A Book to Read When You Realise that Writing Really is a Muscle

Posted by Daisy

 

I am a slow writer. Sometimes I would rather stick a needle in my eye than write. I love researching, meeting and interviewing people – it’s the scribing part that I find difficult.

After I broke up with Tall Guy with Glasses in April, I threw myself into work. I accepted every feature commission going, and spent at least twenty hours a week writing (on top of my day job).

However, as the months passed, something strange began to happen. One night, having faffed about all evening as usual – I had a nap, went jogging, ate dinner -  I finally sat down at 9 pm to begin to write a feature for a next day deadline. I fully expected to be bug-eyed at 3 a.m. tap-tapping away on my bed propped up by three pillows.

But two hours later, the piece was finished. Was I getting complacent? Maybe I hadn’t worked hard enough on it? Somehow, it didn’t seem as difficult as before. And my editor seemed to like it.

This began to happen with the next few features too. It simply became easier and faster to churn them out. And their quality was the same as if I’d spent ten hours writing instead of three.

 

The Revelation: Writing gets easier.

I never thought I’d see the day.

(However, having not written any features for the past few weeks, I’m assuming I’ll return to the 3am-blood-sweat-and-tears method with my next piece.)

 

'Me and You' by Claudia Carroll

 

Having spent the past week packing up my apartment, finding dirt that I’d never seen before, handing over the keys to my new tenant and moving back home (it’s actually lovely for the two nights I’ve been here so far – nice dinners every night, and chats with my mum over the papers, mugs of tea, Ready Brek and bananas every morning), I haven’t read anything in a while.

I bought 'Me and You' today and can’t wait to start it. I love Claudia Carroll’s books and recently had a great chat with her over the phone for this blog. However, the notes are now packed up with all the other journalist notebooks from the last six years, in the attic of my old apartment. Clever, huh? Claudia told me hilarious stories about online dating, gave great encouragement for beginning writers, and said she loves living near RTE in Dublin because her actor friends from ‘Fair City’ pop over for lunch whenever they’re free.

‘Me and You’ is about a best friend who vanishes. It looks great. Review to follow.