Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
I was listening to “Need To Know” the other day, and I was slightly horrified to hear both Mona Charen and Jay Nordlinger announce that they dislike writing. In fact, they went so far as to suggest that almost nobody likes to write, except for George Will, who is strange.
Seriously? The world is full of professional writers who don’t like to write? I can’t understand this. I mean, I was familiar with the “I like having written” quote, which I have at various times heard attributed to William Buckley, Gloria Steinem, Oscar Madison and Earnest Hemingway. Obviously many people share the sentiment. But for me, writing has always been one of life’s great pleasures, and the thing (along with reading) for which I never seem to have enough time. It’s odd that people who are so good at it don’t feel the same way.
I’m not exactly a professional, of course, and I realize that that might make a difference. The joy of the amateur often evaporates under the burning sun of professional obligation. Still, I did spend several years slogging my way through a dissertation. Dissertation-writing may represent writing at its least satisfying, being arduous, hideously time-consuming and almost certain to go unread by anyone not contractually obligated to read it. Nonetheless, I emerged with my enthusiasm undimmed. Writing columns sounds quite enjoyable to me, so it’s perplexing that the people who do it don’t seem to think so.
I understand, of course, that writing can be aggravating. You can spend a whole morning working on a single paragraph, and then come back after lunch to decide that it’s pretentious drivel that needs to be thrown out. No matter how perfect a passage may seem, you know that it could betray you tomorrow. Nevertheless, I find the struggle to be endlessly invigorating. And surely all professional writers appreciate the joy of clothing one’s thoughts in words? Is it just obligatory at this point for professionals to claim that they hate writing?
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Comments:
Dec '10
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
Great questions! I do enjoy writing, but I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much if my dinner depended on it. There is something about demands and deadlines that can deflate almost any activity. Perhaps some of the more professional writers here could enlighten us.
May '11
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
I can kind of understand the sentiment. I really enjoy writing, sort of... it is incredibly frustrating to try to get your thoughts out in a way that is coherent and readable. Trying to write for publication is even worse. If I write something for ricochet, I'm looking at a few drafts; I imagine if anything were to get published, it would be another several drafts later. You have to cut out things you like, and you have to rack your brain to phrase and rephrase in order to make sense. I always say there is nothing I'd love to do more than write for a living, but I also think it would carry all of the same job frustrations as anything else.
May '11
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
... not to mention the unfortunate reality that sometimes when you write something that you really like, nobody reads it. Then you spout off some off-the-cuff nonsense and everybody seems to notice.
Aug '10
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
I can identify. I've made my living for 30+ years writing music - much of it to meet the demands of a client. Not that all writing for hire is a chore, but it's generally more fun to write what is on one's heart, without thought of paying the bills. Deadlines, fussy clients, and, frankly, sheer repetition (we get hired to write more of what we've successfully written in the past) can suck some of the joy out of the process.
That said, I realize I'm a very lucky guy to get paid to do what I would probably do for free, otherwise.
Dec '10
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
Some of us have a special skill in that respect.
As for brain racking trying to get things right, I have a secret weapon: thesaurus.com. If I'm writing anything bigger than a comment I usually have it open on a browser tab. Repeating words drives me crazy (OCD?), so having a handy reference to rephrase is a must.
Nov '10
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
Rachel, William Zinsser of On Writing Well insists that good writing is hard and lonely work.
But I notice that the writing attempts hardest and loneliest for me often end up the lamest.
Jun '12
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
Rachel, how'd you like to try an experiment with me? Before I lay out the experiment, allow me to state right up front that I mean this in good faith, as a way for you to better understand the question you're asking.
I'll give you a spot on my blog. In order to accurately represent what I try to do on as a blogger and a writer, you'll need to do at least 3 short pieces a day, and one article-length (around 700 words) piece a week. Admittedly, I've fallen short of that a time or two, but that's always my goal.
The work has to be of good quality, and I'll be serving as editor, giving you advice on where you could improve, as well as where you do well.
After a few weeks of that regimen, I think you'll understand better why writing is sometimes quite a chore.
Note, however, that I still do it... mostly because I can't not write. It's just something built into me, I guess.
Jun '10
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
Rachel Lu:
And surely all professional writers appreciate the joy of clothing one’s thoughts in words? Is it just obligatory at this point for professionals to claim that they hate writing? · · 0 minutes ago
Yes and no.
For something to be valuable it must be perceived as resulting from struggle and adversity. So writers, even those who would never do anything else, talk about how hard it is. Yet, for some, it is apparently easy (e.g., Trollope, who produced 3000 or so words each day, six days a week). He probably complained about writing while holding down a full time job.
On the other hand, it is hard. Most, but not all, of my writing has been legal material (briefs to courts; memoranda to clients). It's hard to take a pile of facts and conflicting legal doctrine and turn it into a comprehensible narrative. Were it not for deadlines, I'd likely engage in avoidance behavior (see, e.g., Ricochet) until the crack of doom. So I complain about it all the way to the end. But when you do it well, it's very rewarding. I dislike the process, but love the result.
Edited on October 9, 2012 at 9:33pmAug '12
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
Having written weekly columns for a couple of websites over the past several years, I can say that writing a "worthwhile" piece is always much more exciting and invigorating when the subject matter is relevant to me and/or when inspiration, of one sort or another, strikes. Absent those factors, however, the effort it takes to produce something to which I am proud to affix my pseudonym seems to increase manyfold. That said, I have to echo Wanderer's sentiment that, despite the frequent frustrations, I cannot imagine not writing.
Jul '12
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
I enjoy writing -- until it comes time to rewrite and edit and that, I suppose, is the crux of the problem. Crafting really good writing is work, takes focus and persistence. Those guys (Charen and Nordlinger) are often on deadline and that type of pressure adds a different dimension to writing. Sometimes it forces good things and other times it makes for compromises that detract from the concept one is aiming for. I liked writing factual copy on deadline, but news-writing in no longer as fact-based as it used to be!
Songwriting, on the other hand, can be explosive and result in a good tight lyric set that pops out complete in one burst, or in a "half a page of scribbled lines"* that takes days/months/years to incorporate into a finished song. Again, the skills of editing and revision are paramount for songwriting as for prose. In all cases, the principles presented in Strunk and Whites Elements of Style are my guide. OK not all cases. After all, this is just a comment.
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
I've always been fascinated by this because I've heard so many writers say just that. For me, writing is almost a compulsion. It's both enjoyable and painful -- but primarily enjoyable. My husband just loves to write. And it shows. He is enjoyable to read.
My writing is probably more along the lines of "now eat your spinach! It's good for you!"
I don't think enjoyment is really the metric to judge these things by. Even so, though, I find writing more enjoyable than almost any other vocation I've considered.
What I do wish were different, however, was a way I could write longer and more deliberately than newspaper articles or blog posts allow.
Dec '10
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
This can be where the real challenge sets in. I find my writing starts to lose coherence after 4-5 paragraphs. Perhaps if I was more deliberate about the writing like I was in school this wouldn't be an issue, but writing for school was compulsary rather than enjoyable.
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
Conservative Wanderer hits the nail on the head. Most writers feel best about the pieces they produce in a surge of inspiration. But writing professionally generally means producing whether the muse is visiting or not. Blogging has nominally relieved some of the pressures of traditional media -- length requirements, regular deadlines, etc. -- but, as CW points out, a blogger usually has to generate regular content in order to garner attention. So the tension just shifts rather than abating.
Another factor I'd note is that many writers engage in a peculiar inversion of the fundamental attribution error: they think that the writers they admire produce brilliant material, in its entirety, on demand, while the fact that they labor over a keyboard leaves them feeling borderline fraudulent. This insecurity is magnified, by the way, when they come across a writer who can actually speak impromptu with the fluency and creativity they demonstrate on the printed page (in other words, James Lileks terrifies other authors).
Apr '12
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
I understand that, Mollie. I think the three-to-five-thousand word essay might be my favorite thing to write, but there's not such a market for that. But I certainly agree with everyone that writing is hard. I think it's a good kind of hard, however, and I think both the challenge and the satisfaction come from this: in writing, we must clarify our thoughts so as to express them clearly and well. It's the disorder within our own brains that really needs to be cleared up, and that isn't easy, but it is exciting and satisfying. I'm maybe unusual in that I love revising, and when I have the time I'm ruthless about it. My husband has more than once been appalled at the cheery manner in which I open a completely new document and start fresh on something I've been poring over for weeks. But to me, the blank page can feel liberating. And if the old draft enabled me to figure out what I was saying, the time certainly wasn't wasted!
Nov '10
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
The "I like having written" sentiment applies to most careers. "My job is tedious, but I'm proud of what I've accomplished," could be said by any professional, not just writers.
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
I recently got my first paid writing gig, and it was an order for 8 essays on a fun theme. The deadline has come and gone, and I'm three essays short of completing the order.
I'm finding it really difficult to write good, enjoyable pieces on demand because I feel like a louse churning out something that's already been said —and said much better. So I feel the compulsion to wait until I've thought of something new and fresh and fascinating. Problem is that I have no control over my muse. She comes and goes as she pleases.
I really identify with what Troy says in his comment above.
Apr '12
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
For Troy and CW: I used to blog, actually, and that to me was the epitome of "fun writing". I did feel pressure to produce content, it's true. But there was so much freedom, and there was also the immediate gratification of reader response, which felt great. Then on the other side was my dissertation, which promised no such payoff in short term or long. It was easy to say which was more pleasurable. Nevertheless, after my first child was born, I quickly realized I would have to choose between blog and dissertation... and I picked the latter. I like to finish what I start. One great thing about being a dissertating parent, though, was that I became very good at writing in my head even when my hands weren't free. I'd compose a passage mentally, then eventually I'd get to a keyboard and type it all out in a whirlwind. That's how most of my Ricochet posts get written now. You can see why I have trouble sympathizing with people who whine about feeling chained to their computer.
Aug '12
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
As an academic, I find the writing to the hardest part of the process. Reading is fun. Number-crunching is fun. Data collection is boring, but not hard (and to the extent it is hard, it is not boring). But putting it in words can be infuriating. I have all this awesome stuff to tell you about -why can you not just get it by osmossis!? I have to use these cumbersome and inadequate words to express concepts and discoveries you -by their very nature -have never even contemplated!
Charts and graphs and tables are a beautiful thing.
But the worst part -the absolute worst part -once I've finally beaten and torqued the words into something approximating what I'm trying to say, I have to edit. It was impossible to jerryrig this language to communicate the ideas, and now I have to remove this piece here, and trim that piece there, and polish that rivet and clip this wire. The whole thing is just going to fall apart any second now, I can feel it.
But then it reaches it's approximate final form, and it shows what I want it to show, and it's beautiful.
Jun '12
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
Excuse me? Whine?
I'm sure you can come up with a better way to say that.
Aug '12
Re: Why Do Writers Hate Writing?
As an amateur novelist, the problem is the reverse. I have this story in my mind, but how can I get it on the page? What do I need to show here, and there, and how do they get from the first page to the second page, and why is there a talking cow dragging the sleigh across the troll bridge...
OK, perhaps that was oversharing. But there is so much, how can I ever get it all out?
But once there is a draft, the editing becomes a joy in itself. The body is there, the art is there, now I just have to apply the paint to make it look like I imagined it.