It took a lot of work for me to get past the "lone genius [usually a dude] sitting in a room drinking whiskey turning out fabulous books" mindset of writing. I was definitely brought up with that, and with the idea that everyone should be in service to said lone genius (though in my case it wasn't…
It took a lot of work for me to get past the "lone genius [usually a dude] sitting in a room drinking whiskey turning out fabulous books" mindset of writing. I was definitely brought up with that, and with the idea that everyone should be in service to said lone genius (though in my case it wasn't a dude). When the truth is that writing is the most collaborative work in my life aside from parenting. Most writers seem to be that way, too, at least the ones I know and like, though few seem to talk about it?
Yes, and it's complex, because for me the writing itself requires solitude. Acres of it. Even if I'm not actively writing, I need that background of solitude to hear myself well enough to write later. And also: definitely writing is hugely collaborative. Maybe not constantly so, but those interactive parts are key, and good writing just does not exist without them. Also, like the solitude-background, to write something meaningful outside of my own self, I need to be in a regularly collaborative context. How to live creatively in both of those directions is a constant question.
Oh my goodness there's an essay in there!
It took a lot of work for me to get past the "lone genius [usually a dude] sitting in a room drinking whiskey turning out fabulous books" mindset of writing. I was definitely brought up with that, and with the idea that everyone should be in service to said lone genius (though in my case it wasn't a dude). When the truth is that writing is the most collaborative work in my life aside from parenting. Most writers seem to be that way, too, at least the ones I know and like, though few seem to talk about it?
Yes, and it's complex, because for me the writing itself requires solitude. Acres of it. Even if I'm not actively writing, I need that background of solitude to hear myself well enough to write later. And also: definitely writing is hugely collaborative. Maybe not constantly so, but those interactive parts are key, and good writing just does not exist without them. Also, like the solitude-background, to write something meaningful outside of my own self, I need to be in a regularly collaborative context. How to live creatively in both of those directions is a constant question.
Oh my gosh YES. The solitude. It's a weird, weird balance.