Writing is nothing about self deception.
Sitting and talking to your friends about your great book that you’ve not yet started is self deception; nothing but writing will produce that book you long for.
Self deception is revealed by an absence of writing; this absence is not writing by any measure, good or bad.
There are some who believe a big owl will swoop in during the night and leave an almighty deposit on their desk.
They would call that deposit inspiration, and it will solve all their problems of narrative and character and story. They will not have to sit for hours writing.
This owl will have done all the work.
Inspiration is what we name our influences after we’ve written a book; Big owls will not replace writing in the production of a book.
Practice writing, not self deception.
4 comments:
I get a little tired with the word inspiration. It's been turned into this external force whereas most of the time all inspiration is is a good idea. Well all get them from time to time. Sometimes a great idea will pop into our head but it's just an idea that needs to be developed in the cold light of day.
My wife and I have a cockateil by the way. He leaves little ideas all over the house. I'm glad we don't have an owl.
I'm guilty of talking too much about writing sometimes. And I definitely wish the Owl of Inspiration would come and land on my desk, although sometimes my writing already resembles an owl's deposit (well, an owl pellet) - one of those little packages all full of fur and feathers and tiny bones, mangled together and not much use for anything!
I'm writing though, and I'm keeping on writing, and I'm taking inspiration from anywhere I can - including this blog. So thanks.
BT,
I couldn't have said it better myself. Well done. It's all about sitting down and facing the mirror within.
Have an awesome day!
@ Jim. (The truth about Lies) I really dislike Inspiration as a word too, Jim. People ask me too often, when they read something I’ve written, “Where did you get the inspiration from?” and it honestly feels a little insulting, like the hours I spend writing something don’t count so much as the inspiration. As if the hours we spend polishing our arts don’t count, all that matters is what the owl left on your desk.
I really think we should swap pets, Sheeba, the big brown poo shooting dog leaves ideas all around the backyard for me to step in at night when I go out to water the lemon tree….
Jim is a great supporter, great bloke, and a helluva writer, pop over to “The Truth about Lies” and see what he’s got to say = )
@ Catherine @ Sharp Words, ideas and motivation to write comes from wherever you look. I take long walks at mid day to freshen up my mind, sharpen my senses, and take things in anew. There’s always something to touch me in some way and it’s a lot more refreshing than picking through what’s already passed through another’s digestive tract = ). Blogs are another great way to drink from the well. The bonus of writing blogs is they let you know that you’re not the only one experiencing the writing life- it can be isolating. Big ups for the Kudos, Catherine.
“Sharp words” is another great writing blog- Catherine has a great talent, and provides a great rush and enthusiasm that can really help on those days where the fingers just don’t want to rattle the keys…. You can find a link to “Sharp words” to the left, in the Links column.
@ Alexys, Thanks, it really is all about facing the mirror everyday. Lately I’ve been reading a book called “Musashi” by Eiji Yoshikawa, it’s about the samurai Miyamoto Musashi, the author of “The book of five rings” and founder of the Niten Ichi Ryu (Two heavens unified as one) sword style. It tells a little of how Musashi found that he could learn the critical refining elements of swordsmanship, or “The life giving sword” in painting, haiku, the tea ceremony, farming and every other thing he did in life. I guess this is the fundamental principal of the practice of Zen- Zazen (which translates to “Quiet sitting”) to do anything well, it requires the same fundamental principals of character, only one of which is the mechanical practice of the art.
(Tom do you know where you are taking this, having you been enjoying Adelaide’s finest too much?)
The most important practice, I believe, is this sitting, and looking into the mirror within; confronting your weaknesses, not in thought, but in practice, and overcoming them, everyday.
Sometimes, my writing describes my greater self, and that self I see is who I aspire to be more like. I want to be the guy who does everything with dedication, races only himself, works towards constant improvement, strains his boundaries, defeats his weaknesses, has a great time and understands that the opinions others have of his actions are none of his business and he should just relax. Sometimes I am that guy, and I know I get closer and closer to that every time I sit, and spend time in the mirror.
I love your analogy, “Sitting down and facing the mirror within” and promise I will never delve into comparisons between writing and samurai in my comments again = )
Alexys runs a wonderful blog called, “Soul meets world,” you can find a link for Alexys blog on the left hand side bar. If you enjoy my ramblings into the inner workings of the human heart, you’ll really enjoy Alexys blog = )
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