Words flowing like a river, then drought. Argh!

[stickygirl]

Some time ago an author I was working with was impressed that I'd written 1,000 words in an hour or so. I shrugged "Is that a lot, then?"
At times my words run like a bath tap, then the pressure suddenly disappears and I'm watching the next drip bounce uncertainly at the rim, without ever falling.
I used to be terrified that it meant I'd lost lose interest in the project; the spark had gone; the wind had blown the seeds to the four corners.

Recently I started reading a huge tome - a collection of diaries and notes by Patricia Highsmith. I was fascinated to read how she went through the same highs and lows; angry that her words had dried; how she'd often spend weeks rewriting whole passages, uncertain if he had found the right tone.
Just now, I'm watching a recent interview of David Gilmour by Rick Beato and he describes how he and the band would struggle over songs for weeks, years even. Tunes that we all sing in the car as though the melody had always existed.

Perhaps what I'm describing is the difference between 'craft' and 'inspiration'? I think it reflects a confidence in one's ability "Don't stress - it'll come. Keep faith, keep mulling, keep the notepad open."

 

[EmilyMiller]

Some time ago an author I was working with was impressed that I'd written 1,000 words in an hour or so. I shrugged "Is that a lot, then?"
At times my words run like a bath tap, then the pressure suddenly disappears and I'm watching the next drip bounce uncertainly at the rim, without ever falling.
I used to be terrified that it meant I'd lost lose interest in the project; the spark had gone; the wind had blown the seeds to the four corners.

Recently I started reading a huge tome - a collection of diaries and notes by Patricia Highsmith. I was fascinated to read how she went through the same highs and lows; angry that her words had dried; how she'd often spend weeks rewriting whole passages, uncertain if he had found the right tone.
Just now, I'm watching a recent interview of David Gilmour by Rick Beato and he describes how he and the band would struggle over songs for weeks, years even. Tunes that we all sing in the car as though the melody had always existed.

Perhaps what I'm describing is the difference between 'craft' and 'inspiration'? I think it reflects a confidence in one's ability "Don't stress - it'll come. Keep faith, keep mulling, keep the notepad open."

I empathize

 

[StillStunned]

I think we all face it, at some point. Yesterday I wrote 2k words of a new story. Today I've rewritten one sentence of it.

Like all art, writing is a combination of inspiration and effort. Inspiration gets the story started, but it's the effort that gets it finished and published.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Some time ago an author I was working with was impressed that I'd written 1,000 words in an hour or so. I shrugged "Is that a lot, then?"
At times my words run like a bath tap, then the pressure suddenly disappears and I'm watching the next drip bounce uncertainly at the rim, without ever falling.
I used to be terrified that it meant I'd lost lose interest in the project; the spark had gone; the wind had blown the seeds to the four corners.

When you drip your word drops into a simple thread like this, it's such a delight to see them falling. You'll never run dry, Stickygirl!

Recently I started reading a huge tome - a collection of diaries and notes by Patricia Highsmith. I was fascinated to read how she went through the same highs and lows; angry that her words had dried; how she'd often spend weeks rewriting whole passages, uncertain if he had found the right tone.

Most poets have said the same - Sylvia Plath, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, immediately spring to mind

Just now, I'm watching a recent interview of David Gilmour by Rick Beato and he describes how he and the band would struggle over songs for weeks, years even. Tunes that we all sing in the car as though the melody had always existed.

Perhaps what I'm describing is the difference between 'craft' and 'inspiration'? I think it reflects a confidence in one's ability "Don't stress - it'll come. Keep faith, keep mulling, keep the notepad open."

That's my philosophy too - wait long enough, and if the words are there, they will come.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

I was stuck for six months, producing almost nothing. Then I finished a novella and a novel (first draft) in about a month, writing something like 100 manuscript pages in that time.

I gather it happens to many writers.

--Annie