Why is it that I want to be amazing at everything I do the first time out? There are so many things that look like they should be easy: tennis, skiing, writing a novel... and when I try them, I am so frustrated with not being as amazing as I think I should be that I don't get very far.
I know writer's say it time and time again, all you need to be to be a writer is to write. What I only recently realized is this: you need to write because what you start out with is going to be awful, and you're going to need to keep doing it in order to be any good. My conception of what I can write falls so far from what actually happens when I sit at the computer and type that I am inevitably disappointed and don't sit down again for eons (take that clunky sentence there, for example).
So I'm trying to write more. But I want it to flow. I want it to be like when authors say, "the characters just walked onto the page." Because my characters haven't walked anywhere. They're all hiding in my imagination, hoping I won't notice them.
- Ange Friesen
- Toronto, Canada
- I think I might be addicted to books. And noodles. I need the ocean. I want to know everything. Almost. I love love. And loving things. Like love. And like.
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3 comments:
Writing anything is an agonizing
ordeal and not for the faint hearted, but if you truly
want to get a kick out of it,
remember you must pay your dues.
It helps to get inspiration from your fave novels before you start.
I've been captivated by your blog, (your writing). You have a voice of your own that is delightful.
It doesn't have to be an agonizing ordeal. Showing up to the page is all you need to do.
I love reading Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down The Bones from time to time when I am feeling reflective about my writing practice. Do you know it?
Danette:
I agree, I think the most important thing is showing up. I just need to start doing that. I do know the Natalie Goldberg book - it's in Vancouver in my bookshelf, but it's probably worth getting another copy.
I also really loved The Artist's Way - even just the morning pages. I feel far more centred when I write them. I'll start again tomorrow - I don't know why I stopped. Thank you for the inspiration, and for the kind words.
But even just this blog has been a source of so much satisfaction as far as creating even the tiniest, easiest thing.
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