Just Write, For Fuck’s Sake
Jessica Firger, writing for the Wall Street Journal:
After quitting her PR job seven months ago to write full time, MacLean knew she’d have to portion out the Internet or else she’d never get anything done. So she downloaded Self Control, a free computer program that blocks access to email and sites such as Twitter and Facebook for a predetermined amount of time. Even rebooting the computer won’t restore full Internet access.
That these writers seek out wifi-free locations to write in isn’t the story that should be covered here; the story is that they’re too weak-willed to turn off their phones and power down their laptop’s wifi. It’s pathetic, really, to attempt to glamorise this as some kind of “Search for the Promised Land” when it’s nothing of the sort. It’s about shallow, weak-willed people, unwilling to accept responsibility or control over their impulses, trying to spin it out into some kind of artistic quest or burden — a huge obstacle they must fight to overcome to create their art. It’s the artistic equivalent of those idiots who eat a Big Mac meal every day for a decade then sue McDonalds for “making” them fat.
I know only too well the temptation to hit Google Reader for “a quick look” when I’m meant to be focussing, or checking Twitter, or a hundred countless other little distractions, but I also know that this is my own fault. More importantly, I know that I am not a powerless victim in this situation, and that I need to control my procrastination, not rely on some application called “Self Control” to do it for me. (I’m certain the app was named purely so that people could make dire “Now I have Self Control‼” jokes.)
Instead of constantly searching for “the ultimate wifi free writing space” — something you will never find, because the real problem isn’t with the space: the real problem is you — how about you just turn off your phone, your wifi, and just fucking write.
And if the internet really is such a huge problem, just write the way I do most of my first drafts:
Notes
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nvmdillstaydehydrated reblogged this from koralatov
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patstansik reblogged this from koralatov
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ibsimpson said:
Brilliantly put. The philosophy could equally be applied to any inaction/action dependent upon our will, e.g., quitting smoking. If you really wanted to quit smoking “Just Quit, For Fuck’s Sake”. Otherwise, STFU whining, and smoke on.
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spinflux said:
Advice that comes at an appropriate time. Thanks. The silliness of writing sometimes overshadows the product itself. I would like to see that dissipate. Right after I ask the sun not to shine.
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koralatov posted this
