Writing, in Moderation

I recall in college (B.A. in Fiction Writing, go figure) listening to those writers in my class talk about their writing habits and feeling like a complete underachiever.

One woman who was a single parent woke up at 5 a.m. every morning and wrote for two hours. Another stayed up through the wee hours of the night cranking away pages of Joycean goodness while slurping coffee.

Typically, I found myself scrambling in the weeks and often nights before deadlines, pounding out prose and berating myself at the same time.

In college my excuse generally centered around my rock 'n roll/metal/prog band. How could I have the time or energy to write a great piece of fiction when I am pouring out bucketfuls of emotion three nights a week screaming into a microphone???

This all-or-nothing philosophy fulfilled its purpose in college, but now has lost its glam (hahah, "glam," get it?? ah, hehe, yeah).

Now I have found a balance somewhere in between. It is not so much about sitting down every day at the same time -- more often than not the desire to write comes at strange times. But I have learned to leave myself open to the possibilities...sometimes late at night, right after dinner, or first thing in the morning. The trick for me is to be open to it when it happens. And I don't succeed every time. In fact, this post almost proves that (my last post was over a week ago).

The important thing to remember is not to hold yourself up to other peoples' standards. Just because Keats was already dead at your age does not mean you should give up.