Craft on My Commute #4 - Finishing School
Oct. 19th, 2018 11:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
disgruntled_owlI'll risk writing an mediocre review of Cary Tennis and Danelle Morton's Finishing School: The Happy Ending to that Writing Project You Can't Seem to Get Done, because 1) I've been struggling to get to it, 2) I've got library overdue fines to pay on it, and 3) most importantly, I really want to tell you about it. This book focuses not on the craft of writing so much as the sheer act of getting words on the page at all. It covers two main topics: the emotions that create roadblocks to writing, and the author's Finishing School model of finding buddies and setting up a system to get projects done. I value this book because it's more than a breezy pep talk about why writing is worth the effort. It's a strong, supportive hand on the back that reminds writers that others share their struggle that and steers them out of their own heads and towards other people that can provide help and encouragement.
In the first half, Tennis and Morton explain that "six emotional pitfalls" are what stand between writers and their work (as opposed to laziness or a lack of self-discipline):
The authors spend a lot of time on the nuances and manifestations of each emotional pitfall and provide examples from their own writing lives. They also explain how these emotions tend to travel in packs. It's tempting to skip ahead to the action-oriented parts of the Finishing School model, but true success depends on acknowledging and then working past these emotions. Each chapter in this first section concludes with descriptions of how to summon the will to keep going, or how to channel the power of that emotion into the work itself. These passages are longer and meatier than a pithy phrase, but I've found that walking with the authors through the logic of these strategies makes them easier to accept.
The second part of the book describes how the authors created and/or implemented local Finishing Schools to help fellow writers complete long unfinished projects. They formed small groups that met weekly and carried out a standard set of deceptively simple tasks:
The authors outline a series of principles to support this framework. The writing groups don't show each other what they've written or ask for craft-oriented help because Finishing Schools aren't critique groups. They're solely about getting the work finished, which puts everybody on the same playing field regardless of their project type, genre, professional experience, or talent. They provide a therapeutic outlet for writers who are struggling, but they are more about listening than about providing specific solutions to problems. The group also provides a place to celebrate successes--Tennis and Morton describe an amusing ritual of members dropping print copies of their finished work on the ground so they can hear the satisfying thuds. They add in other suggestions for finishing well, including creating a "detailed scenario of doneness" and writing a declaration that you deem the work done (and won't monkey with it anymore).
Online fandom seems to be pretty good about creating similar supportive communities for fanfic writers, which leverage social media so we can support each other. That said, I can see how the in-person nature of Finishing School would do more to encourage me. I find it easier to be accountable to a small group of people, especially those that I know and/or will physically see, than a broader online community. The one-to-one intimacy of texting a buddy has and likely would continue to help me power through inertia. I don't think I can handle creating a formal Finishing School in the near future, but I intend to implement a few of these tactile ideas in my writing life.
In the first half, Tennis and Morton explain that "six emotional pitfalls" are what stand between writers and their work (as opposed to laziness or a lack of self-discipline):
- Doubt: I'm not capable of the work or not "good enough."
- Shame: I am ashamed of not finishing and too ashamed to finish.
- Yearning: The work has to be perfect to be worth doing, and if it is perfect, I will be perfect, too.
- Fear: Failure of any kind with respect to the work is too painful to risk.
- Judgment: I don't want people to discover my mediocrity, or to be angry with me about things I've written.
- Arrogance: I don't need anybody's help to get this done, or, my suffering around this work is "more exquisite" than what others experience.
The authors spend a lot of time on the nuances and manifestations of each emotional pitfall and provide examples from their own writing lives. They also explain how these emotions tend to travel in packs. It's tempting to skip ahead to the action-oriented parts of the Finishing School model, but true success depends on acknowledging and then working past these emotions. Each chapter in this first section concludes with descriptions of how to summon the will to keep going, or how to channel the power of that emotion into the work itself. These passages are longer and meatier than a pithy phrase, but I've found that walking with the authors through the logic of these strategies makes them easier to accept.
The second part of the book describes how the authors created and/or implemented local Finishing Schools to help fellow writers complete long unfinished projects. They formed small groups that met weekly and carried out a standard set of deceptively simple tasks:
- Physically block out on a calendar when they were going to write each week, and set goals for that writing time. Show that plan to a buddy. This type of planning typically happens at in-person Finishing School meetings.
- Contact (typically by text) your buddy when you start and finish your writing periods, and when you need encouragement to keep going.
- Report to your buddy and/or your group about what you've accomplished and whether you've met your goals.
- Lather, rinse, repeat, until the project is done.
The authors outline a series of principles to support this framework. The writing groups don't show each other what they've written or ask for craft-oriented help because Finishing Schools aren't critique groups. They're solely about getting the work finished, which puts everybody on the same playing field regardless of their project type, genre, professional experience, or talent. They provide a therapeutic outlet for writers who are struggling, but they are more about listening than about providing specific solutions to problems. The group also provides a place to celebrate successes--Tennis and Morton describe an amusing ritual of members dropping print copies of their finished work on the ground so they can hear the satisfying thuds. They add in other suggestions for finishing well, including creating a "detailed scenario of doneness" and writing a declaration that you deem the work done (and won't monkey with it anymore).
Online fandom seems to be pretty good about creating similar supportive communities for fanfic writers, which leverage social media so we can support each other. That said, I can see how the in-person nature of Finishing School would do more to encourage me. I find it easier to be accountable to a small group of people, especially those that I know and/or will physically see, than a broader online community. The one-to-one intimacy of texting a buddy has and likely would continue to help me power through inertia. I don't think I can handle creating a formal Finishing School in the near future, but I intend to implement a few of these tactile ideas in my writing life.
no subject
Date: 2018-10-19 05:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-10-20 02:15 pm (UTC)Blocking out specific time to write wouldn't work for me, but the check-in aspect is useful. I've been doing a couple of DW communities that have a weekly 'how's it going?' post, and I like those. But the one-on-one connection does make a lot of sense in terms of motivation, especially motivation to finish a specific thing (as opposed to writing a little on various things).