Fiction author Robin Brande talks about writing, reading, and other vital matters

There was a study released earlier this month in the journal Science that finally spoke to my central flaw: impatience.

Studies like these make me wish I were a scientist sometimes. These people get to spend all day making up goofy experiments that they then talk cash-strapped college students into trying. Of course, I have a pretty cool job, too, making up stories all day, but let’s just stick to science envy for a moment.

The experiment went like this: the subjects were hooked up to a machine that delivered a series of shocks to the foot. The shocks varied in intensity, from barely noticeable to the pain of being injected by a needle.

The test subjects were told when a shock was coming, how strong it would be, and how long they would have to wait for it, from 1 to 27 seconds.

And then they were given a choice: Would they rather have a stronger shock if it came quickly, or a milder one if they had to wait longer?

And there was this class of people–MY people–who always chose the shorter wait, no matter how much greater the pain would be. And we’re talking just seconds here–at most a difference of waiting 26 seconds. But still these people were willing to take a greater hit just to get it over with.

It makes no sense, and yet it makes total sense.

I’m dealing with this issue right now because yesterday I got my editorial letter from Knopf for my novel The Theory of Evolution. With the letter came a deadline for turning in my revised manuscript, and my first reaction was, “End of June? Bah! Try two weeks from now, baby!” My editor says take my time. My agent says the same thing. And I know the book will benefit from my quiet contemplation for a while before diving in to the rewrite, but it’s just so HARD to take my time.

Because I love speed. (Controlled speed. Not too fond of it when it involves wheels or skis.) I love to write fast, talk fast, interrupt you because you’re not talking fast enough. I can’t stroll, I need to stride. I have to resist the urge to check e-mail and tap my foot while you’re talking to me on the phone. I love all the technology out there because it means I can always be doing more than one thing at a time. I have to force myself to do just this, only this, before moving on to the next thing.

So I completely understand why you’d want to just take the big whollopping shock right now rather than the pansy one half a minute later. Come on, let’s get on with it. The scientists found that the reason some people do that is because their fear of pain is so great the dread itself hurts them. Therefore getting the pain over with is a relative relief.

“These findings support,” the study says, “the idea that the decision to delay or expedite an outcome depends critically on how a person feels while waiting.”

I say they got one word wrong. It depends critically on how a person feels about waiting.

And I know I am not alone.

Technorati Tags: Writing, Publishing, Editing, Waiting, Impatience, Patience, Science Magazine

Posted on Wednesday, May 24th, 2006 at 12:22 am under Writing, Life, Science . Subscribe to responses: RSS 2.0 Comment Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.