What does every writer need?
Easy breezy. I confidently penned my answer. Passion. Every writer needs passion.
The following week, my graded test was returned. Passion was marked wrong.
After class I approached my professor. “What’s the right answer?”
He replied, “Solitude.”
Writers are an independent bunch, boasting individual work habits. Popular novelist Jerry B. Jenkins divides the number of weeks with the number of pages to produce, then fritters away the first week and readjusts his numbers. He writes in the seclusion of a quiet place affectionately termed The Stable.
Seclusion?
Annie Lamont tucked herself away in a secluded cabin. Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote Gift from the Sea from a private retreat in a seaside cottage. Since 1967, author of the Hank the Cowdog series, John Erickson, rises daily at 5:30 a.m. and writes for four and a half hours. My friend woke early and went to the attached home office while her husband readied the children for school. Another friend wrote while the children were away at school and the home was quiet.
That writers need seclusion to write is a popular notion. And all good rules have exceptions. There are always stylish rule-breakers. As a newspaper reporter, I produced plenty of front page stories in a boisterous and busy newsroom, a tradition that began before, and promises to outlive, me.
Busy Hub?
Working from home, my computer is in the middle of the busiest hub of my household. Most of my writing happened while surrounded by my seven adventurous and artistic children, not counting the horses, dogs, cats, turtle doves, and pet goose. Encompassed by the music of real life, I'm never at a loss for material as I pour words into my current manuscript. If I waited for the ideal, I'd never write. In fact, when the children have all been out and about, I’ve frequently taken my laptop (MacBeth) to a busy restaurant where I write surrounded by noisy diners.
For this author, solitude is not the answer to the question, What does every writer need? I’ll stick with passion.
TWEETABLE
Tropical island votary and history buff, PeggySue Wells parasails, skydives, snorkels, scuba dives, and has taken (but not passed) pilot training. Writing from the 100-Acre wood in Indiana, Wells is the bestselling author of twenty-eight books including The Slave Across the Street, Slavery in the Land of the Free, Bonding With Your Child Through Boundaries, Homeless for the Holidays, and Chasing Sunrise. Optimistic dream-driver, PeggySue is named for the Buddy Holly song with the great drumbeat. At school author visits, she teaches students the secrets to writing, and speaks at events and conferences. Connect with her at www.PeggySueWells.com, on Facebook at PeggySue Wells, and Twitter @PeggySueWells.
PeggySue, I think I like your answer better than your professor's. Although I tend to be a writer who works best when surrounded by quiet, I am married to a man who functions best in loud, noisy places. It takes all kinds to make up our world, eh?
ReplyDeleteExactly so! There is no wrong or right way to write, and our habits flex with our own changing settings and seasons.
DeleteYou must be an extrovert, a true one. I am. I reenergize when I'm around people. In the midst of a crowded restaurant, it all becomes the throbbing sounds of life, and for me it's white noise. Sitting alone in a restaurant for me IS solitude.
ReplyDeleteAne, we are a bit of a rare bird in the writing industry which tends to be highly populated by introverts. And you have all that Southern setting for inspiration - Zaxby's sauce, Salt Life, and sweet tea.
DeleteFor me, the answer is both. I cannot write in a busy or noisy environment. I don't need total seclusion, but too many distractions interrupt my train of thought. However, passion is the main reason I write. If you have seclusion but no passion, you have nothing. I love this post, PeggySue! Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI would give you an A+ for that answer!
DeleteI agree with both of these, but what I need most is discipline ... to just put my butt in the chair and begin.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point! Whether in a busy place or quiet solitude, our best investment is a butt-in chair. Without the discipline of putting words on manuscript, our setting is a moot discussion.
DeleteAll good thoughts ending with discipline. Donevy
ReplyDeleteDiscipline spells the difference between a writer and a thinking-about-writing.
DeleteMs. Peggy Sue; I would have debated that decision with your professor until he gave in from sheet exhaustion (i.e. the woman seeking justice). Both were acceptable answers, but for me passion rates higher. Without it, I can't write from my heart. It's our passion that moves people. Seclusion just helps us organize our thoughts. I encourage you to seek a re-evaluation ma'am. :-) God's blessings. Whatever we need to write, let it be plentiful. Especially God's inspiration!
ReplyDelete"Seclusion helps us organize our thoughts" and passion allows us to write from our heart. Well said.
DeleteI can write whether it is noisy or quiet, lone, or with others. But it's hard to write without passion but many teachers are not writers.
ReplyDeleteKaren, you write, market, encourage, network, and can do math. Your passion for life shows.
ReplyDelete