Writing Can be Lonely Work

Writing is, by its nature, a solitary pursuit. It involves spending hours of your life - whole days of your life - locked away in isolation, churning out the words. Some writers - journalists in particular - are answerable to a publisher; they have clear deadlines; real world demands that they must meet. Some writers - especially those who have established their reputation are given deadlines by their editors and publishers. Other people rely on them to get the work done.

For most beginning writers, and for many freelance writers, the going is tough. There is a T S Eliot poem, called The Gift of the Magi, in which Eliot pictures the Magi on their journey to find the prophesized Messiah.

It's a tough journey …
Such a long journey, the ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting heir liquor and women
And the night fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
Eliot has the narrator of his poem say:
In the end we preferred to travel all night
Sleeping in snatches
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly

Many aspiring writers - indeed, many well established writers - know only too well the sound of "the voices singing our ears, saying that this was all folly. A writer friend of mine - Peter - has published over 20 books for children; he"s published novels for young adults, as well as several textbooks and dozens of poems. He has received a Commonwealth Literary Grant, which provided him with a sufficient income to write full time for a year. He was also the recipient of a prestigious South Australian Writers' Award, the Carlew Prize, worth AUST $18000.

By any criterion, Peter is a successful writer. But he finds the writer's life tough. Each day is a struggle, facing up to the blank page and getting something down. He talks about how, at the end of each day, he looks at what he has written and thinks - who will want to read that!

As writers, many of us are constantly hounded by the voices singing in our ears.

Then why take it up in the first place? Why undertake such a demanding, often financially unrewarding, solitary pursuit.

Part of the reason we write is because we have no choice in the matter. We write because we have learned that writing does something for us.

Many of us begin writing in our adolescence, while we are still at school. We write when things get us down… and we discover that the writing is therapeutic - it somehow helps us deal with the pain and uncertainty that life offers us.

Some people come to writing later in life. Bert Facey was in his 80s when he wrote his highly successful autobiography, A Fortunate Life.

Writing becomes a way of sifting through one's life and making sense of it. Still others become writers after traumatic events in their lives - a marriage break up, a death in the family. This impulse to write is an impulse to make sense of one's life, and writing is one of the most effective ways we can do this.

Some of us write because we find we have a talent for it, and a passion for it. We enjoy the play of words and ideas. We enjoy entertaining others, and ourselves. Others of us write because we have something to say, something of importance.

But no matter how much we take pleasure in the act of writing, the creation of a story or an article, it remains a solitary pursuit.

For some people - beginning writers in particular - it may be useful to enroll in a writing course. Such courses provide a structure of activities and tasks which, because they are not overly prescriptive, you can bend by the writer to suit his/her own needs. Often such programs push you into trying kinds of writing you might otherwise avoid.

Julie is a good example. At 40, with her family largely independent, and with time on her hands, Julie entered a writing course. For her, it was a hobby - a break from domestic routine, and a chance to take up something she had enjoyed doing at school: creative writing. She enrolled in Short Story, Poetry

And Introduction to Writing. This latter course had a strong grammar component, and in addition, students were required to write ten pieces, each of a minimum of 500 words, over the course of the year. One of these was a non-fiction piece on a top of the students' own choosing.

Julie decided to write a piece on "Volcanoes", aimed at 14-15 year olds. At first she was reluctant; she wanted to focus on poetry and short story. But as she collected more information, she found she was really enjoying the research aspect. When she finally submitted the piece, it was several thousand words long.

'This is terrific,' I told her. "You should take it to an educational publisher." I suggested a couple of local companies. She rang the company and arranged a meeting to pitch her idea.

The publisher was lukewarm about a book on volcanoes for 15 year olds.

'What we are wanting to develop,' he told her, "is a series of nonfiction books, aimed at 10 year olds. Are you interested in rewriting this piece, and coming up with another 5 titles?"

Julie rewrote the volcanoes text, and wrote a further 5 books - about floods, droughts, earthquakes and so on. The books now sell internationally. She has published a further 3 series of books. The publisher likes working with her because she meets deadlines, and she's willing to "run with an idea".

The other great value of writing courses is that they provide you with a ready audience; you meet other writers who can read your work and provide you with valuable feedback. They can help you see which parts of your piece work, and which don't. You become a member of a community of like-minded people.

Often, too, such courses encourage you to publish your work; often such courses publish magazines and journals. A key goal is to develop a professional in their approach, and to encourage them to seek publication. Writing for course magazines is a good start on that path.

Spending time with other writers, and sharing your work with them can be a powerful means of developing your writing skills.