Writing: Process and Product

 Maybe I a misread "How to Put Forth, to Go Forth: Thoughts on Process & Product” by Courtney Harler but I think she had an interesting twist on Roland Barthes' will to write and will to publish: they intertwine with one another.

... Joyce Carol Oates tells us that “finishing” a written work is very important for the practicing writer. We need a sense of “product” to fuel our next project, our next dream. Yes, we may return the product to a process space from time to time, as in, we may switch from open (generative) to closed (critical) creative modes in our work, and sometimes do so many, many times in the same day. As far as old “craft” axioms go, it’s true the written work is never “done,” but sometimes it is “good enough” to “go out” on the town. To go out in the wide, wide world and gain some acceptance, or some rejection, however the case may prove. Let me also say again that “failure” is a vital part of artistic process. How can we know what the market wants, if we never ask? We as writers, along with our written work, will never go forth, unless we put forth.

sch

 12/14/21