ARTiculation: Accountability leads to accomplishments
It seems that one of the greatest struggles
for an artist is actually producing art.
I know I’m not the only one guilty of calling myself a painter and then going months without picking up a brush. It’s an interesting problem, one that is associated widely with the whole concept of inspiration.
Artists love to use lack of inspiration as an excuse not to do what they’re scared of ¬– you can refer back to my article about machine/ legend Chuck Close for more on that.
“The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write,” famed science fiction author Jerry Pournelle says.
Welcome to November, the no bullshit month for writers near and far. Every year, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) rolls out its carpet and invites all writers to quit the excuses and get to it. A “fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing,” it says on the website.
There is a long list of prolific contemporary writers who abide by the idea that writing is meant to be done quickly.
Jack Kerouac penned the first draft of On The Road in just three weeks. Georges Simenon developed a method-acting approach to his writing where he would shut himself in his home and embody his primary character for eleven days before he began to write, then wrote feverishly. Christopher Hitchens – journalist and essayist – stunned when he wrote a column for Slate in 20 minutes the day after a chemotherapy session.
I’m just as skeptical of banging out a novel in a month as I am about not doing anything for the same amount of time. Many issues come to mind, mainly that by the end of the month, you very well may come out with a lot of words, but having not said anything at all.
So why participate instead of tackling all the seasons of How I Met Your Mother?
Because even if it turns out that what you wrote is complete garbage, you still wrote, and you did it with conviction.
Every word you write makes you a little better – it hones your skills. And it feels really damn good to accomplish something you’ve meant to for a long time.
What I take from the 300,000 participants is that accountability is a valuable tool. I remember hearing in high school that in order to make a goal come to fruition, it’s always easier when you’re being held accountable by someone.
This especially rings true for those of us in the creative field. We want to get working, but because of the deeply personal nature of our work, we often don’t have anyone to stick it to us to actually do it.
To get involved in the movement, head over to nanowrimo.org and create an account. From there, you can search for events and webinars that may be hosted in our region. There is also a small but seemingly dedicated group of writers from London that chat in a comment strain.
Happy writing.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
I know I’m not the only one guilty of calling myself a painter and then going months without picking up a brush. It’s an interesting problem, one that is associated widely with the whole concept of inspiration.
Artists love to use lack of inspiration as an excuse not to do what they’re scared of ¬– you can refer back to my article about machine/ legend Chuck Close for more on that.
“The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write,” famed science fiction author Jerry Pournelle says.
Welcome to November, the no bullshit month for writers near and far. Every year, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) rolls out its carpet and invites all writers to quit the excuses and get to it. A “fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to creative writing,” it says on the website.
There is a long list of prolific contemporary writers who abide by the idea that writing is meant to be done quickly.
Jack Kerouac penned the first draft of On The Road in just three weeks. Georges Simenon developed a method-acting approach to his writing where he would shut himself in his home and embody his primary character for eleven days before he began to write, then wrote feverishly. Christopher Hitchens – journalist and essayist – stunned when he wrote a column for Slate in 20 minutes the day after a chemotherapy session.
I’m just as skeptical of banging out a novel in a month as I am about not doing anything for the same amount of time. Many issues come to mind, mainly that by the end of the month, you very well may come out with a lot of words, but having not said anything at all.
So why participate instead of tackling all the seasons of How I Met Your Mother?
Because even if it turns out that what you wrote is complete garbage, you still wrote, and you did it with conviction.
Every word you write makes you a little better – it hones your skills. And it feels really damn good to accomplish something you’ve meant to for a long time.
What I take from the 300,000 participants is that accountability is a valuable tool. I remember hearing in high school that in order to make a goal come to fruition, it’s always easier when you’re being held accountable by someone.
This especially rings true for those of us in the creative field. We want to get working, but because of the deeply personal nature of our work, we often don’t have anyone to stick it to us to actually do it.
To get involved in the movement, head over to nanowrimo.org and create an account. From there, you can search for events and webinars that may be hosted in our region. There is also a small but seemingly dedicated group of writers from London that chat in a comment strain.
Happy writing.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
