Your Writing is a Horse

What if your writing were a horse? And what if you didn’t have to chase it down and manhandle it?

Kafka said if you could only be still–”just learn to be quiet, still, and solitary. And the world will freely offer itself to you unmasked. It has no choice; it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”

Enjoy Koelle Simpson’s TED talk and be kind to your inner horse.

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Text © Gwyn Nichols 2012. All rights reserved. WritersResort.com
Image: YouTube screenshot

“Just Put One Foot on the Ground”

About a month ago, Mimi Meredith shared her mother’s advice for cold Montana mornings: “Darlin’ girl, just put one foot on the ground.” I’ve been smiling over that ever since.

And I’ve begun noticing how often I begin projects that feel huge, day after day: creating a proposal for a workshop, reading a book manuscript for a consultation, grading a flood of student papers. (I’m sure you have your own version of this.) Once I’m in the flow, I don’t want to stop. But there’s that moment that can feel like a winter draft: do I really know how to do this? do I have enough time set aside? Am I up to this one? Will I know what to do with whatever I’m in for?

I’ve been noticing those moments and thanking Mimi as I just put one foot on the ground and realize I’m up and running.

If you want to write a book, maybe you could put one word on a page.

Feel the draft and do it anyway.

Here’s Mimi’s post: “Just put one foot on the ground”

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© Gwyn Nichols 2011. All rights reserved. WritersResort.com

 

Tempted to Quit Writing?

 ”Struggling with your novel? Paralyzed by the fear that it’s nowhere near good enough? Feeling caught in a trap of your own devising? You should probably give up.” Lemony Snicket

 

My favorite feature of the NaNoWriMo site is its collection of pep talks. You could spend the whole month there escaping from writing altogether. I printed out one of those pep talks so the master of Unfortunate Events could send me screaming back to my work whenever I need that. He calls those sinister doubts my brain dreams up and smashes them, eloquently. Maybe he will work that magic for you as well. Here’s another passage:

“So who cares? Think of that secret favorite book of yours–not the one you tell people you like best, but that book so good that you refuse to share it with people because they’d never understand it. Perhaps it’s not even a whole book, just a tiny portion that you’ll never forget as long as you live. Nobody knows you feel this way about that tiny portion of literature, so what does it matter? The author of that small bright thing, that treasured whisper deep in your heart, never should have bothered.”

 

Here’s where to find it: http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/pep/lemony-snicket

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Text © Gwyn Nichols 2011. All rights reserved. WritersResort.com