What is the purpose of you writing?
Is it to write the best thing in the world? And how do you define that, really? Is the best novel in the world the best writing? And how do you define what is best? Sales? Awards? Personal satisfaction?
In Tron: Legacy, Jeff Bridges apologised to his computer avatar, which he created with the instruction to create a perfect system. Unfortunately, a perfect system - hence perfection - is unknowable. It is all perception.
The only answer that makes sense, to my perception, is that you write to finish what you write. That is all.
A body of work - any body of work - is derived from all the things you grind, sorry, ground, over the years. Then you step back, take a deep breath, and look behind you. All the other metaphors and sayings come into play. A journey is when you return to the same place with new eyes, blah blah blah.
I constantly strive to make my stroke - my writing - to be able to adapt to different requirements. This could mean different people - editors, directors, producers, clients - or it could just mean focusing on what I have always done, but finding new ways to do it.
I experiment with writing like crazy. Ever wonder why I keep this blog? And then disabled all the comments? I'm practically talking to myself, writing notes for myself to read, practising styles and words and phrases, sentences and paragraphs.
Because I believe that the more I write, the more the writing will be effortless. It's like lifting weights or doing cardio. First time I was on a treadmill, I could only last 15 minutes, which is shorter than even fucking.
Then, I found some gay stepmasters or some shit, and I worked on it till I could go two hours non-stop. Stepmasters are better than treadmills because they don't impact your knees.
Then I found out, I don't have to, and in fact I shouldn't do cardio for more than an hour. 20 minutes to get your heart rate in the correct burn zone, another 40 to burn. ANything more than an hour is just bullshit and you trying to hurt yourself. If you hurt yourself, you can't go to the gym for four months and that's money as well as time badly spent.
It's the same thing with everything else. The grind, baby. Not many people like the grind. They like to be told they could write, but none of the work.
Here, let me do you a favour - you can write. Hell, anyone with fingers can write. But what can you do with it?
Okay, that concludes this chapter.
Next on Vagabond: Me sleeping.
