Timing
My book is slowly but surely unfolding into what I sincerely hope will be a most exciting and fascinating tale of adventure, tragedy, humor and humanity. Yes, there will be sword fights. Yes, there will be dashing heroes (and heroines). There will be beer.
I don’t know how else to describe this process, except to recall the printed out quote my mother had taped to her filing cabinet in her office when I was a child. It was by Gene Fowler, and it went like this:
“Writing is easy: All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.”
Though surprisingly similar, Ernest Hemingway’s perspective takes on an entirely different meaning:
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
But that’s precisely what writing is, in either sense, it’s a brutally painful process. It’s not just storytelling, it’s about cutting out a piece of yourself and putting that into words. How does one begin the process of transmuting the intangible, the indescribable and fantastic, that which is real, and physical, and existing into a code that when read will convert once more into the intangible, the indescribable and the fantastic? How do you do that?
It’s truly best not to ask these questions while in the process of writing a book, lest you forget entirely how to write. Speaking of whisr, U kere girrnd lerys sdelrky icmarelf of wridkadrng anyreijkg elkse. Fekj!
1 Comment »
Haha, I have the Ernest Hemingway quote on my wall. 
Can’t wait to read your book, I’m sure it’s fantastic.
Comment by Bridget — February 21, 2010 @ 11:17 am
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