Whenever You Feel Disheartened, Remember That James Joyce Only Wrote 90 Words a Day

“A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” — James Joyce

It’s no secret I haven’t been writing much recently.

Firstly, there’s the stress of a global pandemic to contend with. The coronavirus has been and still is a major party pooper for my business. Secondly, I’ve been busy at my job — the marketing gig I used my entrepreneurship portfolio to land.

Thus encumbered from writing, I’ve been in the pits of mild despair.

Now, I say ‘mild despair’ because it’s not as much languishing as the legendary writer James Joyce has been known to do.

That might surprise some readers, as Joyce is the author of several literary masterpieces. His works are widely admired and studied to this day, and his Magnum Opus, Ulysses, is regarded as one of the greatest literary works in history.

But writing is a fickle mistress. She flirts with beginner writers and seasoned wordsmiths alike, and her whims can vex even the most experienced authors, as we will soon find out below.

There’s a funny story about James Joyce that goes like this:

“A friend came to visit James Joyce one day and found the great man sprawled across his writing desk in a posture of utter despair.

James, what’s wrong?’ the friend asked. ‘Is it the work?’

Joyce indicated assent without even raising his head to look at his friend. Of course it was the work; isn’t it always?

How many words did you get today?’ the friend pursued.

Joyce (still in despair, still sprawled facedown on his desk): ‘Seven.’

Seven? But James… that’s good, at least for you.’

Yes,’ Joyce said, finally looking up. ‘I suppose it is… but I don’t know what order they go in!”

All jokes aside, Joyce is known to be a notoriously slow writer.

It took him ten years to complete his first two books, Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. What’s even more surprising is that his literary output actually decreased over the years. For example, it took Joyce a whopping 17 years to finish Finnegans Wake!

Joyce’s writing speed has been calculated at just 90 words a day, based on the 8 years it took for him to write the 265,000 words in Ulysses.

There are some who may think it’s odd that a renowned author writes so slowly. They might even think it’s a waste, that if only Joyce had written with more haste, the libraries of the world might have more great books to peruse.

However, if there’s one thing I have come to realize over the years, it’s that art rarely works in such a straightforward manner. I for one choose to take inspiration in Joyce’s glacial writing pace.

Here’s why.

It’s Okay To Go Slow, But It’s Never Okay To Stop

“No matter how slow you go, you are still lapping everybody on the couch.” — Susie Miller.

Like Aesop’s fable of the Tortoise and the Hare, the lesson from Joyce’s story is that it’s okay to go slow if you need….but to never, ever give up.

Writing isn’t easy. It’s easy to forget that sometimes, especially when we compare ourselves to big-name, prolific authors. Authors like Stephen King, known for his nigh-supernatural ability to consistently release novels, year after year.

Keep in mind that writers like King are outliers. For every ferocious author like Stephen King, there are a dozen more measured authors.

Take ‘The Father of Modern Fantasy’ for example. J.R.R Tolkien, due to his unfamiliarity with the then newly-invented typewriter, famously typed all 1200 pages of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy using just two fingers.

It’s far more common for writers to struggle at the desk than to take to it like a fish to water. The experience of being frozen at the blank page, staring at it with wordless despair, is unfortunately all too common.

Many of the writers I met at a Bali writing retreat struggled with the dreaded writer’s block. And for a while, I did too.

And it seems like even legends like James Joyce aren’t spared. How he reacted, however, separated him from the crowd. How he reacted made him a true professional.

Joyce made writing a habit. He made sure to write something down, even if it was a paltry 90 words. And he came back the next day to do it again, and again, and again, until those 90 words compounded upon themselves to become numerous great works of literature.

If fishes from Finding Nemo should ‘just keep swimming, just keep swimming’, then the writers of the world should just keep writing, just keep writing.

When the pen is in motion, all will fall into place.

Your Takeaway

“Step by step walk the thousand-mile road.” — Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

Writing is a frustrating journey, but an old truism rings true. As long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other, all paths will wear themselves out, and even the longest of odysseys will come to an end.

Keep your pen on your paper and your fingers on the keyboard. Write a word, then another. Soon sentences will form. These sentences will knit together to form whole chapters. Before you know it, you’ll have a full-length novel on your hands!

And above all, don’t beat yourself up for your writing speed — or lack thereof. Art cannot be rushed.

Feel free to write slowly, but never, ever stop. Remember, a little progress every day add up to big results. James Joyce is the perfect example of that.

So keep writing, my friends. Keep your spirits up and your pen ever in motion. Word by word, day by day.

That’s how you get to the top.