Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Late Resolutions.

A good friend of mine once told me, some of the truest things we write come when we sit down, turn our brains off, and let the words flow. She also happens to be one of my favorite authors so I take her advice very seriously! Haha. She gave me this one little nugget of wisdom just recently, when I was stuck in a serious case of writer's block (evident by the obvious lack of blog updates). She's an amazing writer and one of my greatest mentors as well as one of my best muses. She always knows just what to say and when to say it! It's great to have a friend like that and I love her to death!!!

Another thing she shared with me that I hold myself to even to this day: She told me the worst thing a writer can do is stop writing. Even in the worst slump, when everything feels horrible and every word you write sounds bad, you can't stop. She challenged me to work on my book a little every day. Even when all I can manage is one poorly written sentence, write it. Don't give up. Don't quit, not even for a day. Because once you stop, it is so hard to start back up again. So many good ideas get thrown in the bin because the writer gave up. So never stop writing. Never stop writing!

My mom, this week, read a one page intro to a story I never planned to continue. I thought it was horrible, a piece of junk I'd written out of boredom. She was so impressed by it that everyday since she's been asking me for more pages! It was while trying to write more pages for her that I realized the truth in my friend's words. "You think too much," she always tells me. And I finally realized I do. I think way too much about what I'm trying to write. A little thought is good, of course, but there is a point where anything can be over thought. That's exactly what I do. Over think. Everything. From friendships to compliments at work to movies and the meaning of life!!! And now even this...

The revelation is both enlightening and discouraging. I'm hoping to focus on the former rather than the latter. I also hope I can focus more on writing and less on thinking about what I should write. Let's call this...a late New Year's resolution. Haha.

Until next time!

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