Bob's Write from the Start: Newsflash: Writing is Hard Work

Bob's Write from the Start

Bob’s Write from the Start, a blog sharing the roller coaster ride of this renewing writer’s feelings and actual experiences, began March 2017. That January, I began with a two-sentence contribution to a local Writing Group. I am now a Guest Columnist for a local paper and have contributed to small and online magazines. My comments for new and renewing writers? Start by starting. Join a writing group. You are unique but not alone. Once you start work, you will not be in Kansas anymore.

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Newsflash: Writing is Hard Work

And frustrating. And annoying. And, from time to time, the best thing ever.

Famously, Hemmingway once said;
or Hemmingway once famously said;
or Hemmingway once said famously:
"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

If you read the books of advice to writers, the process seems as though it should be so orderly; or at least describable.

It ain't. At least not for me. Not if I am trying to write something true. Or surprising. Or something that someone, if they happened to come upon in accidentally, would say "You know, I'm glad I saw that and read it."

Just trying to get most things finished, a short story or a chapter or whatever, is hard. So far, with me, it is an iterative process -- I begin with excellent intentions and finish with something that looks only vaguely like what I started out to do.

Often, though, better. Not always, but often.

To paraphrase another Hemmingway quote, this from 'A Moveable Feast': Do not worry. You have written before, and you will write again.

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About Me

Name: Bob's Write From The Start

Location: Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Born, raised and living in Sarnia, Ontario, Bob Boulton began writing poetry, short stories and humorous articles for his high school newspaper in the period just after dinosaurs roamed the earth. His article on the mysteries of the Chess Club was particularly well-received. Bob’s excruciatingly naive teenage sonnet was published with positive mention in the high school yearbook. In University he wrote pretty much indecipherable essays on Existentialism and Phenomenology. Then, early in his working career, Bob also wrote short feature articles in the now-defunct (not his fault) Weston York Times. For this, he was paid $5.00 per article, which didn’t quite cover his transportation and parking costs. Then after a short break of thirty-five or forty years as an executive and leadership coach, Bob reactivated his passion for writing. The alternatives he considered were learning to yodel or trying to play the bagpipes. Bob’s loving and supportive family voted enthusiastically, and quickly, for writing.