Blog RSS FeedLike writing, only faster.
A very wise and wonderful woman, an accomplished artist, once told me that if she’s away from a painting for even a day, she comes back to it feeling a little bit like a stranger. Overall, this is true of my writing as well. The more I write, the better things go. And when I really get stuck, agonizing weeks can pass before I hunker down and get past it. (Note: this isn’t writer’s block — this is writer’s laziness.) The point is, sooner or later, I move ahead.
Revising is kind of like that, only instead of having the luxury to spend two weeks quilting and trying to forget what a slacker I’m being, I have fifteen minutes to go sew three crazy quilt squares (side note: anticipation is high for this being the Ugliest Quilt Ever), stare at the wall, stare at the dog, eat some pretzels, and then sit down again.
My typical feeling is that solutions are out there waiting to be found. When revising, that becomes, “Solutions are out there, so start covering ground like a cocker spaniel at a field trial.” Flush those suckers out of the brush. Go go go!
In a way, this is painful, and more frustrating and soul-sucking than I would have guessed. Because it must. be. written.
And then, it’s also freeing. Because it must. be. written. And that’s that. And hey, if Idea #1 flops, take five minutes and think of a fix for it. I’ve been pleased to realize that the fix does come. Maybe fifteen minutes of staring agonizedly into space is as productive as two weeks of quilting and soft focus on the writing.
I hope so, because it’s all going in. Some may come back out.
But it’s liberating to do this speed round. Like finally amping the treadmill up to “run” and then realizing you can actually keep up.
Related posts:March 1st, 2007 Katie Alender
