I can remember from when I was first learning bass guitar something that one of my bass instructors taught me. For the record, I had two bass instructors. The first one was Jack; cool, laidback white guy with infinite patience. Hands moving like a spider up and down the fretboard. Those instances where he'd warn me that a particular tab was for a more advanced player and he'd see me start getting the hang of it were always cool - just to see a reverential and somewhat goofy grin on his face. The other instructor was Devid; Italian cat. Flat cap wearer. Hand movements less like a spider and more of a grip around the neck of the bass as he worked the fretboard. All about the muted notes to add some flavour to the grooves. And, in terms of practise, he would tell me 'little and often.' Play the bass for just ten minutes a night, before bed.
Little and often.
It actually paid off. And, more often than not, those ten minutes actually stretch into about thirty.
I can remember Devid going to town on the bassline for 'Stuck In The Middle With You' by Stealers Wheel, freestyling it. Truthfully, it's not one of my go-to basslines for warm-up. That accolade goes to the likes of 'Money' by Pink Floyd or 'Seven Nation Army' by The White Stripes. But with two basses - one in the room where I write, and one beside my bed, the credo of 'little and often' still sticks with me.
The reason why 'little and often' comes to mind is because, in terms of the writing, that's the method I have. Generally, when I write, I'll aim for a thousand words at a time, which equates to about three pages if we're talking Microsoft Word (97-2003 version preferred). I'm aware that there's a romantic school of thought that 'you' should write every day. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is foolishness.
Let's be clear. I love to write. I love to craft something that engages, disturbs, and scares the shit outta people. But to write every day?
Mmmmm, no. Not happening.
Not yet, at least.
But, here's what's key. I'll usually write a minimum of a thousand words at a time. If I get more words down in a sitting, great (and in some instances, I'll do up to around ten pages / three thousand words a day). But the important thing is to write often. Because the more often I write, the more thousand-word batches I have. Those batches add up to short stories. Or chapters that add up to novellas. Novels. Mythos. A body of work.
But, the more I think about it, the more I think that as a result of my successes in the craft, it's also left me with less time to write. Longer works of fiction need more time to do edits. Even when the work is (thankfully) sold, there's additional work to be done in proofing, promoting, Q&A sessions, podcasts, etc. All very welcome and graciously received ...but it does mean getting to the bottom line of actually writing is more challenging.
The additional aspect is that while I love writing, I'm not slavish to it. Again, I can regularly knock out a thousand words a day, but I don't want to write to the exclusion of everything else. As I hope shines through in my work, I love London, so I love to go out and experience it. To live a little, go places, meet people, do things. Time with friends, time with family. All that good stuff.
Typing this now, I'm thinking back on what the hell have I been doing for the last few months, author-wise. Most recently, trying to wrap the first draft of a new novelette. More on that as soon as I'm able. Most of the first draft is done, so not too long before I can do basic clean-up and then start to layer in detail and nuance. Prior to that has been work on the re-release of the Misery And Other Lines collection - especially since the plan was to try and get it into print in time for FantasyCon. While that didn't work, at least it was in print in time for Halloween - which, given the theme of the collection, was more important. And prior to that was clean-up on both the new novel and the new collection, both of which still need an additional draft before I throw pass them to the next round of beta readers.
Next up is a couple of short stories to write. And while they don't take as long, they still take time - as does everything that hits the page. The advantage is that 'little and often' has me acclimatised to generally having less time in any one sitting to write. That's not a bad thing, since I now have less time to actually write so much in one sitting. Plus, I don't have the urge or need to write every day. Nor do I have the need to write, say, ten thousand words a day. For those writers who hit those kinds of numbers and beyond? Good on you. But, that's not me. As per the American phrase, "Your mileage may vary."
Mine? Well, it's 'little and often.'
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