Novelist As a Vocation

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1. browningstreetDec 2023
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2. mrcsdNov 2023
   I've recently started writing daily, since September. Setting a daily word target was what worked for me, I do at least 1600 a day and try not to write too much more. If you're writing a first draft of around 90k words then it will take only 56 days to get there at 1.6k a day. My realisation that this was actually a pretty small time commitment really helped me finally take the plunge.

   This is obviously an old idea, and indeed I'm just copying a similar process to Haruki Murakami's. I definitely recommend his series of essays on being a novelist: Novelist as a Vocation (this really helped me).

   On to second draft now and moving from daily word count to number of chapters or paragraphs edited has helped as just a metric for pace. Doesn't mean it's quality writing, just that I have a sensation of movement and progress.

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3. schaeferJan 2023

     >It's extremely vague. It's like saying, "I wish to turn a screwdriver five hundred times today." It's reasonable to ask, "For what purpose are you turning the screwdriver?" ... what terminal goal are you trying to achieve with this journal? And why is necessary for you to write > 500 per day to achieve that goal?
   

   On the chance that you are asking these questions in good faith, I can point you to a very deep and well written counter argument to your stance. Among his 20 or so other books, The prolific Japanese Author Haruki Murakami has written a book: Novelist as a Vocation. I encourage you to read it in whole, as my attempts to summarize will only take it out of context and butcher it. However, I will say that Haruki lays out the personal opinion that for him consistency is the bedrock of his writing practice. That above all, he sees writing as a daily commitment. He strives for 2,000 words a day. He typically takes on one wholly creative work at a time, such as the next novel. On days he just doesn't feel passionate about that project, he will translate works from English to Japanese until the passion for the project naturally returns. He makes the argument that the days he spends translating give him time to think and digest the next steps in his novel while also allowing him to keep a whole collection of "writer's habits".

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   You can argue that his methods don't seem right for you... but you can hardly argue that his methods aren't right for him (and perhaps others).

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4. philip1209Dec 2022
   Haruki Murakami's "Novelist as a Vocation" has been inspiring for me. It's a memoir about his path as an author. I find that his discussions of topics such as writers block relevant to my technology work.
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5. babblingfishOct 2025
   This reminds me of Oliver Burkeman's insight in "Meditations for Mortals" that we can only control quantity, not quality. He suggests we focus on what's within our control: showing up consistently and doing the work, rather than obsessing over outcomes. Another piece of his advice is to choose pursuits where you have a natural aptitude. Otherwise, there's too much friction. People enjoy being competent.

   Haruki Murakami describes a similar discovery in his memoir "Novelist as a Vocation." He didn't set out knowing he had talent for writing, he discovered it through consistent practice. Only by writing his first novel did he realize he might have aptitude for it. Talent wasn't something he was born knowing about, but something he uncovered through action.

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6. bookofjoeDec 2022
   Currently reading "Novelist as a Vocation" (2022; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/547926/novelist-as-...) by Haruki Murakami. He addresses this topic in his inimitable way.
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