I've been told writing is like driving in a snowstorm. Sometimes you can only see as far as your headlights will allow. But more often, we can see inklings beyond the headlight's rays, and that is what we are called to do.
If I were to hold up the mirror to myself as a writer, I'd have to say, I've been forging ahead and standing still at the same time. Writing requires a deep well of unrelenting thought. Characters have to be wrestled to the floor, shook out and torn apart almost until they bleed. Sounds graphic and torturous, right? Well...the process itself is. I am haunted and enthused, delighted and annoyed and most often plagued by that awful gnawing doubt that keeps me paralyzed in procrastination, stuck in the quicksand of thought.
Right now, I'm forging ahead. I'm inspired because I've forced myself to revisit and remap my characters' goals, motivations and desires. Instead of writing into a snowstorm, tangible images and ideas have begun to emerge again. And unlike this beautiful stranger in the woods, the patterns and ideas are no longer a big surprise to me. So, just for today, I'm grabbing on...and letting that little bit of inspiration carry me!
4 comments:
I am well educated in those blizzard-like writing/driving conditions. Great imagery. My word for the year is Dare! What's yours. Write on! The world needs your stories.
You're the best, Mary! My friend Jame is daring me too! Completion is my word for 2012. I'll complete this manuscript, send it out, and allow it to find its way in the world!
Gael, so happy to see you, friend. And I love completion. It's a great word to have before you -- very whole! Wishing you success in 2012. You are a beautiful writer and I know it's just a matter of time. I've been reading Flannery O'Connor's letters, "The Habit of Being." Truly inspirational. She didn't always work quickly, and she often doubted, but she made the connections, inevitably, that brought her to the fore. You deserve and will get the same. Keep at it!
Roxane, thank you! You're just what the doctor ordered today! My mentor speaks of Flannery O'Connor all the time. It's so great to be connected to you and Mary once more. Let's pull for each other in 2012! The world needs great writers like the two of you!
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