November 4, 2020 – I started a writing class last week. It was a bit self-indulgent but also a small gift to myself. I had rationalized that I spent money on frivolous things all of the time and for once, why not spend some money on something meaningful. Not to say that I regret how I spend my money – but I think you understand.
It’s a four week course. The first lesson is to set up a writing schedule – commit to writing every day. Now I haven’t been doing this for a long time. I’m not sure why. I think I got out of the groove. But I am also one of those people who won’t make themselves do anything. If it’s a bit difficult or a bit of a challenge then I won’t do it. I always take the path of least resistance. I won’t say I am lazy – I am a hard worker. I just don’t like obstacles. And, when confronted with an obstacle, I will choose another route rather than attack/overcome the obstacle and move on.
I’m supposed to set a few goals – write each day and decide how many words I’m going to write each day. It’s about developing the habit of writing. The idea is that if you wrote every day, you would, conceivably end up with a very fulsome body of work (novel or collection of short stories).
The target is to write for seven hours a week – preferably broken down into one hour segments each day. If you can’t write one hour a day then you need to find alternate times; meaning, perhaps, writing for two hours on Saturday and Sunday and then writing for three hours during the week. Something like that. Then you have to decide how many words you’re going to write in that block of time. So I find myself typing away because I have no idea how many words fit on a page. Based on what I’ve written so far, I think it’s about 750. I think the time commitment is the more important goal than the number of words. Although I doubt it would be productive to sit in front of my computer for one hour and write 100 words!
I took this course as a commitment to myself to start writing – a push to begin writing again. If I don’t follow through with the course then I’ve wasted my money. I love to write and used to blog on a regular basis. However, I stopped doing that. I know the well hasn’t dried up. I’m not sure if it’s because I don’t see anything worth writing about – unless it’s negative – and why would I want to focus on the negative? It only breeds more negativity.
I’ve written about six chapters of my novel. I’ve mapped out the plot and storylines. I’ve fleshed out the main characters. Rather than continuing writing, I edit/re-write the same chapters. I haven’t changed any of the story itself – just tightened things up. But I never get past those first chapters. I worry that it’s because I don’t have the imagination to sustain a long, thought out story. Hence the course.
Diary of a DOW 