Finding the time.
Posted by bencooper | Filed under General, Poetry
Time. We have so much of it in theory and yet there’s never enough hours in the day. I’ve been fortunate for the last three years, being a student has meant I have had plenty of time to spend doing things I genuinely enjoy. Of course like many students I’ve been skint, but you soon learn how to make those loan installments go a long way.
Before going to university I had worked a string of largely no-brainer 9-5 jobs: shop work, call centres, office admin. At that stage I had no inkling that I might enjoy, or want to try my hand at, writing. I was playing in bands and generally enjoying it. Going to band rehearsal from 7:30 to 11 three nights a week, doing recording sessions, or coming back from gigs in the early hours never seemed to bother me much. Having a dead end job had its perks.
I have noticed since being at university that, despite having more time, my sense of creativity and enjoyment has been somewhat stifled. With all the books to read and essays to do the last thing I want to do some times is write or read anything, and the quality of some of the literature is frightening. I haven’t picked up my bass guitar in months, except for the odd noodle.
Let’s face it, I’m lazy. Sometimes I wonder how writers keep going and find the space and time for writing. Most of them have a day job (and not necessarily a no-brainer), plus families and other interests. On top of all that they manage to keep writing and submitting short stories, novels, plays, poetry, journalism. Are they superhuman?
Not really. They just have a passion and a work ethic: something student life has completely destroyed in me during three short years. They fit the writing in, an hour here, fifteen minutes there. It all adds up.
One of my tutors at university, Martin Goodman, told me that he gets up at five each morning to squeeze a couple of hours of writing in before coming in to take his classes. Writing is something he has to do, and he’ll find a way to get it done, even with all his other responsibilities. When I told him I find it hard to motivate my self sometimes (OK, most of the time), he told me not to focus on finishing a story or novel etc. as that can be de-motivating. Looking at the task ahead you can feel like giving up, it seems unmanageable. But, he said, you can do the next paragraph, the next sentence, and it soon adds up. Do some writing every day, without fail.
I read an interview with a writer, whose name escapes me, and he said he sets himself a target of 200 words a day. It seems so low, so attainable, that he doesn’t get disheartened. Then if he beats it great, if he doesn’t – well he made his target. If you write 200 words a day, five days a week, you would have the first draft of a 50,000 word novel finished in a year. Baby steps.
So I’ve made a new resolution. I will write something creative everyday. It might be some flash fiction, part of a story, a vignette or even some poetry. But get into the habit and keep writing. 200 words a day sounds fine to me.
Today I drafted out a bunch of poems, all with a sci-fi/speculative theme. Poetry is something I’ve always been nervous about, much moreso than fiction, but I figured, what the hell. And I have to say it felt good. I’m no Keats, Tennyson or Hardy but it was enjoyable and got the creative juices flowing. One even gave me the idea for a short story.
I’m investigating possible publication routes, but I guess sci-fi poetry is a really niche niche.
If I’m feeling brave I might put up a couple of sci-fi-kus (a science fiction haiku) or some other stuff on my writing page. Or if you’re particularly unlucky 
Ta ta for now.
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