Reinforcement

I wanted to start with a quote today. This quote comes from the same source as the two stories from yesterday, JAW Magazine, Spring, 2005. Richard Nilsen says “Sometimes it doesn’t just flow out of the word processor. It takes work to pull it kicking and screaming onto the page. And in all probability, the easier it looks to read on the page, the harder it was to get it there.” These two sentences left an impression on me. This is probably because they are both the opposite of some topics we’ve covered recently and identical to others.

Have I confused you yet? When writing becomes like pulling teeth, there obviously isn’t a flow going on. We’ve discussed flow and keeping it going even if it doesn’t fit in our plan. However, because we do have a plan, the words are often forced to fit a specific scenario. In this case, accomplishing the plan can be painful. My advice about sitting on it would come in handy here. When we go back and take another look, we might find a better way of stating those painful words. We need to remember that writing isn’t always easy.

If we remember that revision can be our friend, the whole process of sitting on it can become less uncomfortable. It is okay to change an ending multiple times. It is okay to do a complete rewrite if needed. We previously discussed keeping our unsatisfactory work in a separate place and re-writing them at a later time. We also discussed fishing the gems out of the garbage and providing new homes or new settings. The possibilities are endless.

We are limited by our own shortcomings--impatience and lack of imagination. Given the proper thought and deference, our words can become the proper masterpiece they were meant to be. Given the proper consideration our words can affect someone enough to inspire someone to write.

I have written Richard to request permission to use the quote. If I get a negative response, I may have to do some quick editing to this entry.