On The Writing Process

Those of you who visit this site on a regular basis might think that I am a prolific writer. Nothing can be further from the truth. Sure, in a little more than a year, I have probably written enough that I may have been able to write a book or two, but it hasn't been easy in the least.

I try to force myself to write every day. Some days, the words come easy, but more often than not, I am toiling over some phrase, or I can't even think of what it is exactly, that I am trying to say. Sometimes I think my arguments are poorly written, or that I could write at a much more detailed level. Often enough, the mere sight of a blank page makes my mind equally blank. Being exhausted doesn't help either.

It amazes me how much bloggers like Tony write. Tony has a regular feature on his site called "Fifteen minutes with Tony", where he writes whatever is on his mind in the span of fifteen or twenty minutes. It amazes me how much these bloggers write in such little time, and still manage to maintain a high level of quality in their literature. Fifteen minutes with Tony is little more than free-associative writing, which is an effective tool psychologists use to psychoanalyze their patients. It is a powerful tool, and often produces some amazing work.

This is a big reason why I force myself to write almost every day. I believe this is the fourth blog entry I have written today, and only now has the writer's block subsided, and I have been writing at what I would consider an appropriate pace.

People often don't consider the amount of time bloggers spend on their work. This is not a fifteen-minute daily workout. When I blog, I can expect to throw away a few hours. I write, think, write some more, think, smoke, break, drink, think some more, then add images, spell-check, proof-read, edit, re-read, and then publish. Less than half of my time is spent writing. The act of forcing myself to write every day is to improve my writing productivity.

The brain, much like a person's muscles will atrophy over time due to lack of use. My brain isn't as sharp as it was when I graduated from University. Writing daily might keep me from walking on my knuckles in the future.

Speaking of University, I am off to Lethbridge to celebrate Canada Day with a few friends. I shall see you all when I return, later tomorrow.