This weekend was “that time of the season” again: time for the Writers Weekly 24 hour short story contest. I’ve participated in this contest numerous times (although scarily it looks like my most recent attempt was a year and a half ago) – it’s great fun as you have literally just a day to write a short story, less than a thousand words, which is related to a topic you find out about only at the beginning of this 24 hours.
Since this contest fell on a day when I had nothing else planned (although all other new mothers will also laugh at the idea of having “nothing else planned” – that doesn’t mean we actually have any time), I decided to take a chance, sign up, and beg my husband for a couple of free hours while he looked after our baby boy.
This worked, but a couple of hours is not much time when I still had a million other things to get done. But the great part about having to look after a baby is that you really have to make the most of your writing time. This meant that while I was “sshh-ing” him to sleep this morning, I was thinking of plot ideas. When we went for our after lunch walk (designed to put him to sleep, although it failed again), I was trying out different plot twists. I managed to get both of us back alive but I did notice myself snapping out of my plotting daydreams a few times to realise that I didn’t quite remember walking from one side of the park to the other – fortunately my pram seems to know the way itself these days.
This evening, baby in bed, husband fed, cats curled up next to me, I sat down and hammered out my 950 word short story as fast as I could. Having spent much more time than usual thinking about it seemed to help. Usually, my habit is to do a lot of brainstorming in front of the computer, recording lots of different ideas as I go. Thinking about it on the go instead seemed to narrow down my ideas as I could only manage to remember the best ones. Whether or not this meant I got a better story is debatable, but I’m happy with the one I’ve got, especially considering it was done in a relatively limited time. Another good lesson for me on how it’s possible to write, even when you don’t have any time.
{nods} I’ve heard a lot of writing mothers say more or less the same thing: there’s nothing like a baby to teach you to use your writing time well. I’m glad it’s proving to be true for you!
.-= Kristan´s last blog ..Good tidings =-.
So often, writers–and the reading public in general–learn that writing is a craft to be slowly succored: a story over months, a novel over years. Kind of like a child, actually! But I find that writing quickly is the best way. It keeps the story fresh and leaves your critical faculties no time to doubt the creative side of your brain that’s doing the writing. No story can be perfect, but I think I produce my best work when I rely on the gauntlet of speed to trick my primordial storytelling abilities into doing all of it for me!
-bn
.-= Ben Godby´s last blog ..If ya cant beat em =-.
@ Kristan, me too, perhaps having a baby is the solution to my procrastination problems! Actually I read a novel recently and Twittered with the author who told me the reason the chapters were so short (I’d commented on that, in a positive way) was that they were written while her baby was napping so a chapter was the length of a nap!
@ Ben, I wouldn’t have agreed with you a year or two ago but now I think you’re absolutely right and it’s very encouraging to me to think that I don’t need to agonise over every word and comma to be a “good writer”. And also that it is still possible to get some writing done within the time constraints of having a baby around (or whatever other constraints life throws at you).
I’m torn on this one. I like you Amanda tend to write my stories a few times in my head before I get a chance to sit down to do some writing. I don’t have kids, but I have a pretty demanding job, which means I’m used to the prospect of ‘stealing hours’ back to write.
The main difference with me is that I’ll tend to re-write a short story, quite significantly, 4-5 times before it gets to the finished stage. Often a re-write will be a complete change in direction – rather than just a refinement.
Deadlines though do seem to streamline the process somewhat, placing some kind of structure on my creativity is definitely more productive than an open ended project.
.-= Mark Welker´s last blog ..writing- creative audit =-.
@ Mark, interesting to hear your thoughts and I must say I have done some significant rewrites on some of my work that definitely made it better – although that tends to be on stuff that I didn’t think out so well before I wrote. One interesting idea I picked up from a link Ben left for me recently is that if something needs a complete rewrite you should write it from scratch/memory – don’t use the original as a basis. Have you ever tried that? To me it sounds a) scary and b) like too much hard work; but perhaps it’s worth trying.