Thursday 24 April 2008

Influences on the writing process

I'm making notes about things that have a positive and negative effect on my writing.

Positive

The memory of the following:
The company of good writers.
Inspiring discussion about writing.
Debate, new ideas, talking about what makes other writers tick.
Analysing the work of good published writers in company. Sharing discoveries.

Calm, peace, quiet.
Solitude.
Looking at a beautiful view. Water. Loch, sea, river, lake.

Reading the right things. Fiction, Poetry.

being 'switched on' by intellectual debate.



Negative

Dissonance. Argument. Unfairness.
Anger.
Stress. Worry.

Noise. Including music. Which becomes 'noise' if you can't engage with it.
Interruption.

The memory of the following:
Stressful situations
attacks, arguments,


Writers etc treating each other badly.

Boredom.

Too much time to do nothing.

The internet.


and

Success.

Explanation of this last: After each 'success' last year, I was frozen and couldn't write for weeks. It was cumulative.

Fish in March 07. Didn't write anything sensible for two months.
Telegraph in May 07 . Weeks.
Bridport, heard in Sept 07 . Didnt write until November.
Per Contra, Feb 08. Just starting to write freely again. (I tried to ignore the 'fear' this time... worked through it. The work was SO hard. Felt wooden.

As far as I can see, it's real fear. Fear that this is the end of the road, that I wont do anything like this again. Apparently there's a 'second novel' syndrome which can freeze perfectly competent writers into total non-production.

needs research.

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