Writer's block, an owner's guide: Talent without (immediate) production

Still no time for this, although things do seem to be coming together and in a couple of weeks I’ll be complaining there’s not enough to do. Here’s a story of one of our greatest wordsmiths:

A friend came to visit James Joyce one day and found the great man sprawled across his writing desk in a posture of utter despair.

“James, what’s wrong?” the friend asked. “Is it the work?”
Joyce indicated assent without even raising his head to look at his friend. Of course it was the work; isn’t it always?

“How many words did you get today?” the friend pursued.
Joyce (still in despair, still sprawled facedown on his desk): “Seven.”
“Seven? But James… that’s good, at least for you.”
“Yes,” Joyce said, finally looking up. “I suppose it is… but I don’t know what order they go in!”
from On Writing : A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King

Here’s a similar thought in eight words.

I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done. Steven Wright

Both of these, and a whole lot more of the same, from talentdevelop.com, an interesting web site I came across while doing something utterly different, and which I may come across again quite soon. In fact I like the site so much I believe I’ll subscribe to its newsletter just so as to be reminded every few weeks that it exists.

Published on August 2, 2005 at 8:30 am. Linking to this article? Thank you! The permanent address is http://www.todayiwrite.com/journal/talent-without-immediate-production.html

Today I Write