I’ve read many a book on writing and most of them say, “Writers write. So write,” and many others say, “Remember to have fun,” and I’ve found that when I remember that sage advice, results seem to result.
And so I’ve been writing lately and trying to remember to have fun, and the stories are starting to emerge from the ether. I’m starting to have fun again. This is the writing I’ve always wanted to write — the learning how the world is, and the finding how it happens, and the trying out to see what I can make happen — not “This is what I saw last night” but “This is what I see today, and tomorrow.” Write into the future, write into the mystery, discover what is and what will be, wielding naught but a pen and a keyboard, and find what’s next.
“What’s next?” is the best question in the world.
What are you afraid of — really? Write the fear out of existence. What do you hope? Write the hope into existence. This is the power of words, make no mistake.
Or: DO make mistakes. Stumble and stagger over the words until you find a way to lay them down smooth as newly paved highway. Write and write until your mind is weary and your fingers ache but you know you said what you came to say, even when you didn’t know what you came to say until you said it.
That’s the way it is sometimes: You’re just busting to get something out but you don’t know what it is, so you just keep writing until, mercy me, all of a sudden it comes out and it’s there and can’t be taken back but it’s oh so true, truer than any words you ever said before, right down there on the page.
What’s next? You’ll find out when you write the next sentence, and the one after that, until it’s not “next” anymore, it’s now and here, here and now. Yep.
Sometimes I tell myself I’m going to purposely write a bad story, just to piss people off, and that gets me in the right mindset to get over the fear of perfection. ‘What’s next’ is a great question too. Thanks for sharing!