tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29793018.post6442351200772143766..comments2024-01-31T04:29:38.858-06:00Comments on The Outfit: A Collective of Chicago Crime Writers: I Hate to WriteSean Chercoverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939494866272006802noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29793018.post-2443578331364296732009-08-03T18:19:41.554-05:002009-08-03T18:19:41.554-05:00I think the quote about loving having written orig...I think the quote about loving having written originated with Mark Twain, though I can't recall his exact wording. I put off writing--like Erma Bombeck, I can wash windows instead--but once I get going I love it and get lost in it. To me, making things work out in words is like solving a math problem--which I never could do.judyalterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13767466505891813090noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29793018.post-45663126240043488782009-08-03T17:14:09.995-05:002009-08-03T17:14:09.995-05:00I get that, Rob. I think I veer in that direction ...I get that, Rob. I think I veer in that direction too...<br /><br />Anyone have any suggestions for us?Libby Hellmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10693555214699897283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29793018.post-20154596279365180202009-08-03T15:40:21.508-05:002009-08-03T15:40:21.508-05:00Naomi, I think of David Remnick's comment, &qu...Naomi, I think of David Remnick's comment, "There are few writers of value who do not approach the end of a long project with at least some sense of dread, the self-lacerating [belief] that the [work] is not so much finished as abandoned, and that everyone will see all the holes [in it], all the shortcuts, the tape, the glue. Finishing is more about terror than exhilaration." ThatSara Paretskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803185134430978343noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29793018.post-60228840604846628952009-08-03T15:24:53.906-05:002009-08-03T15:24:53.906-05:00I know what you mean by thinking it through, Sara ...I know what you mean by thinking it through, Sara and David. I have that problem too. I think it stems from film, where you can cut to a completely different time, location, or character, and just assume that the plot developed offstage. Not so in novels. Readers won't accept half baked stories. (Neither will I, actually)...<br /><br />Dana.. I love the image of the bead of sweat. You are a Libby Hellmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10693555214699897283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29793018.post-79719299627379991512009-08-03T14:37:11.720-05:002009-08-03T14:37:11.720-05:00Interesting post, Libby. I'm with Sara ... I ...Interesting post, Libby. I'm with Sara ... I spend a lot of time writing stuff I ultimately can't use, because I have to play it out on paper; it doesn't play out as clearly in my mind. The writing-shitty-first-drafts advice, although never articulated that clearly in my mind, is often how I work now. Just write it to get it out, and then fix it.David Ellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17506278726202948673noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29793018.post-30239926884628665962009-08-03T13:26:51.766-05:002009-08-03T13:26:51.766-05:00I hate writing, too. That's why I've only ...I hate writing, too. That's why I've only coughed up a handful of short stories and one never-to-see-the-light-of-day novel. Even a finished story stresses me out because it's never really finished, is it?<br /><br />Naomi JohnsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29793018.post-9637075948661603012009-08-03T11:51:02.773-05:002009-08-03T11:51:02.773-05:00I like to write, but lately I've found myself ...I like to write, but lately I've found myself thinking of the things I could be doing if I didn't spend most of the evening writing. We're not talking about curing cancer or performing with the Pittsburgh Symphony or climbing Mount Everest, either. I'm thinking about things like watching more baseball on television and sitting on the patio trying to guess which bead of sweat will Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29793018.post-11676073995342349092009-08-03T10:27:52.479-05:002009-08-03T10:27:52.479-05:00Libby, I love to write, I love being lost in the w...Libby, I love to write, I love being lost in the web of words, and the nest of stories. What I don't do well is think--it's hard for me to think a story through without writing it, and so I'm forever writing vast amounts of material I can't use. It wasn't a problem in the past, but now, with the pressure from publishers to keep cranking out material, and my own physical Sara Paretskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17803185134430978343noreply@blogger.com