Produce, produce, produce. Productivity is a powerful driving force in our society and it frequently pushes its way into writing advice as well—whether it’s focusing on getting that word count or making the writing process so efficient that not a single word or minute of your writing time is wasted. But this feeds often into all-or-nothing thinking that doesn’t actually help your writing process—it may in fact kill your drive to write at all. Watch Amanda discuss how productivity is killing your memoir or scroll below for Emily’s written take.
Before we get into today’s post, we wanted to ask—do you have a plan for actually finishing your memoir? If not, we know you aren’t making the progress you hoped for. That’s why we developed The Memoir Method Checklist. This free guide (and video training!) will take you through every single step you need from idea to published marketable book. Grab it now at https://pageandpodium.com/checklist
Productivity versus Creativity
Our culture in the era of late-stage capitalism is obsessed with production. There is tons of advice out there structured around how to be the most productive, and some of it can be helpful. Afterall, we all want to see the products of our work and feel accomplished at the end of the day. However, there is a toxic side to this as well. When we only care about the product, we lose our ability to find joy in the process. That actually drives a wedge between us and the thing we are making. When you are creating something—including writing, but also all forms of craft—you are putting yourself into that wonderful process of making. Your time—a resource we can truly never generate more of—is poured into that making and that’s part of what makes it beautiful. When you spent hours knitting a cozy sweater or building flavors in a stew, (where Amanda often uses knitting metaphors in describing the nature of craft, I like to use cooking—the secondary arts of our hearts) that time is what makes that a special gift.
If we try to only focus on the end result, we are missing out on that time. That time becomes just an obstacle to get through in order to get to the product. Shortly it can become a time you even dread, because it begins to feel like a punishment you need to endure to get to the end, with this feeling that you should have done it already.
Creation is messy
When we are hyper focused on end product, figuring things out, experimenting, and all the messy parts of the creative process become tortuous. But they are essential. We often talk through many ways of making the process a little less messy, through planning your structure, setting realistic goals for yourself, finding ways to make progress, and being deliberate about moving through the phases of the process.
While we can do ourselves big favors by having a plan and following it through, this doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be times where things get messy or that you will be so efficient that every word you type ends up in the book as-is. After all, revision is part of that creative process we’re talking about. The pressure to get to the product can even poison the process for you—and if you grow to hate every minute of writing, it will show.
Production makes us feel, not like craftswomen, but like machines designed to crank out materials. But that is in opposition to our drive to create. Our urge to create is instinctive and integral into our minds and identities—just think about how children play and create as they do. They are making things for the purpose of having them, but for the purpose of making. When we create, we are figuring out ourselves and making our mark on the world. That process is joyful—and when we combine that joyful process with practice, patience, and a desire to improve—the results can be amazing. But if only focus on the desire to get the product out, we are missing the key ingredients that will make it lovely and worthwhile.
Stepping out of black and white thinking
Focusing on productivity can also trap us in black and white thinking that can strangle the joy of creating and become difficult to overcome. Because the value of a product is how much people are willing to pay for it. Now, we understand that you do want to create something people will want to buy and read—and there are ways to strategically work towards that goal!
But in the process of writing, focusing on that final product and getting caught up in the idea that the book project you’re working is either valuable or not, with your focus all on where that book will land in the market place, then that thinking will begin to color all your decisions about the book. Writing—any long form craft—comes down to a series of decisions. When we make those decisions based on the love, joy, and sense of self that we’re are pouring out into a project, then that energy is self-feeding and we will keep going back to that project. But if every decision becomes not about the act of creation, but in how it will be received, we are gradually shrinking ourselves in the process.
The black and white thinking leads us to think we are only valuable if we can make things that other people find valuable. That is so directly in opposition to the actual truth. The most valuable pieces of you are your ability to express, your ability to create, your growth, your love, your care. Those are the things that you should be holding onto with dear life. If you are tapping into this part of you that really wants to create and express, then it will show in the work. You can only do that if you let go of the black and white thinking that either everybody loves it, or it was a waste of time. Neither of those are true. We’ve got to find a place to approach our own craft with love and care the same way that we want to send love and care out through our writing.
Stop saying you’ll “knock it out”
“Just do it” can be helpful to hear sometimes when there are mental blocks between you and what you want or need to do. As a slogan, it works fine. But as a creative philosophy, it sucks.
Since when do we say we need to sit down and “knock out” things that we love?
Writing is work, and because it’s work it might not always be the favorite part of your day. But instead of trying to figure out how you can push through discomfort, plant your butt and knock it out, shift your focus to try to finding that love and fun again. It’s there—and sometimes we have to sidle up to is sneaky-like, like a cat we want to befriend—but we can find ways to make the writing a joyful creative process, and not a mechanical production.
PS. Searching the internet for writing, publishing, and book marketing advice can be exhausting to say the least! If you’re ready for hands on, one-on-one support for your memoir, check out The Memoir Method. We’d love to welcome you into this nine-month group program specially designed for women writing their first memoirs. And don’t forget, if you’d like to chat with Amanda about the program (or any other services we offer), you can book a free consult any time!
