To be ridiculously frank, without a doubt, my greatest writing derailer is alcohol. Drinking is the biggest time thief, con artist, deceitful, belligerent bastard I know.
There have been many nights in my past when I’ve thought, hmmm, I’ll just have a glass of wine or two and write. That thought is never going to work with me. It may work for others but for me, once alcohol is in my system, pretty much everything I write is crap. Every idea seems amazing after a few glasses of my favourite poison. Then in the sober light of day few, if any, notions were any good.
In most cases, drinking does not increase creativity. It makes you tired, washed out, and cranky the next day – unless you have the luxury of sleeping past lunch. But if you are a normal career writer/journalist with deadlines, you must get up. No one is going to get that piece in for you. And if you must write with a hangover, the effort is multiplied by 1,000.
Some people can drink daily and function. I know loads of people who drink a bottle of wine a night. But they are definitely not getting any decent writing done. They are most likely pursuing idea tangents that won’t get published. Or make an income with self-publishing. After a bottle of wine at night, not much reading is going on before sleep either.
It is also a fact that too much alcohol can make creatives sad. Creatives tend to feel things deeply and a tad too many drinks can result in an unpleasant, insecure feeling that plays havoc with creative confidence. Not to mention disturbed sleep and ‘night worries.’ Night worries are middle of the night waking to over-thinking a problem. Concerns that in broad daylight are manageable.
My writing is derailed too by negative comments about my writing. This generally happens when I show my work too early. The story is not ready, it’s not fully formed. But I’m excited so want someone to read it. I’ve learnt that lesson! A few negative comments can interfere with my confidence so badly that I won’t write a word till I’ve given myself a good confidence-building shake-down.
I also asked our Art of Writing Alumni for their thoughts on being derailed. Their thoughts were extremely pertinent. I too have found myself derailed by writers’ groups comments. I’ve joined a few writers’ groups and sometimes found critiques have either shattered my confidence or derailed my writing (my current writers’ group excluded). Here is what one writer has to say:
I think one thing is writers’ groups are great for feedback but they can also be problematic in that they aren’t the ones ‘living’ in the novel and sometimes come at it without understanding it completely. So I think getting into feedback groups can be very positive but it can also derail the progress as you can end up second guessing yourself and getting stuck.
The following point is also spot on. White hetero voices are finding publication difficult now. The publishing industry wants minority voices and minority representation:
Also the feedback process from editors likewise - it’s important to choose wisely. This has happened to me as I had an editor read the complete novel and give me feedback but given my protagonist is a hetero female of a certain age and the editor is a female but younger, gay and has a completely different world view to my character some of the ‘socio- political’ aspects she was very definite about seemed to me to be her personal view and not aligned to my character. Of course we live in an increasingly politically correct society and the gender norms are no longer what they were - in fact there are no gender norms! So all I would say is advice is crucial but the process of gaining it is tricky and can mean you find yourself a tad lost and unsure of yourself. Having someone you trust, who gets your story and character to bounce plot and character nuances off is crucial - but also can be a tad tricky. Of course the other derailing thing is starting to sort of line edit and ignoring the bigger structural issues - I think this is my current issue! It is surprisingly much easier to mull over a few words of pages, then feel you are ‘working’ rather than pull apart a whole novel structurally - ha this is my problem atm.
On that note, I am thrilled that from mid-October Laurel Cohn will be our guest blogger to discuss writer’s resilience. Laurel Cohn is an Art of Writing teacher who specialises in several creative writing areas. One area is healthy separation from your work. Because building resilience, managing feedback, recharging the batteries, and surviving rejection – are all related to navigating our multiple redrafts. So, keep an eye out for Laurel’s tips.
Love and hugs from Florence,
Lisa
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If you’d like to share any comments or thoughts, I’d be happy to hear from you. Email me directly at lisacliffordwriter@gmail.com.