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on not writing
May. 25th, 2011 11:37 amI suppose it would be an ironic negation of the entire concept, but has anyone ever written much on NOT writing? So many people I know are writers, and there are a lot of posts and tomes about there on writing - how to do it, how many ideas and hours one spends on it, how fun it is, how hard it is, and how one cannot live without doing it. There have even been helpful pats on the back for writer's block - but that's not what I mean.
What about people who are writers who think they might not be so much any longer? Are there any ponderances (suitably short as they may be) from those who've spent more than half their life telling stories on paper and screen, when they don't think they have any stories left? Or worse, lack the discipline to do anything with the stories or few ideas they may have? Or, life changes such that the factors that used to inspire them to write are much diminished or gone? Or, they write things and it's just not very exciting? When writing becomes so much a part of one's identity or job for so long, it's frightening to go through such a long, barren time of not producing either anything or much in the way of substance, and not feeling more torn up about NOT writing.
What about people who are writers who think they might not be so much any longer? Are there any ponderances (suitably short as they may be) from those who've spent more than half their life telling stories on paper and screen, when they don't think they have any stories left? Or worse, lack the discipline to do anything with the stories or few ideas they may have? Or, life changes such that the factors that used to inspire them to write are much diminished or gone? Or, they write things and it's just not very exciting? When writing becomes so much a part of one's identity or job for so long, it's frightening to go through such a long, barren time of not producing either anything or much in the way of substance, and not feeling more torn up about NOT writing.
