Friday, December 31, 2010

Schedule Kept... Time for a Nap

Towards the end of 2009 I inadvertently got re-involved with the development of a few aspiring writers. It was, quite honestly, an accident... mostly to help friends out or people who have recognizable talent but seemingly no direction. I, for one, hate to see wasted talent and always help a friend when I can.

I also became increasingly annoyed with "aspiring" writers who seem to do anything but write. For those who haven't figured it out yet, the profession of writing (creative, technical, what have you) requires output. In that sense, it is no different than any other.

When confronting these "writers," I always got the expected responses: "I'm too busy," "I'm not motivated," "I'm not inspired," and (the worst of all) "I have writer's block." So I set out to prove, in a sense, that all of that was bullshit. The result: a disciplined schedule requiring myself to write something every day and posting it as proof.

Yes, many things were written in a rush (I was too busy), many were written when I were rather doing something else (I wasn't motivated), many were written when I didn't feel like writing (I wasn't inspired), and many were written in violent defiance of a blank page (I had "writer's block"). A great deal of what I put up was and is crap, and will never see the light of a publishing day outside of this blog. But, some of what I wrote this past year is workable material (and, surprisingly, already published) and there are at least a dozen stories that an editor or producer would like to get his or her hands on.

Was this past year's experiment easy? Oh, Hell, no. But writing is not an easy thing to do, even for the so-called naturals. Did I prove my point? I would say yes. Many would say no, I suspect, but I'm fairly certain those who would are the very people I point my finger at.

At any rate: schedule kept; mission accomplished. I did it for a year and could continue on, but I have other things to do (like my real job). It's time for these aspiring "writers" to own up and, well, write no matter what. As for me, I'm not a writer... so, I'm done.

In short, this:

Sundays: Touché, Cliché
Mondays: ranting and raving
Tuesdays: creative writing
Wednesdays: ranting and raving
Thursdays: creative writing
Fridays: usually nothing
Saturdays: Irrewinds and indices

is now replaced by this:

Whenever: whatever

Happy New Year! And write anyway!

***

In other news, as mentioned in my Extracurricular Endeavors rant, Panoramic Mindscapes will be launched 24 hours from this posting. Thanks for the support.

7 comments:

Baino said...

You are nothing if not a disciplined man when you put your mind to it. Thank you for getting me out of the writer's block mode. I had two pieces destined for the rubbish bin and you helped me work them to the point where won won a 10thDom so . . thanks for the memories. Don't disappear completely.

Amanda said...

awesome jeff - you set the bar and then vaulted over it. an inspiration for the rest of us as 2011 dawns.

happy new year my friend

x

PattiKen said...

"I'm not a writer." That is no more true, my friend, than "I have writer's block." I know that you know that.

So I hold the mirror up to you and say, write anyway. And Happy New Year!

Lorenzo — Alchemist's Pillow said...

As always, I'll be looking forward to whatever you share here whenever the spirit moves you. Happy new year, Jeff.

Brian Miller said...

thanks jeff for the direction and the ass kickings needed throughout the year...

Wings said...

Your prolificness (it is a word, I looked it up) is only outmatched by your imagination. Kudos on a full year!

Harnett-Hargrove said...

I salute you. -J

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