Thread: Excitement about writing

In Foxee’s Catfish Soup interview she said, more or less, “If you've got a premise in mind that you're really excited about...write it.”

But what if you have a premise in mind that you’re not really excited about?

There are plenty of other activities, besides writing, that make up people’s lives and that they carry through to fruition, without becoming over-excited.

I have no wish for this to appear as finger-pointing at Foxee. It’s just that hers was the most recent quote of this nature that I’d seen, and it triggered my reaction.

So why does excitement become a necessary part of writing? Can writing be successfully carried out without excitement coursing through one’s veins?

Yes, of course writing can be carried out without excitement. But sometimes excitement about a project (and the reason for the excitement can vary) is the a main aspect that carries one through to completion, especially as there is rarely a guarantee that a project will be accepted for publication--be it a novel, short story, article, etc.

Hopefully, in the end, somebody is excited about it--at least the editor/publisher, and/or the readers. Otherwise will it ever be read?

I guess one could argue about the purpose for writing the piece--self satisfaction vs. seeking an audience, but I am posting this with the view that the piece is being written with the intent that others will read it.

So why does excitement become a necessary part of writing? Can writing be successfully carried out without excitement coursing through one’s veins?

I havent read the interview of Foxee's but can see how the quote might trigger your questions. What it might be, and this is just personal speculation, is an attempt to put worried writers at ease. Give them something to work towards, i.e. feeling excited about their project as a driving force to help them complete it. Not sure how applicable it would be as a blanket statement because I imagine plenty of writers out there working to deadlines and expected to come up with ideas fast and furious, might work through a project feeling obligated and dedicated to the end result but not necessarily excited about the idea.

Anyway, just some thoughts that popped into my head in response to your thoughts in response to Foxee's interview.

I know that personally, I've written one story where I wasnt excited about the premise. It was more a case of being driven to write it because a similar premise elsewhere was badly executed and I needed to see if I could do any better. The premise was in a film and my story version is currently doing the submission rounds so I guess time will tell if the need paid off.

Hey, Oxigenator, I should probably clarify that comment as I forgot your stated tendency to be literal-minded. 'Enthusiastic' would have worked, too...I didn't mean pulse-pounding excitement.

As for why...I'd rather undertake a project I find enjoyable than one I don't. I thought I also had a part in there acknowledging that it's also possible to write to a deadline rather than because you're inspired but maybe that didn't make it into the final interview.

Huh? You guys actually have a dedicated forum for interviews with members...?

It was Hawke's idea. Watch out, she'll be coming for you next.

Haha. She can come after me but she'll never get me to accept.

For many writers -- for want of a better term I'll call them 'hobby' writers -- the passion, excitement, enthusiasm is their entire motivation, much like any other hobby it is done for fun. If the fun is not there neither is the drive to write. But for others the drive to write is more pragmatic. The writing itself isn't the goal, for them the goal is being published. The successful mystery writer, and former fiction columnst for Writer's Digest , Lawrence Block, started his career writing soft-core porn novels. It wasn't work he felt excited about, but it paid the bills and taught him a lot about writing while he worked on the books which he did feel enthusiastic about.

I think you'll find that most published authors have work out there which was a chore to write.

Originally Posted by The Backward OX

There are plenty of other activities, besides writing, that make up people’s lives and that they carry through to fruition, without becoming over-excited.

Writing a novel takes from a weekend to a couple of decades depending on how many times you rewrite it and how much time you can spend on it (e.g. probably only an hour or two a day for most people with day jobs). Why would you invest that amount of time into something you're not excited about when there are many other things you could be doing? It's not like going grocery shopping, which usually isn't very exciting but only takes an hour or two.

I just caught the end of this but Ill chime in on it anyway. Going to work isnt the most exciting thing for me but I get up early to go to work for someone else. I spend long hours at work to help someone else develop their dream so when it comes to writing for myself I shouldnt even complain. Im not always excited about it but I have to do it. Just like work. Some Of my best writing was done out of obligation to myself.

Yes. But you already knew that.

Oooh, what an interesting topic. I'm still new enough I didn't know about the interview thread, but I'll chime in with my thoughts. To me, the excitement has to be there with the initial idea. It has to intrigue me enough to want to flesh out the idea to its complete novel potential. As a plotter, I'll know as I'm developing the outline if it has potential to be a complete novel or not. If not, I set it aside until a new approach arises.

But, as with all my writing projects, those that have a complete concept go on to the actual writing of the manuscript. During this I'll bounce back and forth between love and hate and often drift somewhere in between at an "eh" state. This is where the focus and drive that divides the published writers and unpublished writers. You have to push through those less than excited or enthusiastic moments to complete the manuscript and move on to the editing and revision phase where the whole "love/hate/eh" state starts all over again.

Just my thoughts.

Well said. I have an "eh" on the bedroom dresser as we speak. I loved it at first but now I struggling with getting a paragraph out a week. Remember how you could start a project and not be distracted, not even a peep. Know the slightest noises, like my dog licking her butt, throws my mind like a ballon let loose in the wind. I hear that Aterol is good for that.

Originally Posted by faithful

the slightest noises, like my dog licking her butt, throws my mind like a ballon let loose in the wind. I hear that Aterol is good for that.

I hear that "Aterol" (I think you mean Adderall) is very similar to Ritalin, and Ritalin has received bad press.

Originally Posted by Foxee

Hey, Oxigenator, I should probably clarify that comment as I forgot your stated tendency to be literal-minded. 'Enthusiastic' would have worked, too...I didn't mean pulse-pounding excitement.

I may have figured something out since posting (I'm the original slow learner)
1) I have an idea for a story
2) I'm not overly-enthusiastic about it
3) My health issues are preying on my mind
4) Maybe I should just forget about writing for now.