05/01/2007 by Andrew Smith.

If you talk to almost any novellist they will tell you about the discipline of being a writer. Some make themselves write for a set period each day; others set a number of words as a target.

As in most aspects of life, the mark of a successful writer is someone who can grind out something halfway respectable even on the days when inspiration refuses to strike. This sounds rather a desperate situation, but it does get easier; as with most skills it needs to be practiced, and this practice moves the lower functions (spelling, grammar, typing proficiently) into muscle-memory and onto “auto-pilot”, enabling the brain to occupy itself with style, form and simply getting an interesting message across.

In my work, there are a few items that I write every month. I know that on a certain day in my magazine’s production cycle I can close my office door, start with a blank screen and come up with 600 words of editorial (whether inspired or “ground out”) in half a day.

I suppose blogging is much the same; my previous efforts to keep up a blog have always fallen away through lack of practice, whether because of the interface or simply not finding an appropriate time to write. Maybe it’s rampant New Year’s enthusiasm, but I’m going to try to become a more disciplined blogger. Hopefully I’ll even learn to “grind out” something personal when inspiration expires.

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05/01/2007 by Andrew Smith.

I’ve had the good fortune to catch up with several old friends in the past couple of weeks, both in person and by email. The experience has taken me back, Proust-like, by a decade or more to a time before mortgages, children and the trappings of truly being a “responsible adult”. I’ve found myself remembering other friends I’d love to contact, rerunning mental “home movies” of memorable events and thinking quite how much we’ve all changed without really changing at all.

None of this is at all to the detriment of my current life (very happily married with a lovely son and another baby on the way). In fact, I find myself amazed at how naive I was back then! Perhaps more importantly, I wonder at the energy and free time I had, being the “right” side of 30 (or even 25!).

It’s very important in life to keep moving forward, learning new things, meeting new people and making new friends. But it is all too easy to let old friendships slide, particularly when the currents of life move you in different directions. When we meet, or talk, we get just as well as we did; but our diaries are more crowded and our “careers” more pressured than our “jobs” ever were. It takes something out of the blue to remind us of what we’re missing when we neglect our old friends.

Maybe a good friendship is like a cactus or a microbe: it can lie dormant for years and then spring back to life when conditions allow, thriving on minimal maintenance because of the inexhaustible supply of shared experiences from our more formative years.

I love my “new” friends in the hectic daily buzz. But, in the midst of all that, I hope that I get better at remembering my old friends.

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