Do You Feel a Sense of Dread Before You Start Writing?
Do you feel happy once you start writing?
The day before John Steinbeck put “pencil to paper” to start his novel, East of Eden, he described how he felt now that the planning stage had reached its end and the writing stage was about to begin.
Odd how reluctant I am to start. I suppose that everyone hates discipline and fights it off at all costs. How the paper eats up pencil line. How it does. - John Steinbeck, Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters, 12
However, the following day, after writing the first page and a half, he felt euphoric.
Oh! I am so happy - so very happy. I think I have never been so happy in my life. - John Steinbeck, Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters, 13
I don’t know about you, but I fall in love with the planning stage of a project. But that joy I feel while planning begins to fade once the plans are finished and the real work must begin.
But, like Steinbeck, I often enjoy the process again once I start writing - even if I only accomplish a small part of my plan.
Does your experience as a writer mirror Steinbeck’s? Or is it different?
