On writing slowly

On days like today when I don't forge ahead very far, but make an important breakthough in my writing, I like to think of that story about James Joyce--was it Stephen King's book where I read this? Can't remember--where a friend walks in on him while he's at work and he's sitting, head on desk, in a posture of utter despair.

The friend says, "James, what's the matter?" And James says, "I've written seven words today." The friend says, "That's a lot for you. What's the problem?" And Henry James says, "Yes, but I don't know what order to put them in."

Alas, so often we don't have those seven words, even out of order. The important thing, I guess, is that you're at the desk at all. The position of despair is part of the job.

A Quote About Excuses, and a Quote About Despair

"The first enemy [of the scholar in war-time] is excitement - the tendency to think and feel about the war when we had intended to think about our work. The best defence is a recognition that in this, as in everything else, the war has not really raised up a new enemy but only aggravated an old one. There are always plenty of rivals to our work. We are always falling in love or quarrrelling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conidtions are still unfavourable. Favourable conditions never come. There are, of course, moments when the pressure of the excitement is so great that only superhuman self-control could resist it. They come both in war and peace. We must do the best we can."

"The second enemy [of the scholar in war-time] is frustration - the feeling that we shall not have time to finish. If I say to you that no one has time to finish, that the longest human life leaves a man in any branch of learning, a beginner, I shall seem to you to be saying something quite academic and theoretical. You would be surprised if you knew how soon one begins to feel this shortness of the tether, of how many things, even in middle life, we have to say "No time for that," "Too late now," and "Not for me." But Nature herself forbids you to share that experience. A more Christian attitude, which can be attained at any age, is that of leaving futurity in God's hands. We may as well, for God will certainly retain it whether we leave it to Him or not. Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or your happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment "as to the Lord." It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received."

- C.S. Lewis, "Learning in War-Time"

Perspective

I heard a quote today that I really found applicable to my life and to writing.

I was listening to NPR and they were interviewing some baseball great (Ernie ____ ) who always played for the Cubs (apparently they always lost). Can't you tell how much I know about baseball?

Anyway, they asked him how he kept from being discouraged. He said he always said to himself:

"I care about it, but not that much."

I thought this was so fitting for those moments when you set out to either get in your own way or depress yourself. For instance, the toilets haven't been cleaned for a year, but you haven't done your writing yet. You can say to yourself:

"I care about clean toilets, but not that much."

Also, if you just haven't gotten to writing that day because of a million other things, or just because it is an off day, rather than sinking into depression you can say:

"I care about writing, but not that much."

I think it helps to put into perspective all those many tasks we have each day. We should remember to do the things that are right, to do the things that matter, to do the things that make us happy, and then to be happy with whatever it is we've actually accomplished. After all,

"I care about being perfect, but not that much."

A Quote... edited for your reading pleasure...

On one of my summer trips I was reading in the New Yorker about writer Nora Roberts. While her style of writing (and topic) are slightly different than mine, it was a very intriguing article. I would recommend it to all of you. Anyway, they asked Nora's advice on writing (she produces amazing amounts of writing every year... no ghost writers). It was as follows.... slightly edited :)

"A** in chair."

And that was it. But obviously, looking at my record this week, I need to work on that one myself.

Hopefully none of you are offended by my choice in quote :)

Quotes

"To Be What You Must, You Must Give Up What You Are."

- Cat Stevens

And another, on revising, from Elena:

"Murder your darlings." -Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch

Quandary

First:

I read the best line in "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman this weekend.

It said,

"If he had been younger, he would have put it in his mouth."

I love how that line says so much in such an uncomplicated yet unique way.

Second:

I found a piece of old writing today when I was cleaning out the drawer in the kitchen. I think it's a description of a dream I had that I wrote down on a piece of paper while I made the girls' breakfast one morning. I really like it, but I have no idea for a plot to go with it. A great scene, but no plot.

So, now I have three stories and I can't pick which one to make my project for the next year. I thought I'd give a line from each one... and you could vote on your favorite. Not that one line will tell you or me much. But I thought it would be a fun game to play with my indecision. So, in the spirit of the Dating Game:

Game Show Host: Story Number One... what is your favorite line?

Story Number One: Well, I'd have to say it would be this little ditty: "

Haltingly, I ran my mind over the empty memories of those faraway years. Truth be told, there was not much I could remember either. My parents themselves were like missing teeth, teeth knocked out and never grown again, in all the months and days that’d passed. Teeth that left a swollen pit where root had snapped from base.

Game Show Host: Well, you know, that's not really one sentence, Story Number One.

Story Number One: It isn't? Well what about this:

I breathed in deep, taking cold air inside my lungs as I tried to burn out the blood and dirt and tears of all those tales.

Game Show Host: Really, Story Number One, you're going to be disqualified if you keep going on like this. I think you just think you're better because she's written more of you.... Moving on... Story Number Two, what's your favorite line?

Story Number Two: Honestly, I think I need to be re-written... but you know, it's the heart that counts.

Game Show Host: Give us a line.

Story Number Two: If you insist. I guess I'll choose this one:

Of course, in the back of my mind I knew that things could turn out like the library. It had been missing since Thursday.

Game Show Host: Really, can any of you count? I guess I am dealing with the written word here. Okay, okay. Story Number Three, what about you?

Story Number Three: Well, there's not much of me to draw from. And really, she was serving breakfast at the time... but I guess I'll go with this:

“I will not buy you back with blood,” he said, “but perhaps I can recruit you.”

Game Show Host: Well, there you have it folks. Three lines. Which would you pick to be your story of the year?

Good Quote

I read this today on Dave Farland's daily email. Since I think I'm not the only one rough drafting, I thought it might help some of you, as much as it helped me.

“Writers write. Put your butt in the chair and write on a regular basis. Ray Bradbury said, ‘the muse cannot resist a working writer.’ I start off by writing why I can’t write. Type every reason you can’t write. Complain . . . whatever. Half a page to a page in, the muse says, ‘Well, if you’re going to be writing anyway, you can do better than this.’ Also, if you don’t protect your time, no one will. I wrote my first book two pages a day, five days a week.

Don’t rewrite as you go. Don’t try to make your first chapters perfect. If you come to a scene where you don’t know what 14th-century underwear looks like, don’t stop and research 14th-century underwear. Just write ‘underwear here.’ The second draft is filling those holes. Seventy percent of a first draft is garbage and 30 percent is gold. It’s a very daunting thing to think you’re going to sit down and write a whole book out of thin air, but you have to work, even when you’re not inspired.”

Laurell K. Hamilton.

Catching Up

I've been really inconsistent lately, which is why I need this blog. I wrote a page and a half of poetry four days ago, pretty much nothing the next; 8 and 1/2 pages of poetry two days ago, pretty much nothing yesterday; and today I wrote two new pages about my characters--something I needed to do to be able to fix some of the things wrong with my novel.

So, I'm up to 12 pages. Although the poetry isn't exactly filling up each page. I'm going to count it anyway because writing poetry is
slow.

Today I dug out my notes from Ann Cannon's great little class on revising (from BYU WIFYR 2009) and found this quote by E.B. White on the pitfalls of trying to revise as you go in a first draft (talking about his wife): "The writer in her would put a sentence down; the editor in her would shoot it to death."

Ann's advice: On a first draft let yourself thrash around and be intuitive. Also, don't make yourself one of your own negative voices.

Happy writing, everyone!