First thing’s first.
Administrative Whatnot: I have successfully moved servers and upgraded hosting plans. There was only one casualty [snickers at Alex] but some collateral damage was expected and is acceptable. The transition was more or less seamless, thanks to the great support team at Dayana, but please let me know if you encounter any problems or something still looks wonky. Appreciate it!
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Now. I’ve had a bunch of writing quotes in my drafts area forever. Because Andy got home from his business at 1:30 am last night (thanks to weather delays and a driver that almost killed him on the highway!) and then Riley had, erm, bowel issues at 5 am, I’m just going to leave these nice quotes here for your enjoyment while I go pass out try to make the most of my day despite my zombie-like diminished mental capacity.
(Please, no Geico-like retribution from zombies, okay?)
Therese Walsh has a fun analogy for the writing process:
Maybe writing is like crayon rubbings. Do you remember those? Stick something textured beneath a piece of paper, then use the flat side of a crayon to reveal its many intricacies. Rub hard enough and long enough and over the entire paper, and you’ll see a very clear likeness of whatever lies beneath.
Diana Gabaldon talks about learning your own best work methods, and inspiration vs. perspiration:
Writing successfully is a matter of figuring out how your own brain works, and doing that—not trying to adopt someone else’s methods. And in all honesty, I think an observant person would learn much more from extensive reading of novels, than reading how-to-write books. Remember though, that the only thing that counts is getting words on the page. Anything that allows you to do that is the right thing to do.
Mind, writing depends on hard work and having a routine of some sort. It should go without saying that one doesn’t just sit around waiting for inspiration (I mean, really—do ballet dancers wait for inspiration? Cello players? Athletes? CPA’s? Why in God’s name do people think artists do that? First, you work; then the magic happens.).
At at the same time, there really is a mysterious element to what we do. We aren’t spinning straw into gold; we’re making something out of nothing at all.