August 4, 2006

  • Ego and Art ...

    I've been reading Julia Cameron's book, "The Sound of Paper" and on page 136 she writes, "The ego doesn't want us to merely be able to write, paint, sculpt, dance or act. It wants us to do these things well, to do them brilliantly, or -- and here is where drought sets in -- not at all."

    The year between July 2005 and July 2006 was a time of severe creative drought for me. I think I wrote a total of ten poems in the entire 365 days. I did complete my 50,000 words for the NaNo project, but I never found the time to go back and polish that work. And the words above slapped me hard. I have been telling myself that I was too busy working, parenting, befriending, moving, setting up house ... (that last one has been my latest excuse) to produce writing. But the truth is that my ego has been in the way.

    I want to write brilliantly. I'm not content with plugging away and doing a little by little on work that I don't think is ... brilliant. The book I talked about last week, "First Draft in 30 Days" is not a book about doing brilliant work. It's about the structures and disciplines of writing. About outlining, researching, organizing, and showing up at the keyboard day after day to do WORK that may or may not ever be brilliant. (Of course, my ego is screaming at me now that surely flashes of brilliance will appear or WHAT'S THE POINT?)

    And that's exactly the point. My ego would rather make excuses than have someone read something that doesn't meet my standards for brilliant, witty, or profound. And my ego feels SO strongly about this that it is my staunchest ally in the procrastination game.

    This week I gave myself the gift of time to feed my creative spirit. I gave myself time alone to think, time to explore new things, taste new things, feel things I've never felt before. And I will have wasted that time if I insist upon forcing it into something brilliant that my ego may admire.

    I am considering several projects. And have been invited to consider or reconsider another one. I haven't been idle this week, I did work for my new boss, and I did work in the service of a friend. But most of this week has been about me. In a way that even the week in Iowa wasn't. This week, I have planned, taken notes, fed my artisic soul, and watered the hard dry ground of my creativity.

    I am working on rescuing the book that got shelved two years ago. I love the idea of that story and I love the characters that inhabit it. It's the story of three sisters, each on the threshold of a major life crisis. (Cool Mary pointed out that if you Google "3 sisters" you get some amazing hits ... but I digress). My working title is "the Year of Behaving Badly" and in the end who was good and who was bad may be a matter up for some interpretation. (if I do it rightly and brilliantly enough)

    I have in mind that the postcards project can be expanded. I'm trying to decide whether I will keep the format "as is" with much more of the story left out or hinted at than told directly, and simply add more postcards. Or if I should use the material I had in mind for the background of each card to flesh out into a full chapter and maybe retain those postcards as the postscript at the end of each. I think that has real possibility because the reader would get to see the story from one perspective in the chapter and then directly through the eyes of the protagonist as she writes the cards.

    AND I'm very aware that November is coming. My project this year will be written as a partnership and its off to a very promising start. My partner is a genius at structure and plot. I'm a pretty good workhorse with the pounding out the words thing. And between the two of us we believe we can write a 100,000 word story in 30 days. That way we have each individually met the challenge of the NaNo contest. In order to get 100,000 words our story can't be a single linear operation. We will need subplots, interesting minor/secondary characters, and a WHOLE lot of espresso ... (if you wish to send Starbucks gift cards, please email me for the address )

    Biting off more than I can chew? I certainly hope so. Because it's way better to wake up in the morning knowing that I will be writing, knowing something of WHAT I will be writing, and then WRITING, than to wake up in the morning allowing my ego to have the last word with that word being "we don't have time."

Comments (6)

  • i think ANYONE who can write ten poems in a year after they've hit 25 is phenomenol  As for writing brilliantly, since i KNOW i done that [over the space of almost six years] i can assure you that brilliance doesn't sell

  • google Three Sisters and Mary is right, many interesting hits. Well, I know you are brilliant and so am I but I doubt I could behave badly for a whole year!!! That would be some task. I usually wear out in a couple of days and then I have to be good for a day or two. Cheers

  • here's where the drought sets in...Not AT ALL..that is where I am at at the moment.

  • Please write about me.

    please ......please.......

  • I can so relate to this. Every writing book you read will tell you to just get words on the page and revise later, but I torture myself that they have to be the *perfect* words and end up making excuses for why I can't get into the right "space" to write what I want to write.

    I told you I used the "30 days" book to create my outline. It's the only thing that gives me confidence now because if I'm floundering with a scene or with a character or with the specific language, at least I have it all laid out in terms of plot and subplot and theme. So I know it's there and my job now is to fill it all in. And, more importantly, having it all outlined helps me *believe* in it and know that it will work in the end... if I can just manage to write it!

  • In a music composition class at St. Thomas U., the professor told us to write something each week and not wait until it was "good".  He suggested we play the composition for the Postlude at church because no one llistens to it.  He said just keep writing and it will become good, but if you don't get in there and do it, you'll never compose anything worthwhile.  I see a comparison with your work.

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