I am struggling
—forcing myself actually
—to get through
Faith of a Writer by Joyce Carol Oats, which is killing me, because I expected to love it. But no. It’s been sitting face down where I left it on my bureau several days ago. When our daughter departed for her stage manager duties for the upcoming school production this evening, and my husband was late coming home, I sighed and picked it up again. Inspiration is the last thing I expected from a book that has been sucking me as dry as a raisin. But then, early on in today's effort, the perfect words appeared. Something good and writing related happened this afternoon
—a teensy victory I’m afraid I’ll jinx if I share too soon. Keep that in mind though, as you read the following quote:
"What advice can an older writer presume to offer to a younger? Only what he or she might wish to have been told years ago. Don’t be discouraged! Don’t cast sidelong glances and compare yourself to others among your peers! (Writing is not a race. No one really “wins.” The satisfaction is in the effort and rarely in the consequent rewards, if there are any. ) And again, write your heart out." Faith of a Writer by Joyce Carol Oats
Nothwithstanding that in my case, we need to swap out the words "older" and "younger" with "experienced" and "inexperienced," here I am folks. Writing my heart out.
Today I received an inkling that, inch by tortoise-loving inch, it might be getting me somewhere.
Whose words inspire you?
8 comments:
I can't say any one person/writer in particular. Believe it or not, sometimes it's a character in a novel who provides me with encouragement.
I'm glad you persevered. I most often put the book away if it doesn't grab me quickly.
It says alot about your determination to succeed that you stayed with the book. All things come to those who write...hang in there!
(I find Oats difficult to read under the best of circumstances.)
Glad you slogged through to find that tidbit!
Wanted to give you a thank you for your last blog. I needed a reminder to write every day. I need something to keep me grounded. I forgot that I knew that. You reminded me. So thanks! That is one writer to another. Clearly you would be the more experienced, better writer in this analogy.
Have I told you how much I like the dark blue on your blog background? I do!
Sometimes that;s the way it goes. Inch by inch. Step by step. Then all of a sudden the floodgates are opened and your fingers fly across the keyboard!
We really do have sister posts this week! I never heard that quote before but I love it. She's so right. It's not a race to the finish. It's not a race at all.
:)
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