Respect for Writing: Quotas

One thing I had set out to do with this blog was to take my tiny little Twittel posts about writing and expand them into something deeper, something more in-depth and something that isn't entirely useless.

The first one on the list was "Quotas are a writer's best friend and worst enemy, they force you to write more than you want. Can't get in the habit of writing "enough.""

One of the most common misunderstandings about writing - or any other creative work, I would assume - is that they aren't simple works of creative expression, they're acts of physical labor. It isn't simply enough to have ideas, for even the most truly brilliant idea can flounder and die when not allowed to develop. A book is like the child of an author. The printed word is the flesh, giving it shape and agency and the ability to grow and change. The idea at the heart is the soul, that strange ineffable spark that exists in all things, giving some meaning greater than mere existence, the quality for love. But labor is the mother's milk, and both the body and the soul will die unloved in the crib without it.

Consider the expenditure of effort and creativity involved in construction of a house. It begins with the architect, the designs of a specialize artist, but by themselves, his work is nothing but a picture. It can provide no shelter or warmth or protection. It's worthless without the tremendous labor of construction expended upon it.

Conversely, labor without a design is equally worthless. A house is more than an assemblage of brick and wood thrown together without a care for design. It needs a schema, an underlying design that gives it form, function and aesthetic appeal. I suppose I should discuss the importance of the literary schema, but this is not the place.

What this means is that writing cannot be done lackadaisically. A construction worker can't lazily build a house, half-heartedly placing a handful of bricks whenever it suits him. It takes him disciplined, regimental attitude towards his work in order to truly accomplish anything. That is what writers must be. We must always be working, always be serious and always pushing ourselves past our limits, for without this strife, not only will we never truly achieve anything, we will never be able to improve, for it is only through overcoming challenges, both external and internal, do we ever develop as human beings.