That time again.
I glance up at the top right-hand corner of my screen. There, waiting patiently to be pressed, is the button marked Publish…
I say patiently, but that button is very purple. Puce, even, the shade a teacher’s face might turn as you wheel out excuses – each one less credible than the last – as to why you didn’t do your homework.
I won’t bore you with feeble alibis. Instead, below is something I read the other day that offers a little consolation. It helps, after all, to realise that nobody finds it easy. And to produce anything worthwhile, it seems, always takes the writer on ‘an emotional rollercoaster’.
Stage 1: Excitement
“You must not come lightly to the blank page.” ― Stephen King
Stage 2: Uncertainty
“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” ― Jodi Picoult
Stage 3: Persistence
“You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.” ― Octavia E. Butler
Stage 4: Distraction (AKA: Procrastination)
“If I waited till I felt like writing, I’d never write at all.” ―Anne Tyler
Stage 5: Doubt
“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” ― Sylvia Plath
Stage 6: Shame
“The first draft of anything is shit.” ―Ernest Hemingway
Stage 7: Fear
“If I wanted perfection, I wouldn’t write a word.” ―Margaret Atwood
Stage 8: Courage
“Creativity takes courage. ” ― Henri Matisse
Stage 9: Relief (AKA: Euphoria)
“Writing the last page of the first draft is the most enjoyable moment in writing. It’s one of the most enjoyable moments in life, period.” ― Nicholas Sparks
Stage 10: Pride
“There is no real ending. It’s just the place where you stop the story.” ―Frank Herbert
Great group of quotes. And circle around again…(K)
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Yes, indeed, each new piece is – in TS Eliot’s words – ‘a raid on the inarticulate’.
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Really good quotes! I like the Sylvia Plath and the Frank Herbert best. So hard to overcome self doubt, and so hard to know where to end a story…
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Very true, Christine, and perhaps if it was easy it wouldn’t be worth doing.
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Reblogged this on Opher's World and commented:
I loved this – so get writing!
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Great quotes Dave.
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Cheers, Opher, and thanks for the reblog!
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That stage 2 is a great quote and so true. I might stick that on the front of my laptop!
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Good, Steve, isn’t it? A variant of, ‘Don’t get it right, get it written!’
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Have you thought of producing this as a poster and marketing it? I can’t help thinking Dragon’s Den might take an interest…
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Alas, not mine, Cath! I should ‘fess up and direct you to the webpage I nicked it from, worth a read in its own write … er, right! Here’s the link:
https://www.wix.com/blog/content-writing/2018/10/the-10-emotional-stages-of-writing/?fbclid=IwAR1sxc8rNIzJ77j79qnlsT1QewiiZLU4UF9mArtlgbrUv9biKTy5rHEokHs
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Thanks for the link, looks interesting. Glad you ‘nicked’ it, otherwise I would have missed seeing them all together.
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Really like this. Gives me courage!
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Glad you liked it. We need all the encouragement we can get!
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Yes, it’s amazing how self doubt always creeps in. Am finding it difficult to find an agent and so many publishers publish fewer books each year.
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Good luck with that. I’ve heard it’s as hard to get an agent, a good one anyway, as it is to get published. What about self-publishing on Amazon or wherever?
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Thinking about it more seriously now.
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I particularly like number ten, Dave. I can’t help myself when I open a document I’ve supposedly finished. I always find something to rewrite! –Curt
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Haha, confession time, eh? Well, Curt, mine is that I can’t resist making changes to posts I’ve already published!
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Grin… Turning back the clock. Or is that closing the barn door after the horse has escaped.
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Yeah, that’s me sitting in the straw banging coconuts together!
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I’m not so sure I relate to all the stages, but many of the quotes resonate. Especially Procrastination.
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Too often find myself pro crastination!
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