I went to my critique group today and as per our new policy we each bring some nugget of information to make our writing better.
Amy, who shall be called Young-Mother-With-Long-Hair-Who-Wants-a-Cool-Photo-Taken-Before-She-Gets-It-Cut-in-a-Cool-Short-Style, gave us a handout from Janette Rallison, that we should use when starting a novel--actually, it should be used for each chapter. We decided, since NONE OF US have our novel really fleshed out before writing we need to pay close attention to it.
DeAnn's author said about her novel at the BYU conference, "Your writing is too good to waste on this tiny goal." Or something like that. Go here and read this and you will see what I mean about DeAnn's great writing. I am so jealous.
Her author also said, "How much can you write on your worst day?" And DeAnn said she thought five minutes but then DeAnn, who I shall call The-Great-Writer-Who-Doesn't-Use-a-Lot-of-Fluff-Words said, "Every day cannot be my worst day!"
And so that's what my post today is really about. Everyday cannot be our worst day, we cannot not have goals and aspirations, we cannot not want to strive to do and be better.
So, here's to having life plots, maybe one hundred of them, and working through life's conflicts, hopefully not one hundred of them all at once, and goals and overcoming and laughing in the face of the antagonists. --The Major Antagonist has no power over the righteous, by the way.--
"There is some place where your specialties can shine. Somewhere that difference can be expressed. It's up to you to find it, and you can." (David Viscott) So, I must try to write funny, maybe, and a little tragic so it will be publishable.
DeAnn and Amy are going to have to write more tragic because they are better writers than I am. Amy has this great picture book going and we all know that a four-year-old can't handle a lot of tragedy. They fall apart if their Popsicle falls in the dirt, so Amy gets a pass on the picture book but not on the novel.
So, lets do it. Lets do whatever it is we do and take the "worst day" excuse only occasionally.
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3 comments:
It is the common bond in bloggin the love of written words. On my worst days I photograph tea pots.
Wonderful!
thanks for the reminder and the wonderful words!
Sometimes we don't know we had a bad day till later, and think that was a really hard time, the fact is we just keep going and if we think about it too much we'd stop and feel sorry for ourselves, just keep writing, keep going and just get back on track, that is what I tell myself.
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