On ‘real’ writing and storytelling

Virginia Woolf: The original blogger

It’s been so busy recently, and this means that writing my latest novel has been pushed down and down to the bottom of the things to do list. The problem with writing things which don’t bring immediate revenue, is that they won’t ever hold the urgency or allure of doing something for a customer.

In times gone by, writing was considered to be a legitimate pastime. When I read Virginia Woolf’s diaries I’m reminded just how much things have changed. Woolf wasn’t rich, but she never truly struggled to pay her bills or worried about her car loan. She simply got up, wrote every day, and then wrote about writing.

This sounds like a fantastic way to approach the writing process. I’m sure if I had nothing more practical to do I could have pumped out a few hundred novels by now. The problem is, real life gets in the way. Whole my job is ‘writer’, when I say that I’m talking about bids, web copy and blog posts rather than stories.

I wish being a writer of fiction was something we could do during work hours and still feel OK about it. When I pop off this mortal coil, I don’t think I’ll be remembered for that great website I wrote thirty years ago. Not that this is important, but I’d rather be remembered for springing that one, beautiful, classic novel in to the world.

I’m going to be more disciplined from now on. As well as losing weight, quitting smoking, going teetotal and exercising I’m also going to set some time apart for writing fiction.

….and, if this resolution is as effective as all the above, I won’t have finished my latest book until I’m well in to the next decade!