When the preorder for The Assassin’s Bride went up, I wasn’t ready. The book wasn’t done. After a writing drought all summer, leaving me with next to no words written across several months, I wasn’t sure I’d get it done at all. But now work on the book is wrapping up, and I’m a little relieved.
Deadlines can be useful. They can also be stressful if they’re demanding, because they don’t leave a lot of room for error. I wrote the book slower than what I wanted, because I ran into problems with my physical capabilities. Nobody likes to admit they can’t do something, but sometimes we have to sit down and just say it. Sometimes, you physically can’t.
I love writing, but it’s hard. Not just the creative part, not just the finding time part, but the actual, physical act of writing. As I do more, I also realize that I have more physical limitations than some. I made changes to my work area so it was more ergonomic, but I still ended every writing day in pain because my joints bend in directions they aren’t really supposed to, and that means even supportive chairs and arm rests and palm rests can’t spare my body when it’s already just not quite right.
I envy the people who can regularly do ten thousand word days. I envy the people who do eight thousand, and the ones who do five thousand. I can hit five thousand, sometimes even a few days in a row, but by the end of it, I’m in such sorry shape that I have to take time off. Pacing myself is better; it’s better to do 2,500 words every day, consistently, than to do 20k in a week and then need two weeks to recover.
Writing is a physically demanding job. We can buy ergonomic chairs or standing desks, but it doesn’t change the fact that it requires us to stay in one place for extended periods of time, committing repetitive movements that, over time, will grind down bones.
When they say creativity takes blood, sweat, and tears, they mean it; finishing that book took a lot out of me. I don’t learn my lesson, though, because I’ll be finishing Paragon of Water next, so it can be released in November.
Onward.