Practicing Your Craft Though Blogging
I've mentioned before that blogging seems a good way to work on your craft. I'm more convinced than ever before. I've found that the process of forcing myself, multiple times a week, to set down something that I don't have time to edit and refine is providing much of the benefit that I've heard working for a wire service or daily newspaper can confer. Although I've been a fast writer, my grasp of structure, direction, and construction is firmer. I'm not saving the same amount of time in my assignments that I spend in blogging, but I wouldn't be surprised if I took at least an hour less time per major piece at this point.
It all comes down to practice. Say that you're writing four features a month. That would be one a week, except you're not writing all week long. Instead, on the average, you're probably spending a day on the writing, several days on the research, and time for selling, invoicing, chasing down payments, and other administrative tasks.
That means you're actually in the writing process at most 20% of your week. It's a rare musician who's any good that doesn't spend hours practicing every day, even though there may be only one or two evenings actually playing music for a living. Jazz great John Coltrane was said to practice upwards of 12 a day, and lesser names can easily put in three, four, or six hours. Painters sketch to develop the sensory connections between their hands and eyes, and do so constantly. Chefs spend years working long hours doing the basics in food preparation and cooking. Why should writers be any different?
The more you practice, the stronger you can build your craft. When the mechanics become second nature, it's easier to listen to the story and to tell it in your voice, instead of struggling with how to get to the next part of a narrative. If that's not enough, getting better and more assured means being able to improve the quality of your work - making the acquisition of additional assignments easier - and shortening your day, making everything more profitable.
It all comes down to practice. Say that you're writing four features a month. That would be one a week, except you're not writing all week long. Instead, on the average, you're probably spending a day on the writing, several days on the research, and time for selling, invoicing, chasing down payments, and other administrative tasks.
That means you're actually in the writing process at most 20% of your week. It's a rare musician who's any good that doesn't spend hours practicing every day, even though there may be only one or two evenings actually playing music for a living. Jazz great John Coltrane was said to practice upwards of 12 a day, and lesser names can easily put in three, four, or six hours. Painters sketch to develop the sensory connections between their hands and eyes, and do so constantly. Chefs spend years working long hours doing the basics in food preparation and cooking. Why should writers be any different?
The more you practice, the stronger you can build your craft. When the mechanics become second nature, it's easier to listen to the story and to tell it in your voice, instead of struggling with how to get to the next part of a narrative. If that's not enough, getting better and more assured means being able to improve the quality of your work - making the acquisition of additional assignments easier - and shortening your day, making everything more profitable.
posted by Erik Sherman | 10:08 AM
1 Comments:
I agree wholeheartedly. What I like is when I blog I'm doing it for the joy of writing alone, not with any particular audience in mind, or thoughts of revision, or grammar, I think it offers a space to do free writing.
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