The Other Project
November 9th, 2009I’ve spent the last few weeks deeply immersed in the website project mentioned in my October 10th post. This is a task that is better finished sooner rather than later, but there’s no deadline, no real pressure to get it done. Nevertheless I’ve been absorbed in it. Pleasantly absorbed.
I can’t point to any one thing that is inherently fascinating about programming a database-driven website. Step-by-step, maybe it’s kind of boring. And it isn’t exactly fun sitting in a chair all day staring at a screen, trying to figure out why stuff isn’t working, and trying to remember all the contingencies that have to be accounted for, and waiting for a page to load, (and listening to the dog sigh and grumble because I have become the most boring companion imaginable). Yet overall it is a deeply satisfying process.
Evidently I have a need to engage in long, complex projects. Whether it’s painting the house, landscaping the garden, programming a website or writing a novel . . . there’s a lot of satisfaction in the process, at least when progress is being made.
The promise of progress is one reason programming makes such a great escape from writing: everyday I know I’ve accomplished something. I may spend an hour trying to figure out why something isn’t working, but after a few hours I know I’m closer to the finished product.
Writing doesn’t share that same sense of momentum, of fair reward for time spent. Twenty hours spent trying to compose a chapter might just be twenty wasted hours. In the back of my mind I’m always aware of this, so it’s easy to get distracted.
But now I’ve reached a good pause-point on the website, so tomorrow the plan is to get back to The Wild. Wish me luck. I really need to get this (re)-rewrite done so I can try my hand at something new.
Posted on: Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Categories: General.
February 25th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
I am a programmer and an attempting writer. I try to compare/contrast writing code to writing stories. In writing code, there is definitely a sense of rush when you are close to figuring something out. We also gaze for hours in at the computer to figure out a piece of code or a plot point. The difference (in my humble opinion) is that writing stories is more sublime and creative than writing code. Writing stories is more universal and encompassing than writing code.
The thing about me is that, after I spent long agonizing hours wrestling with code, I start to have this inner urge inside me to write stories, and I find that a good way to get me to want to write stories.
I’m hope I made sense…
February 26th, 2010 at 8:12 am
It makes sense to me. Doing one project with great intensity can be a very effective way to ready the mind to do something else entirely different.
I hope your stories are going well. For myself, I’m going to try to leave the websites alone today, and do some writing instead.