This month I'm feeling a bit insecure about being a...slow writer. I see other writers bang out novel, after novel and I wonder...how they write so fast. Me? Not so much. Am I the only one that feels like this? Often I reevaluate my work and revise plots, characters, etc... and sometimes this causes delays but that's the way it is.
Ah, well. *sigh* In the spirit of all things insecure this month, I've decided to turn this insecurity around. Now when I feel uneasy about writing slow, I hear Cheech & Chong's song, Low Rider, in my head, and then I don't feel so bad.
What about you? Are you a fast writer or a slow one? Anyone like Cheech & Chong.
Mina B.
21 comments:
I think it's best to work at your own pace, rather than rush and put out something that isn't as good as it should be. Of course, there are some exceptional people who can crank out ten books a year and have no decline in quality but they are rare. Slow and steady wins the race! ;)
I can relate! I'm a very slow writer as well. We each have our own pace and that's what we must focus on.
I'm usually a fast writer if I'm home alone with no interruptions (yeah, right). But it takes me forever to do edits. FOREVER.
Ha! Love this song :)
And don't feel bad about being 'slow.' I tend to write one book a year and just can't seem to get much faster than that - yet. The important thing is that in the end you're happy with what you're writing, satisfied with the quality of it.
Ah, a kindred spirit!
I'm also a slow writer... perhaps we need a SWSG? LOL.
I say, write at your own pace. I write slow and it would get to me when I saw others fly past. You do what you can and one day you will get there. Good luck!
Well I'm with you. I've been working on my novel for over a year. But working at your own pace is always best.
Allison (Geek Banter)
I am a slow writer as well (and reader if you wanted to know). I got frustated reading Amanda Hocking's blog early on when see talked about writing 15,000 - 20,000 words and editting a few hundred pages a week. I was like, I can't do that to save my life! I shoot for 5000 words a week, and that's working hard. But as long as I keep going, I get to the end eventually. Slow and steady!
You know, I'm happy if I can get in a few paragraphs in a day! For the last several months, I've written less than one day a week. This year has got to be different, and yes, I will again be ecstatic if I could get back to a few paragraphs a day! Slow and steady wins the race!
Like others said, you just have to go at your own pace. All the best things take time! As long as you're happy with what you're producing, that's all that matters.
I think I'm in the middle, being neither fast nor slow. As long as goals are in mind and someone is working towards something, pace shouldn't matter.
Great post! I think your smart to take your time. Sometimes as writers, we can get so excited about sharing our idea, that we jump the gun. Though I believe you should let artistic freedom roll as is, and not constrain it, for some that is slower than others. I think it all depends upon the writer. I've read phenominal books that I found out were slammed out in two months. Others I've read that I thought were brilliant took years.
A great post you would enjoy is one we just read, by Literary Agent Donald Maass. He speaks about this very thing, encouraging writers to take their time. I'm leaving the link with you. "The Paradox"
http://writerunboxed.com/ Donald Maass.
Oh man... I totally have friends who are WAY faster than I am... but it's okay... because I can only write they way I write--though I think it's important to push ourselves, I also think it's fine to embrace how we are in our own individual creative processes. :D
I seem to have two speeds - speedster and snail - and I vary between the two of them. I used to try to force myself to at least keep the same pace every day and that didn't work so I just accept the face that somedays in a rough draft I can pound out 2,000 words, and some days I have to be happy with 200. The same goes for my revision process - some days I can make it through three chapters, and other days I obsess over a paragraph.
We all have our own pace, and we just need to embrace it, and keep writing.
Happy Writing in 2013!
Hey, Mina,
Hope all is good.
I write fast and edit slow and also wonder how some writers get so many books out in quick succession, but I guess we all have our strengths.
I tend to be on or off. It's so frustrating. On my on days, I can write pretty fast, but on my off days...well you get the picture. But overall, I think I'm pretty slow compared to many others that can churn out several books a year. I guess the most important thing in the end is getting the ms completed. (:
I'm a fast writer when I get the time. Since I don't have much time these days, I'm slowly producing things and it's very frustrating. Yet, in the end, it isn't how fast, it's the finishing of the project and the quality that matters.
Hi, Mina. We can only do what we can do, so don't beat yourself up about it. I only take on one writing project a year, thanks to my 11 hour day job. *sigh*
Good luck to you in 2013 and Happy New Year.
-Jimmy
http://jamesgarciajr.blogspot.com/
Mina! Happy New Year! Don't let your pacing bother you. I consider myself a slow writer as well (so I really challenged myself during NaNo.) What's important is that you're enjoying what you're doing. Perhaps with the thought you put into your work, you might even spend less time grammar editing later on.
The lifestyle I have these days makes me very distracted and unable to give a 100 percent to anyone project. You just have to stay with it and it will pay off Mina. You are probably your hardest critic. Just keep writing Mina; it will work out.
Mina, I'm so behind on my fave bloggers! Can you tell? I am a fast writer. My fingers fly over the keyboard. I love it. I've always loved going fast with whatever it is. Biking (yes, crashed twice, concussion) and skiing (yes, crashed, full length cast). You would think these events would slow me down. So it's been very hard for me to SLOW DOWN when it comes to editing and revising and I am finally starting to like it! Must be old age or something.
I have never seen anything Cheech and Chong - true! Worth it to check out? I also never read any Harry Potter or ever saw Les Mis! (kick me now, I know).
For you, I say embrace your slowness! I write every week side by side with a friend who writes slow too. She will spend all day on 1 page! YES. Took her 8 years to get her debut novel just right and grab and agent and now a book deal - so you go at whatever pace is good for you!
I too get anxious when so many writers are posting "5,000 words written today!" But I ask: are any of those words good words? :)
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