Write as you walk down the street; I do it then and while I'm washing dishes, cleaning house, washing clothes, exercising, breathing . . . Excellent advice!
Thank you for the advice. As a young and potentially aspiring writer, I appreciate the insight you've provided. I do have one question: How critical is initiative? I am always thinking but not always writing. When I do sit down and write, however, usually I can produce something I am proud of. Is it necessary to always be physically writing in order to succeed? Is it a trap to rely on memory of experience?
Thanks, I enjoyed your advice. I've been writing for a lifetime; only in the last five years have I reduced it to paper. It rings true that while the sun is shining and the grill lit, I find such comfort in the sentence or paragraph that won't wait. What fun to be able to "hang" with the Gods.
I remember reading an interview with Joyce Carol Oates years ago. She was asked how she found time to write while raising children, taking care of classes, etc. She said she wrote whenever she had free time: in a grocery line, on a bus, waiting in traffic. It's dedication and the acceptance of rejection, the idea that each time someone turns you down it only makes your heart and drive stronger. Push on. Nothing but death can stop a determined person. Believe that your heart is aligned with other hearts, and someday your words will be appreciated.
Thank you, Carol. As an aspiring writer, it renews my faith in writing. My heart overflows and inspires me to find the song of my life and the story of my dreams.
Some great advice here, especially "You will happily blow a day turning over a single sentence." In my case, that means writing, rewriting, and more rewriting. Thanks.
Thanks for your sound advice . . . works for me, and I'm a late comer to the table . . . pushing toward my seventieth year.
Write as you walk down the street; I do it then and while I'm washing dishes, cleaning house, washing clothes, exercising, breathing . . . Excellent advice!
Thanks, Carol. You got me to crack my door open long enough to see that I’m not the only one holed up in a shabby room.
Thank you for the advice. As a young and potentially aspiring writer, I appreciate the insight you've provided. I do have one question: How critical is initiative? I am always thinking but not always writing. When I do sit down and write, however, usually I can produce something I am proud of. Is it necessary to always be physically writing in order to succeed? Is it a trap to rely on memory of experience?
Thanks, I enjoyed your advice. I've been writing for a lifetime; only in the last five years have I reduced it to paper. It rings true that while the sun is shining and the grill lit, I find such comfort in the sentence or paragraph that won't wait. What fun to be able to "hang" with the Gods.
I remember reading an interview with Joyce Carol Oates years ago. She was asked how she found time to write while raising children, taking care of classes, etc. She said she wrote whenever she had free time: in a grocery line, on a bus, waiting in traffic. It's dedication and the acceptance of rejection, the idea that each time someone turns you down it only makes your heart and drive stronger. Push on. Nothing but death can stop a determined person. Believe that your heart is aligned with other hearts, and someday your words will be appreciated.
Thank you, Carol. As an aspiring writer, it renews my faith in writing. My heart overflows and inspires me to find the song of my life and the story of my dreams.
I will share your response with my high school students who have such fresh passion and hope for their own writing efforts. Thank you.
What a gift you have, Carol, to write and to be able to explain this complex, mysterious art so that we all say, "Yes, she's got it!"
Some great advice here, especially "You will happily blow a day turning over a single sentence." In my case, that means writing, rewriting, and more rewriting. Thanks.
This is wonderful. Thank you.