“One should never criticize his own work except in a fresh and hopeful mood. The self-criticism of a tired mind is suicide.”
Charles Horton Cooley
So that's pretty much my frame of mind right now. You? What are some of your favorite writerly quotes?
Here's another one I like:
“I have rewritten–often several times–every word I have ever written. My pencils outlast their erasers.”
Vladimir Nabokov
That one's been on my mind a LOT lately. 🙂 I read a quote over on Jane Porter's blog the other day that sort of says the same thing. It's so good, and I agree so much, that I'm copying it for you here:
Getting a new book going is hard for me. I have all these ideas but putting the actual words down on paper is like wringing water from a virtually dry dishtowel. Just not a lot there. Maybe there’s never been a lot there. Books, I realize, are written word by word over long periods of time. Even on my good days, when words rush out in paragraphs, I’ll probably have to edit those down by slicing pages at a time.
Wringing water from a virtually dry dishtowel. Oh man, do I know that feeling! Sometimes it's exactly like that. Other times, you type so fast but your hands can't really keep up with everything coming from your head. I've had both and everything in between.
And yet, as I told my writer friend on the phone this afternoon, I can't imagine doing anything else. No matter how tired I am, no matter how many nights I stay awake until 6AM the next morning writing like a fiend, I am SO happy. And so lucky. She agreed. Pretty much your worst day writing beats your best day doing anything else. Yeah.
Today, I'm going to lunch with my friend and just chilling. It's a good feeling. 🙂 What are you up to today? Writing plans? Other plans? If you're a reader, what have you read lately that just knocked your socks off?
Lynn,
I hope you enjoy your lunch and return to your writing refreshed and re-energized.
I’m judging contest entries. The last one was so good that I’m bummed I couldn’t finish the story. Since it’s so good, I look forward to seeing this writer’s work in print one day, though. And I’ll be able to say, “I judged her work before she made it big.” =)
Have fun at lunch, Lynn! You deserve a break. 😉
I want to be a full time writer so I can be a lady that lunches. Right now, I’m a lady that grabs something and takes it back to her office. Sigh…
Hi, Keli! We had a marvelous lunch and I’m feeling pretty good. 🙂 Isn’t it terrible when you’re reading a contest entry and you want MORE but you can’t have it? Argh! I still think about a couple I’ve read and I look for them from time to time, thinking someone has to publish them.
SP, I want you to be a lady who lunches too! Because then we could go out to lunch. 🙂
Lynn,
A very Happy Birthday to you!!
Now you’ve had a nice lunch with a girlfriend. Hopefully your handsome hubby has planned something special for dinner, because a birthday with someone else doing the cooking and cleanup is a good thing.