Whenever I’m not working or playing with Teddy and Tee, I’ve been stealing away moments to devour this book:
So good.
I’ve slowed down my blogging output recently, in part because I’m attempting to hone my craft. A lot of the writing I do is just words vomited onto the blank page. (Ew.) This book is teaching me how to take my time, to meander and to allow readers to meander alongside me. To be honest – I don’t usually think about The Reader. Because, you know – who would be reading my stuff, anyway?
When I write, I think mostly of myself – what I want to get off my chest, what I need to put down on the page. It would not hurt me to have a perspective shift.
I love this Joan Didion quote:
The book talks about the concept of the contemplative essay. You start with a thought – about life, about cooking, about a moth, about a shoe – and you see where it takes you. You keep writing until you understand where you’re going and why. This resonates strongly with how I think of writing – as my way of understanding and interpreting the world around me.
OH AND ALSO – the author, Dinty W. Moore, writes this: The rewards of publication are fleeting, while the rewards of regular writing practice are countless.
YES.
I am giving this whole “getting published” thing a try. But if it doesn’t work out – that’s okay. That part is not up to me. My job is to keep my butt in my chair and just keep writing.
Counting My Blessings: I am grateful for new possibilities and the chance to learn new things.
