But, as I’ve whined about to y’all for years and years, whether I swoop or I bash, one thing never changes: I will write feverishly for days, knock out
a hefty amount of words, and then take a break. And that break will turn into days and then weeks and then months. (Or more.)
Turns out, there’s a term for that too.
About three months ago I got all worked
up and wrote an 8,000-word Chapter 1 in the span of a couple of days. After a meeting with Tom, I was jazzed up to continue. We made an appointment for our next session; he gave me a deadline for pages: Two weeks. I postponed and rescheduled, and then postponed again, and then again.
I haven’t written a word since.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the book lately, wanting to dive back in and start Chapter 2. But rather than just doing so, I keep looking at my calendar to determine the next time I can sit down for a whole day and draft the entire chapter, rather than doing it bit by bit like most writers do.
Thinking myself brilliant, I coined a new term: “binge writing.”
And then I discovered that it’s been a thing for decades. According to Writing Scientist, binge writing is "using large blocks of time—typically half a day or a full
day—during which you do nothing but write. These sessions are repeated usually at irregular intervals, when the schedule allows again for a large chunk of writing time.”
Um, yup. That’s me.
A binge writer’s opposite is, apparently, a snack
writer. Short and frequent sessions of briefer duration.
Most of what I read urges snack writing & tries to steer writers away from
binge writing. That’s fine. But there’s no one approach that’s right for *every* writer... and no one approach that’s wrong for every writer.
I’d rather binge write than not write at all.
Are you a binge writer or a snack writer? Or something in between? Do you wish you were the other, or does it work for
you?
Reply to let me know! I'll post a favorite response or two in our next email message.