you're half way there.
I can really relate to this. I'm awful about marketing myself and don't get much validation for my writing. But that personal satisfaction of having produced something is important. At times I do have the satisfaction of having produced something that I enjoy reading (other times I can't stand to read it but that's another story).
Welcome to the club! Satisfaction and disappointment--wash, rinse, repeat. My feeling about re-reading something you've written a while ago and hating it is it's a sure sign you're growing as a writer. If you never grew you would never recognize your mistakes.
I don't/haven't in the past considered myself a writer, but maybe I am. I started my newsletter to share my love of books, reading, and everything adjacent to both of those. I'd love to make money, but that is NOT why I do this. Who knows what the future holds for me but in the next two years, until I retire, I have a full-time job that pays good money and gets me closer to retirement every day. Maybe when I retire, I'll decide differently on my newsletter, but until then, I struggle with writing, content, and finding readers just like everyone else. I guess that does make me a writer.
Sorry I missed this, Gayla. It looks like you have the luxury of finding your niche as a writer without feeling the pressure to do it NOW. That's a gift. You get to experiment for a while and maybe your newsletter is just the place to do it.
You're always welcome here, of course. Your comments are food for thought.