The difference between my life and a story is I don’t actually need drama and problems for it to have meaning. One of the well-kept secrets of writing is that when we’re really in The Flow, when we’re following that story and not trying to create it all by ourselves, writing isn’t hard at all. It’s the opposite of hard. And there’s also no problem. When I’m in that flow, I’m exactly where I want to be, doing exactly what I want to do, and life is just as I want it to be.
Short and sweet today. I have what seems to be a repetitive strain injury from – guess what? – too much writing. It’s that damned mouse! After a week of very little computer time or handwriting, it’s a bit better, but my mood is not great. And I have realised just how much I rely on my writing.
It’s a way I talk to myself – I vent or exult or enthuse or whinge – and that keeps me on an even keel. I explore ideas. I feel valid and professional, as if I actually know what I’m doing (I’m working, see? 1500 words this morning!). It keeps me occupied and off the streets. My writerly routines stop me from ruminating. When it goes well, I disappear to another place entirely, and I spin my own safely net from words.
So, balked of writing, I have been reading. Lots of fiction. But also this lovely book – Everyone Has What It Takes by William Kenower. He tackles the subjects that haunt most writers; success and its Janus-face, failure. Getting published, getting rejected. Writing a best-seller, seeing your book remaindered. Being immersed in the creative flow, or sitting at your desk and feeling like you’re trying to get blood from a stone. At its core, Kenower’s message is quite radical. The key to writing success is not outlining or banning adverbs or finding the right agent. It’s love. Write the story you love, he says.
If you love it, you have what you takes to write it.
Oh, no! But still, good to have an excuse to just luxuriate in reading (not that any excuse is required).
Hope your wrist feels better soon and you can get back to it.