Tuesday, July 28, 2009

When the Going Gets Tough

After a week of struggling for each word, the writing came smoothly last night. I'd love to share how it happened, but this creation thing is so mysterious. I think it had to do with kind words, self-forgiveness, and releasing my grip instead of tightening it.

In the interest of not stopping the flow, I offer just a quote today:

"...Work--how we make things of and do things to the external world--is nearly as basic, and primeval, a factor in human happiness as family relations. The inability to write reflects the sufferer's feeling that he or she cannot contribute to the world, cannot communicate with others in any meaningful way."

from The Midnight Disease
by Alice Flaherty

2 comments:

  1. I'm glad you've had some good writing days!

    Love the quote. I totally feel like that sometimes. I wonder why I write middle grade fluff, what does it contribute to the world? Then I remember that the times I've tried to write other things they haven't turned out very well, and that I like writing middle grade fluff. It doesn't feel like work.

    Still, it's hard to justify spending all this time on something that's never going to make the world a better place. I wish I could write like a modern day Charles Dickens or Mark Twain--that I could say something about the society we live in and make subtle but brilliant commentary about it-- but that's just not me and I am learning to accept that.

    I'll have to rely on others (like you) to write the brilliant, life-changing stuff.

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  2. I couldn't agree more!! The watershed moment when you cease fighting yourself, your self-defeating beliefs, and the words pour out, is just magical. The moment never ceases to amaze me. : ) Good luck with the break through!!

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