Writing for Triond and the Difficulties of Being a Writer
I have highs and lows trying to produce work for Triond and sometimes I think of it as my TWD (Triond Writers Depression). I often wonder “Is that just something particular to me or do other writers get these highs and lows”?
I am not a prolific writer; there is no possibility of me posting three or four articles a day never mind ten so I doubt that I will make any sort of money on any of the writing sites out there. When I joined Triond I was swept up in a wave of enthusiasm. The testimony to that is my article ‘Hi Brandon (or the heady experience of a Triond newbee). Something unexpected happened I started to make friends and get support for my writing and I craved and loved to get the comments from people. It was brilliant, possibly because it was so unexpected. I thought “I’ve come home” so even though I am not prolific I thought to myself I will publish stuff when I can and just enjoy Triond for what it is and what it can be to me for the meantime, because there may come a time when I have more free time and can actually write a lot more.
Writing to me is a bit of a tortuous joy, I get an idea for a story, hold it in my head, it dances around there for a few days and then I get some spare time. I am always under the impression that it will take me a couple of hours to knock the story or poem out. Not at all! I am practically holding it in the ether and struggling not to let it go and when I do manage to get the words down on to the page, something seems not quite right. I struggle with the continuity, I worry about the atmosphere. “Am I being clear enough, succinct” Will people get me?
I struggle and worry, before I know it two days have passed, then three. I get caught up in the everyday things I need to do to just keep my life ticking over and maybe another day or two has gone. Eventually I get to the end of the story, I feel a sense of pride and achievement but there are still a few niggles, a few doubts. Then I decide I need to just submit it or it’ll never see the light of day and I will be futtering away at it for ever.
Triond has been a bit of a roller coaster of emotions for me (perhaps an indication of just how crap my real life is)! I get something published and get a few comments that are like warm hugs, pats on the back and my mood is buoyant, then I start to check out my friends work; for my one piece they have published lots of stuff my mood plunges into a feeling of despair I feel a failure. I know this is illogical the amount they are capable of producing and what I can produce are not linked to whether I am successful or whether I fail at something. It just doesn’t seem to make sense but I feel a slight uneasy depression settling over me because I can’t be writing and submitting everyday.
The amount of half started pieces gathering dust and staring up at me balefully is another thing I feel is pulling me down. I sometimes feel less of a ‘trionder’ because I am slower to submit work, I know that is a stupid thought. In Triond I have found a wonderful supportive community but the emotional highs and lows that I feel with being attached to it are exhausting. In my most sensible moments I know I am being an eejit. There’s no such thing as Triond Writers Depression (TWD). But I am wondering am I the only eejit or do other people experience these lows when they are struggling to bring something together to submit and does their heart swell with pride and achievement when they eventually click the submit button and think “Job done”?
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November 5th, 2008 at 6:19 am
Geri,
I have the high and low also. Just publish when you can, there shouldn’t be pressured, and do what works best for you!
I like your honesty in this piece.
November 5th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Geri don’t worry about not posting 10 articles a day – I can’t be bothered reading buckets of stuff when it appears all at once. I prefer to be drip fed on well-written stuff, not over-loaded with bilge.
November 5th, 2008 at 10:51 am
I have highs and lows about writing, but they’re not usually related specifically to any of the sites I write for. I’m not prolific either, and sometimes it feels as if I’ll never be able to write enough to make any real money. The best thing to do is keep dragging out those old pieces, add to them when you’re in the mood, and eventually, most of them will hit a spark and you’ll get them finished. I can go for days or weeks without writing anything, and I’ve had to accept that’s just the way I am. You learn to live with it.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Like any artist, you explain these feelings well.
November 5th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Geri,
Keep putting those half completed works together. You may see them as nagging reminders of something that’s incomplete. I would see them as a valuable mine of material to build on.
I am like you, many stops, starts. Articles that should be done in an hour are left unfinished for days. I don’t allow myself the ups and downs. I enjoy the journey!
Keep writing. You’re a good writer. Maybe it’ll take you and I a bit longer to build an impressive portfolio, but I believe it’s more important that the articles be of quality.
Good luck, and keep it up!
November 6th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
Geri,
Right now, I am only going to ask a question. Are you the Geri O’Hara from Santa Cruz?
Oh well, I will add a comment. Taking short breaks from the article I’m writing brings a fresh outlook, I always come back with a stonger piece of writing.
November 6th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
I want to thank everyone for their comments and their advice I am taking it all onboard thankyou
June no I am not from Santa Cruz I am from Ireland Cheers Geri
November 13th, 2008 at 11:50 am
A lovely text.
I am quite prolific, some days, and then there are days where nothing will come out. Or suddenly an idea springs up, I write it, and that’s it. One piece and quiet.
Don’t hassle yourself, I think we all are a bit the same in the TWD
November 24th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Oh Geri, don’t get down, although I do the same. Sometimes I write, write, write and others nothing. I find it relaxing being here with you and all of my friends. There truly is no pressure to write if you are not feeling lie it. Don’t worry Ill find you when you do though…cheer up my dear! Forever friends remember?