Today, I decided I needed some inspiration. (Yes, I know. I should be writing. And I am. This NaNoWriMo has started out pretty rocky, and my wordcount is hosed, and I don't care because now I'm on the right track.)
One of my favorite tests of good writing is from Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird. It reminds us that every written word, certainly every written word of a novel, is part of a dream. In order for that dream to be believable and sustainable, it must be "vivid and continuous." I've been using this test to silence the inner editor, that nasty little voice (I once had a boss who called it "Mort" and posted a cartoony face on her corkboard to remind her just how unreal he was) that likes to tell me my novel has probably been written before and thus is derivative at best and plagiarism at worst, that you can't indulge yourself in details--the inner editor that has had a delightful time while I've been living at warp speed and just skimming the surface of everything.
The concept reminds me that 1) the story, the characters, the setting are supposed to be dreamed up and 2) it's not only okay but necessary to go deeply into it. I don't need to worry because first drafts are supposed to be squishy, lumpy, self-indulgent messes that get cleaned up later. Whew.
So, in deciding I wanted this to be on my wall in a big giant way, I found this little tool, that lets you make professional-looking motivational posters for personal use (no, not that goony type with the black border and white "iconic" word that keeps FranklinCovey in business, but slightly edgier ones): www.recitethis.com. It's free, fast, and shareable/downloadable. Here's mine:
It was so easy, I made another one--we'll call this the downer version to the upper above, for those times when you need to take a breath and remember:
No comments:
Post a Comment