______________
Z
A N S H I N
Samurai
Writing
I
subscribe to a lot of magazines, and read many of them cover to
cover. I used to read more books, but they're way long. Then I
found the New
Yorker,
and the articles, while long as magazine articles go, are way shorter
than books. Spirituality
and Health
is a fun read, and I always read my new ones cover to cover. And the
articles are way shorter than the ones in the New
Yorker.
I also take National
Geographic, Newsweek,
and Reader's
Digest,
and the AARP
sends
this newsletter that's fun to read. And the articles are, like,
paragraph length. Lately, I've been enjoying the Quotable
Quotes
on the back page of Reader's
Digest;
they're only one line. I don't know where my attention span has
gone, but it's no wonder I don't read as many books as I should.
In
my defense, I proudly admit to finishing a book last night. I humbly
admit that I started it way before Christmas. I proudly state that
it is the author's longest and most ambitious book; I humbly admit
the author is Louis L'Amour. I proudly admit I have to choose
between my two next-to-read books-- Gone
Girl,
by Gillian Flynn, and The
Last Bad Man,
by Miranda July. I humbly admit, I've already started another Louis
L'Amour book.
I
don't care. And here's what contributes to that. I also take
Writer's
Digest and
read it cover-to-cover as soon as I receive it in the mail. I've
just read articles about fiction writing, contrast and conflict,
controlling the speed of the story, and character development. Every
month I learn something new about how to better produce my craft.
I get so overwhelmed with new information that I tense
up with the overload and can't write.
I
think there comes a time when you must realize that reading about
your craft is not actually doing
the
craft. At some point, you have to just sit down and write, You have
to put out of your mind any thought of success or failure, being
published, or formulas of approach. Forget the persuasions of the
experts, the center-stagers and the literary giants. They won't help
you write anything new. For that, you just have to immerse yourself
in the world you are creating, and capture it in words. You are the
best judge of those. Not your magazines, or your books, or your
experts.. You. Cruising down the stream of your story.
The ancient samurai of feudal Japan went into battle
already resigned to the fact that they would probably die. They had
made a vow of loyalty to whatever cause or overlord they were fighting
for, and their own lives were not as important as their loyalty. I
am coming to a place where I write that way.
Here's my advice; get the damn story out, and do not fret
about what others think of it, or what the magazines tell you it
should be, or whether it will ever be published. Get it down on paper while the Muse is whispering in your
ear.
Rewrite later. And save those Writer's Digests.
They may come in handy then.
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