posted
Since I have pretty much become an unpaid full-time writer, I am trying to borrow from the disciplines which made me pretty successful in my previous carreer as a chef. The French have a term mise en place which translates literally to "things in place" but has a deeper meaning in terms of the professional kitchen. To a serious chef, mise en place is a frame of mind, a state of readiness to face the chaos of service, a mental checklist.
This may or may not make sense to most of you , but I am tring to find a way to achieve this level of readiness and organization in my writing endeavor. I feel that I have enough time to dedicate to this thing we call writing and therefore, If I were to discipline myself, I would be able to achieve more.
I have more than a dozen unfinished stories, a hard time managing deadlines (contests), and even more half cooked ideas that strike me when I should be editing.
I realize that some feel the creative process cannot be rushed, some may even say it is an art and therefore cannot be disciplined or submitted to a deadline, I will part from those, because I feel this craft is much like my old one in that, The creating(Thinking up the story) aspect is art, but the craft (writing the words) is just that--craft. Craft is diligent work. A craftsmen can do this work very effectively and the result can be a piece of art.
So I suppose that I should thank those that endured my ramble, and leave with the closing questions; In what ways do you discipline yourselves? Do you get more comfortable each day in your craft? What ways would you recomend I train myself? What are reasonable goals? One short a week?
I have no shortage of inspiration or ideas. I though that the one story a week thing might work if I set a day for brainstorming, character sketches, draft, cool, revise, edit. Has anyone had any success with such goals?
posted
By your comments I assume you have full days you can assign to writing, what I have done on occasion when I have had similar opportunities (school holidays generally) is work to a work day. Get up, have breakfast, be at my computer by 9, write for a couple of hours, maybe have a coffee break, stop to cook and eat lunch, then write until at least 5, if I am still in flow I will continue writing. This especially works if someone else in the household is working a full time job and you can write for the hours of their absence (or close to). If your work day was different as a chef (as I imagine it would be unless you worked at a resturant who only did lunch and snacks) then try writing for what used to be your work day, the time your body and mind are used to working.
I don't guess finding or dedicating time to write is the problem as much as effectively manageing the time. Perhaps in its own way having too much time is part of the problem. I am looking for that sense of routine where I understand what needs to be done and when it needs to be done.
Mise en place, to me, was knowing the big picture. I knew that I needed to have this, this and this ready to make whatever by this time. Perhaps it is just a matter of getting comfortable with the craft, and understanding the full spectrum of the process and managing many separate ideas and projects. I tend to be easily distracted.
Is it reasonable to expect a result(a finished story) in an allotted amount of time?
I would love know how effective writers manage their time, to get into their analytical process. Perhaps I am tetering on the philosophical here. I welcome any feedback.
posted
Have you read Stephen King's 'On Writing'? He appears to be very disciplined and outlines his schedule in his book.
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posted
Dunno if I count as an effective writer, but I know I'm a lot more effective at work than at home. Something about the structure around me causes me to reflect it, and I produce more in spare moments on a slow day than I do with an uninterrupted 8-hour block at home. I can get similar results by going out to write in a public place like a library. Less distractions, probably.
What to work on is a delicate balance between inspiration and order. Lately I've also had a half-dozen projects going at once and been jumping between them. I generally know what has to be done next for each project, and then when I sit down to work, pick whichever one strikes me most. It's not good for deadlines but it is good for staying enthusiastic. I've come at the problem from the opposite side, disciplining myself into stagnation, so I have to be careful not to make the same mistakes again.
posted
This is what I did back when I didn't have a day job. I would show up at the computer every day at the same time. It didn't matter if I knew what I was going to write or not. Then I would open one of my files and start writing. I was working on a book, so I think that's easier, in a way--you can pick up the momentum from where you left off. I would come to my desk with a plan I'd made for myself, whether to finish a section if there was a discreet chunk of story I wanted to work on, or to simply write for a couple hours. When I felt least creative I even broke it down to 30 minute chunks, and used a timer when necessary. But here's the thing--I didn't let myself push away from the computer until I had done my agreed upon time. Period.
For short stories, my rhythm went something like this: Mondays I would spend an hour brainstorming new ideas. Tuesday I'd pick one of my ideas and develop it into a story. I'd let the story percolate for a day or two. By Friday I was at the computer pounding it away, and tried to finish it in as short a duration as possible.
So, for me, the key was simply the schedule. Give yourself one, come up with a realistic plan for what you want to do, and then stick to it. I would even write it out the day before and leave it as a note to myself. Don't let yourself weasel out of it. Even if you feel like you're producing inferior work--don't let that be an excuse not to write.
I did allow myself an inspirational allowance, however, meaning, if something really inspired me I would allow myself to drop everything else and go with the new idea. But it had to be so compelling I couldn't get it out of my mind. Usually I would go with it for an hour or two and then I'd have written out the inspiration and I could go back to business as usual.
Have faith--it does get easier. At least, it did for me.
posted
I'm also writing full-time these days and also for very little pay.
The self-discipline is very hard. I'm still working on it. What I've been told by other full-time writers is that you simply have to treat it like any other job and that it's important for others to respect that.
posted
I have 2 things that work for me - compartmentalizing my day and what I call the backward thing.
The backward thing is to create a countdown for your deadline. Say a short story is due March 30. So final tweak on March 29, final draft by March 15, first draft by March 1st, kind of thing. This also helps to learn how much time you need for each part.
I need a schedule. I plan looking-out-the-window-and-drinking-coffee time. Which is really important to my day. Then I have time alloted for gardening, my pay-the-bills job, and writing. When I had a really chaotic job, I used to write on the calendar when I had to start thinking about a due date. Plan your daydreaming times and they might not intrude as much into your work time.
Sort your work time - research markets, reading about writing, editing, outlining, reading in the field, breaks. Maybe if you don't have 8hrs a day to write, you won't feel so unbound.
posted
Thanks for the great suggestions everyone. It is nice to have a forum such as this one. I don't suppose I would be half the writer I am without it.
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