Listening to Alan Bennett
As you do, when you are writing a novel in a month and you’re supposed to be writing an article about greenhouses but you want to boost your novel wordcount, and Mr Bennett turns up on Radio 4 reading from his diaries.
And what did he say about writing? He said that a writer is only a writer when they are writing – not when they are researching, or doing background reading (and I’d add, or editing) and having had things published in the past only means you were a writer then, not that you are a writer now.
This had the clear sound of truth to me. I’m not a writer when I’m published but when I’m writing, it’s a process not an outcome for me, and looking at past publication credits has no power whereas looking at the story I’m writing now, and seeing it begin to shape itself well on the page, has the strength of validation.
Steve Ovett said something once about knowing you’re a runner when you pass the others in the race, not when you collect the medal. It’s the same feeling, I think. And for the NaNoers who are looking at the final seven days of intense novel writing ahead, it’s probably utterly incomprehensible – but I know that in December I’ll get half a dozen emails from people saying how empty life feels now they aren’t writing.
NaNo Word Count – 52510!
4 Comments
Antonios Maltezos
24th November 2006Congratulations on the 52000+ words, Kay. Super impressive! Not sure about being a writer only when my two fingers are poking at the keyboard, though. The one thing I hate about trying to write full-time is the guilty conscience I struggle with daily because I’m not punching a time card. Not sure anybody but another writer understands that there are a bunch of unavoidables we deal with on a daily basis, that have everything to do with being a writer, mostly the blooming sense that we’re only as good as the last piece we wrote, and then the horrible doubts that creep in when we take some time off to go shopping, or to do anything else but writing because it gets to be a bit too much at times.
B.A. Goodjohn
24th November 2006How true. And I’m missing Nano 🙁 My new mentee is finishing up their nano before we start our four week assignment. I’m so envious!
Liz
25th November 2006I think Bennett is only partially correct. True, if you spend all your time researching, then you aren’t a writer, you’re a researcher. But, we don’t say someone isn’t a football player if they aren’t in the stadium rushing for the end zone. Plus, there’s so much else that goes into being able to be a football player. You have to lift weights, eat right, attend practice, etc. It’s just a matter of doing it all in balance and that’s the same for writers.
Yes, congratulations on the 52,000 words. Quite an achievement.
HilaryMack
25th November 2006Firstly, thanks for your encouragement throughout Nano. I try to write every single day of my life (I am addicted, I confess) but I rarely write at the frenetic pace I have used this month. I am going to miss it. But I also find myself thinking – hmm, if I can write this much and still live most of my life, I can live all my life and still write more than I have been.
Are we Nanoers going to stay in touch, even loosely, over the coming weeks and months?