So Wednesday this week, I had the day off, and I spent nearly the entire day writing. I finished a short story, and then I edited another short story before submitting it to an anthology call. It took several hours, I got through at least three or four albums from two different artists (BABYMETAL for the first story and Robert Johnson for the second, if you’re curious), and by the end, I felt like I’d done an intense, two-hour workout.
But you know what else? More than exhausted, I felt extremely satisfied.
People who don’t write think of writers, and they may think of glittering parties where writers stand around talking about books while sipping champagne. Really, I only do that once a year, on the last night of StokerCon. Most of the time, I’m just writing and editing and trying to get people to read what I have out there. And while I’m not sure any of us enjoy the marketing (except when it works), I definitely enjoy the work. I enjoy seeing the story fill up the page. I love the idea of spending my days just working on stories. In fact, when I daydream of writing full time, I see myself working on stories like that all day.
Are you surprised I felt so happy yesterday? It was like a preview of what I might be doing in the future!
It helped that, with these latest short stories, I was getting better. I could honestly see the improvement in my storytelling skills with these last couple of stories. With the one I finished yesterday, I figured out some new ways to engage the reader’s five senses and give them insight into the characters’ emotional states. They just occurred to me while I was working on the story.
And that’s another joy that comes from the writing process. Just seeing the improvement. Just seeing the proof that you’re getting better and getting closer to the writer you want to be. That’s special, and I’m so happy to see it happen with these latest stories.
I wish more people understood that. The other day, I saw someone on social media claiming that AI had totally transformed their “writing” output. They lamented that before AI, they spent eighty percent on the process, only twenty percent on thinking up new ideas. (And now, they spend ninety-nine percent of the time doing nothing, and one percent typing in prompts.)
And I’m just seeing that post, and I’m like, “What did you think writing was?”
Because writing is that process. Ideas are only a small part of that. Anyone can have an idea. But to spend the time actually bringing the idea to life? To devote yourself entirely to the hard work, and watching yourself develop skill and style? To seeing the improvement manifest midway through the project and feeling that glow of pride when you know you did that? You made that happen?
That’s what differentiates the people who become writers from those who just dream of being writers. That practice, and the willingness to engage in the practice. And I wish the people who just want to skip over to the prestige of calling themselves an artist understood that better. (Especially since they seem to think that relying on a computer that takes stolen material and spits out crap that all sounds the same is somehow artistry.)
Well, in the meantime, I’ll enjoy the process when I can. And maybe someday, I’ll be able to do it every day, from nine in the morning till four or five in the afternoon. Right now, I can’t think of anything that could be more lovely.
Do you enjoy the process of writing, Followers of Fear? What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the process?
