I’ve begun listening to “American Gods”, by Neil Gaiman. He recorded a foreward about how the book came to be, in which he dropped a couple gems about writing. He mentioned to his editor while he was writing the novel that he felt he had finally learned how to write novels. She replied that no one really learns how to write novels, they only learn how to write the one they’re currently working on.
He also passed along a quote he’d heard somewhere that a novel is “a long piece of prose with something wrong with it”.
He also talks about how when he first wrote the novel his editor had him trim about 12,000 words out of it. Ten years later another publisher approached him about doing a tenth anniversary edition, and they negotiated that this one would be his original draft without the trimming. I found that interesting. Is an author ever satisfied with what goes out? He wrote a successful novel that won awards in sci-fi, horror, and fantasy (in itself a topic of discussion), and yet ten years later he still wishes he could have kept more of his original? Will there ever be a point where we are satisified with our manuscripts?
He also mentioned that while writing the book and touring America following the path he felt his character should take, he planned to write 2000 words per day, and felt happy when he got 1000. That made me feel a little better. My goal is to write 1000 words per day, and I usually have an hour in which to write them. Yesterday was a rare day in which I was able to get in close to two hours and cranked out 2300 words.
Anyway, it’s sometimes comforting to know that even “The Greats” struggle with their art, and perhaps even have a love-hate relationship with their work. It’s by no means a predictor of success, but it at least suggests that success is not unattainable.