I have become more bold recently in telling people I am a writer. I have a long road ahead if I ever want to be a published writer, but it does help to share that desire with people.
One of my goals this year is to be more organized and better at starting--and completing--projects. Routine seems to be a big part of this lifestyle, and I found great inspiration in the writer Haruki Murakami. After writing his first successful novel, "he decided to become a full-time writer. He began going to bed early and getting up early, eating homegrown vegetables, and doing serious distance running. He's run several marathons in under three and a half hours."
His biography in this week's Writer's Almanac goes on to talk about how for one of his books, he spent six months with a strict routine. "Every day for 180 days, he woke up at 4 a.m. and began working on the novel. After five hours of writing, he went for a run. Then he would go to music stores and look for old jazz records, then go for a swim and play squash, then work on the book some more while sipping a Siberian Express, a drink comprised of Smirnoff Vodka, Perrier, and lemon. And then he went to bed at 9 p.m. He finished the first draft, took a one-month break, and rewrote for another two months. Then he took another break from the book, and rewrote again."
I find that so inspiring, especially when I read his description of how he writes.
"It's kind of a free improvisation. I never plan. I never know what the next page is going to be. Many people don't believe me. But that's the fun of writing a novel or a story, because I don't know what's going to happen next. I'm searching for melody after melody. Sometimes once I start, I can't stop. It's just like spring water. It comes out so naturally, so easily."
I doubt I will train for any marathons this year, or start going to bed at 9pm, but I am going to think more about my daily routines and how much time I allow myself to write.
What are your goals this year? What do you hope to accomplish?
That is amazing. I mean, because some would say that, essentially, he doesn't have a job. But he does schedule his time and isn't frittering it away. Doing something productive and creative... I don't know, maybe it just hit me differently because I didn't have a job for what felt like a long time. Think of all I could have done!
ReplyDeletetrust me, dear meg. one only has to read anything you've written to KNOW you are a writer :D
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