I Will Write No More Forever and Ever
This is me, finishing the first act of my new play in 1997, having started in (I think) 1989
Thanks for all of the thoughtful comments on my previous post (showing here: http://www.redroom.com/blog/stephen-evans/i-will-write-no-more-forever). I wanted to expound a bit more - a good sign I guess, for me anyway.
I'm a man a few words, and a very slow writer. My two books (one published) each took eight years to write. My first play also took eight years, and my new one is twenty and counting. To keep going that long on one work I need more than inspiration, I need two things: characters I enjoy being alone with, and a big idea, something to keep me intellectually challenged from year to year.
So my question is: how many big ideas does a writer get?
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bookbasher (not verified) says:
One
Starting with the big one between his or her legs.
Rosy Cole says:
Courage, mon brave (as Napoleon or someone said)!
Maybe it's futile to suggest that you get in training for this year's Nanowrimo!
But to be serious... There is some kind of contradiction here for a writer who so admires the verbose and voluble Shakespeare to be dedicated to the literary opposite. Whilst I'm one who favours spare, taut writing, it is rarely reflected in my work. Human experience is diffuse, so perhaps there is a case for making concessions to that and not accepting that you have a fixed disposition. The art is in developing a steady thread of truth, from a scintilla to final revelation/denouement, like a broadening stream rushing towards the sea, like Smetana's Moldau. Paring everything down to the bone pre-supposes an audience that is already fairly primed to think like you do. If you are prepared to devote so much time to your craft, it is obviously deeply important to you. You need to do it. If you stop, you might disable or unbalance whole areas of your life. As with said stream, don't wait for the 'big idea', go with the salient little ones and really get your teeth into developing them and discovering true creativity. Mining gold starts with a glint; it doesn't come as bullion.
I spent six years writing my first (published) youthful novel, only about 75k words - the latest edition is significantly shorter! - which came out in 1980 and I've yet to be successful in the commercial sense.
I wonder what you make of Ibsen?
Very best,
Rosy
p.s. Should that have been 'Quoth the Evans,"Never more!"'?
Stephen Evans says:
Nanowrimo?
Do they accept one page novels?
I'm not sure I've written 75,000 words in my life.
Ibsen - I am always wary of judging writers from translation. I wish I could read Norwegian since it's my own heritage on my father's side.
From what I know of him in English, he (like O'Neill, like Pinter) was a craftsman who became known more for how he changed theater than for writing great plays, an important playwright, but not a great one.
But then I probably prefer comic playwrights :)
Smetana - love The Moldau. Think he was deaf when he wrote it. Hard to imagine.