Rushing blinds us to the obvious. Rushing comes from fear and is designed to keep the
writer from looking down into the canyon and seeing how tenuous your perch may be
on the wire. Rushing is a survival skill for some writers. Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, the
brain tells the body. Chemicals course through the writer’s veins. Book deadline!
Whooooooooooosh, go. Go, go, go, go, go. If you work hard and fast, it will get done!
But is that always true?
Writing too fast, wanting too much too soon, is writing scared. A lot of people I know
write too fast. They’re the opposite of the I-can’t-start, I’m-stuck-people. The important to
remember is that it is the same fear, but it is manifested differently.
Writing is slow. It always has been and it always will be. Writing books and novels is,
and should be, really, really slow. Slow is good. Slow is great. But to say this is counter-
cultural because our culture loves speed. And only quick people get noticed. But should
writers be quick?
Rushed things, such as days, sewing projects, workouts, weddings, rehearsals, and so
on, are time wasted. You hurry, but you don’t get anywhere since nothing important or
good happens. Books can’t be rushed. Art making is a natural process. Nature has rules.
Some experts say that it takes two years to write a book. Complex projects such as
books and novels take a long time to ‘cook’.
Are you, like so many new and experienced writers constantly berating yourself for
not writing more, for not having started sooner, not finishing pieces, not being
published yet, wasting your time? If so, you are quite possibly internalizing cultural
tendencies this inexorable push for speediness at the cost of quality.
Writing is supposed to be slow. It is supposed to take a long time. Instead of resisting
slow, lean into it. Get accustomed to it. Do you need to bring more slow things into
your life, slower music, slower reading, harder books, slower pace of life, fewer
activities? I know I do.
Irene
My blog will have two purposes. First, it is designed for writers as a reflection on the process of writing. Second, it is to write reviews of the children's books that I read.
