There's something about the formal residency structure that creates a sense of seriousness and deservingness (you deserve to focus on your writing, because you've been admitted)…but there are so many other ways to produce that. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
Thank you for sharing this! I'm so far away from writing a novel (I don't have one in mind and it may not even be my genre), but I do feel the need for a DIY residency to get away and spend time with myself and my words. It would be extremely helpful to my writing process. The daily routine always gets in the way of writing my next Substack post. I do wonder, is your consultant job through a company or are you on your own? How challenging was taking that leap to finding a lucrative job that would allow you to take time off to write? I just subscribed here so not sure if you've written about it before.
I work for a biggie with several formal leave options, which has been helpful. Been there for a long time—almost a decade—and came about sort of through trial, error, and luck. I got an MBA at NYU while I was working at the Met and went through formal recruiting. This may be of interest: https://joukovsky.substack.com/p/not-another-mfa-essay
Extremely inspiring brass tacks account of your work. I love it, thanks for sharing.
On this:
"The problem is vocations adjacent to artistic avocations tend to provide neither the material benefits of a traditional job nor the metaphysical benefits of creative pursuits. Better to find unrelated work that pays well and take breaks from it to do the thing you actually want to do. It’s almost certainly less precarious and probably less time-consuming than the alternatives."
I go back and forth. As a filmmaker, one of the things I like the least about the film network is how many people's scripts and stories and general ideas all live in films they've watched rather than things they've lived, and I tend to find that on the indie level a lot of the best ideas and scripts, most creative new processes or approaches to shooting and editing, and most curious filmmakers often (but not always, see below) come from non-film backgrounds. In other words, the real irony of filmmaking is that it's better when you have a point of view rather than an index of camera angles.
But a lot of that is also survivorship bias. A ton of my friends who wanted to become filmmakers never did because they didn't step into the network pool and get film and film-adjacent jobs. Many whittled away at careers under the assumption that they would get the money to make the film and then they'd take a summer off, so to speak, make the film, and switch careers. The result was that without the resources that come from the various production networks that exist out there, they not only rarely got started but the few times they did, the quality wasn't good because they had no practice or support.
The difference between someone who waited to have the money and then didn't have the skill, and those who got into filmmaking after a different career and then brought their other skillset into it, is probably impossible to define and pin down. Thus, I would argue for anyone struggling to know which direction to take, I'd encourage they try to do the old fashioned network and focus on the arts career rather than the make money and then self-fund career route.
Also, all the indie people who funded their own route still rarely to never make it big enough to make a career of it. Usually they make the one or two things they really wanted to make and then move on with their lives.
Your ambivalence nicely illustrate why this post should not be taken as immutable advice. Specific to the film example, I’d also think medium is a huge factor in effectively navigating these sorts of decisions. The barriers to entry for writing and film seem worlds apart, with the latter being intuitively far, far harder to achieve at a professional level in a summer off.
Thanks for sharing and I feel sorry you were not accepted for the residency - I am actually dumbstruck why you weren't - you are such a versatile and insightful writer that I like reading. I considered recently a mild interest in residency, but after reading your experience, I will let it pass at this stage and move on.
I asked myself do I need really need solitude in an unfamiliar place to write ? I have a feeling, that maybe I still do need social contact of friends and family. Distraction too can be paradoxically a fountain of creativity. In the end it is my inner life and what matters is resilience and flow. Natasha you do not need luck. Keep writing and finish the work, worry about marketing later.
Anything can can happen, including dumb luck and timing.
Thank you! I need social contact, too--hence the pleasure of the weekends in my current sitch--but have personally found longer cycles of solitude to work best for noveling. Best of luck to you as well!
LOVE ALL OF THIS. Lol had to go all caps, cause that’s how much I love it. Your husband sounds AMAZING also. You are clearly winning at life. I’m on third novel hot summer and didn’t clear enough time or space for myself and I’m not doing great with it... I def have too much on my plate and not enough bamboo for the horny pandas 🐼.
I also don’t apply for residencies for the same reasons, though maybe I should capitalize on past suffering more. Otherwise, what else is it good for? Thanks for that idea. Lol
"Beautiful, useless novels tend to be harder to pitch in progress, as their merits are often so deeply embedded in the actual sentences—in the realized work itself" —you could always just lie and say it changed a lot in the drafting process!
I just came across your Substack (and this post!) and it reminded me of something that the poet Yanyi wrote as well, on giving yourself a residency: https://reading.yanyiii.com/how-do-i-give-myself-a-residency/
There's something about the formal residency structure that creates a sense of seriousness and deservingness (you deserve to focus on your writing, because you've been admitted)…but there are so many other ways to produce that. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
My pleasure, thanks for reading!
Thank you for sharing this! I'm so far away from writing a novel (I don't have one in mind and it may not even be my genre), but I do feel the need for a DIY residency to get away and spend time with myself and my words. It would be extremely helpful to my writing process. The daily routine always gets in the way of writing my next Substack post. I do wonder, is your consultant job through a company or are you on your own? How challenging was taking that leap to finding a lucrative job that would allow you to take time off to write? I just subscribed here so not sure if you've written about it before.
I work for a biggie with several formal leave options, which has been helpful. Been there for a long time—almost a decade—and came about sort of through trial, error, and luck. I got an MBA at NYU while I was working at the Met and went through formal recruiting. This may be of interest: https://joukovsky.substack.com/p/not-another-mfa-essay
Extremely inspiring brass tacks account of your work. I love it, thanks for sharing.
On this:
"The problem is vocations adjacent to artistic avocations tend to provide neither the material benefits of a traditional job nor the metaphysical benefits of creative pursuits. Better to find unrelated work that pays well and take breaks from it to do the thing you actually want to do. It’s almost certainly less precarious and probably less time-consuming than the alternatives."
I go back and forth. As a filmmaker, one of the things I like the least about the film network is how many people's scripts and stories and general ideas all live in films they've watched rather than things they've lived, and I tend to find that on the indie level a lot of the best ideas and scripts, most creative new processes or approaches to shooting and editing, and most curious filmmakers often (but not always, see below) come from non-film backgrounds. In other words, the real irony of filmmaking is that it's better when you have a point of view rather than an index of camera angles.
But a lot of that is also survivorship bias. A ton of my friends who wanted to become filmmakers never did because they didn't step into the network pool and get film and film-adjacent jobs. Many whittled away at careers under the assumption that they would get the money to make the film and then they'd take a summer off, so to speak, make the film, and switch careers. The result was that without the resources that come from the various production networks that exist out there, they not only rarely got started but the few times they did, the quality wasn't good because they had no practice or support.
The difference between someone who waited to have the money and then didn't have the skill, and those who got into filmmaking after a different career and then brought their other skillset into it, is probably impossible to define and pin down. Thus, I would argue for anyone struggling to know which direction to take, I'd encourage they try to do the old fashioned network and focus on the arts career rather than the make money and then self-fund career route.
Also, all the indie people who funded their own route still rarely to never make it big enough to make a career of it. Usually they make the one or two things they really wanted to make and then move on with their lives.
Your ambivalence nicely illustrate why this post should not be taken as immutable advice. Specific to the film example, I’d also think medium is a huge factor in effectively navigating these sorts of decisions. The barriers to entry for writing and film seem worlds apart, with the latter being intuitively far, far harder to achieve at a professional level in a summer off.
Thanks for sharing and I feel sorry you were not accepted for the residency - I am actually dumbstruck why you weren't - you are such a versatile and insightful writer that I like reading. I considered recently a mild interest in residency, but after reading your experience, I will let it pass at this stage and move on.
I asked myself do I need really need solitude in an unfamiliar place to write ? I have a feeling, that maybe I still do need social contact of friends and family. Distraction too can be paradoxically a fountain of creativity. In the end it is my inner life and what matters is resilience and flow. Natasha you do not need luck. Keep writing and finish the work, worry about marketing later.
Anything can can happen, including dumb luck and timing.
The best to you.
cheers
Nicholas
Melbourne , Australia
Thank you! I need social contact, too--hence the pleasure of the weekends in my current sitch--but have personally found longer cycles of solitude to work best for noveling. Best of luck to you as well!
LOVE ALL OF THIS. Lol had to go all caps, cause that’s how much I love it. Your husband sounds AMAZING also. You are clearly winning at life. I’m on third novel hot summer and didn’t clear enough time or space for myself and I’m not doing great with it... I def have too much on my plate and not enough bamboo for the horny pandas 🐼.
I also don’t apply for residencies for the same reasons, though maybe I should capitalize on past suffering more. Otherwise, what else is it good for? Thanks for that idea. Lol
Thanks for reading—glad you enjoyed! Wishing you plentiful bamboo, and offering a plum chunk of Franzen:
“Robin turned and looked straight into her. ‘What's life for?’
‘I don't know.’
‘I don't either. But I don't think it's about winning.’”
"Beautiful, useless novels tend to be harder to pitch in progress, as their merits are often so deeply embedded in the actual sentences—in the realized work itself" —you could always just lie and say it changed a lot in the drafting process!
Not my style IRL but this could be the premise for a really excellent satire…
thank you!