I'm a line writer with a systems brain, and I either write in one shot and it's done or I spend eight years tuning a story. Novels have a halflife of 6-9 months before I shelve them. I've been in a drought.
More apocrypha: Amy Hempel can take up to a week. To write one sentence.
More apocrypha: Friends and acquaintances suggest and vaguely allude to Pynchon working on Against the Day, Mason & Dixon, and what would become Vineland, in one form or another, all at the same time, as early as when he was couch surfing the north coast of California in 1973.
This is exactly what I do. EXACTLY and my best pieces were when i forced myself to blast them out in one go. 4 novels...all in bits. 100 re edits. nowhere near finished. short stories like a sticking plaster. MY ONLY CONSOLATION.
Alice, I appreciate how directly you spoke about your process. It takes honesty to describe your habits without trying to soften them. What you’re dealing with is not unusual. A lot of writers with strong standards fall into the same cycle of revising old pages instead of moving forward. It comes from having good taste, high expectations, and a long history of working with language. That can slow progress, but it also means the work you produce is solid.
Being in your 40s does not make you late. It makes you someone with experience and perspective. The book deal you have now is proof that your work is moving in the right direction. You also have people who believe in what you’re writing and want to see you finish. That matters.
I hear your frustration, but I also see that you’re pushing through it. Keep going. You’re not behind. You’re in motion, and that counts.
I'm a line writer with a systems brain, and I either write in one shot and it's done or I spend eight years tuning a story. Novels have a halflife of 6-9 months before I shelve them. I've been in a drought.
More apocrypha: Amy Hempel can take up to a week. To write one sentence.
More apocrypha: Friends and acquaintances suggest and vaguely allude to Pynchon working on Against the Day, Mason & Dixon, and what would become Vineland, in one form or another, all at the same time, as early as when he was couch surfing the north coast of California in 1973.
“But like, fuck. I’m in my 40s! It’s not too late, I guess, but it’s pretty late.”
I’ve never felt so understood.
This is exactly what I do. EXACTLY and my best pieces were when i forced myself to blast them out in one go. 4 novels...all in bits. 100 re edits. nowhere near finished. short stories like a sticking plaster. MY ONLY CONSOLATION.
good luck with your work Alice!
I obsess edit my shit too ( attest in my WIP)
FUCK SHIT GODDAMMIT!
Stop. Posting. From. My. Diary.
(No. Don't. But, goddammit.)
Alice, I appreciate how directly you spoke about your process. It takes honesty to describe your habits without trying to soften them. What you’re dealing with is not unusual. A lot of writers with strong standards fall into the same cycle of revising old pages instead of moving forward. It comes from having good taste, high expectations, and a long history of working with language. That can slow progress, but it also means the work you produce is solid.
Being in your 40s does not make you late. It makes you someone with experience and perspective. The book deal you have now is proof that your work is moving in the right direction. You also have people who believe in what you’re writing and want to see you finish. That matters.
I hear your frustration, but I also see that you’re pushing through it. Keep going. You’re not behind. You’re in motion, and that counts.