February 6, 2022

I've come to realize an interesting phenomenon - a dilemma - about my writing.

Composing less "literary" lines - like these newsletters or the blogs I used to post - is much easier, comparatively effortless, than when I write a novel. I tend to throw these thoughts together in the course of a weekend, just before posting them in my newsletter and then here.

However, if I put down the equivalent number of words in a more "serious" form, I take days, weeks, writing and rewriting. You might think of this as normal since a novel is considered a less than casual endeavor. But here's the dilemma:

I feel my writing here and in my blogs is better than in my novels.

I often prefer to reread one of my posts, like Full Circle or In Defense of Ron Bushy, rather than a passage from one of my books. This writing is more engaging and to the point. It's open and relatable. Honest.

Whatever it is, I'm faced with the challenge of approaching the prose and narrative of my novel writing with that same openness, allowing the words to release and flow effortlessly. (Sounds very Zen.) Otherwise, I fear the words are going to stop coming altogether. I feel, sometimes, I may grow too comfortable with the idea of no longer writing anything at all.

Gordon Gravley

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