A Writer's Notebook, Day Three-Hundred-And-Seventy-Two

Well, I've had a few very late nights with little sleep and am quite busy, so I am going to keep this on the short side, but I had some thoughts about the way my work has been progressing, and about some of what I think is different between my current approach that allows me to maintain my commitment.

It is probably not particularly shocking to say that writing more poetry this year has helped me to grow and develop as a writer.  Of course, practice brings greater skill and understanding, and the more focused I am, the more attention that I give to my work, the more that I am likely to learn.  That is not at all mystical or surprising, it is merely a matter of the fact that more time is being spent thinking about writing, meaning a deeper level of contemplation and all that entails.

Now, of course, it is possible to stultify in thinking that way.  Thinking about writing is, I believe, one of the biggest blocks to actual writing, as it can feel quite productive to do all this consideration of the specifics in place, the actual writing would be so much easier, but to build all those details without writing, can become an obstacle.  It can be hard to know when to move from one phase to the next.  What is worse,, often such ideas will suddenly lose their magic and just die.  Many times I have overthought an idea to the point that I could not do anything with it in the end.

The key difference here, of course, is that I am doing the writing itself, am putting the thought as a response to the act, not as preparation for it.  In other words, I write then I allow myself to consider what it is that I've done in the piece.  Often, this is not a conscious thing, but is just a background chatter about this or that aspect of the work.  It may be that some aspect of the music is in my mind, or it may be that a certain image is too haunting to let go off.  In any case, a part of me thinks about what I am doing and I find that leads to further success.

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