Well, I’m never going back
Oh, hi friends!
Is this a good idea? It sounds like a headline. Or perhaps half a headline. But is there enough foundation to build upon, to layer one hundred words, then another hundred, another, another, until they create a tower long enough to warrant three finger scrolls and four digital ads? And if the words do layer up — if, if, if — do they take you on a far enough journey so that the brain attached to the scrolling finger feels moved or changed? Does the ending sparkle? Is it inevitable, yet surprising?
I don't know. I haven't written anything yet.
But that's the struggle that begins any piece: article, short story, song, play, novel. Is this a good idea; do I have enough words; are the words good enough?
Oh, and yes, I can't forget the fog hanging over all of these questions: Will anyone care?
I don't know. I haven't written anything yet.
Asking all those questions isn't a mistake. That's your curious brain searching for answers. The mistake is when we send a little wisp of an idea off to an editor, or a friend, or we impulsively post about it on our social media of choice. As our wisp flies away, we are begging for it to return with a YES. Or a KEEP GOING. Or a NEED MORE.
We may receive mild or wild encouragement. Or silence.
But they don't really know either. Because you haven't written anything yet.
You have no idea what the full expression of this idea looks like. You are inspecting a wisp with a magnifying glass when you really need to step back 100 yards and discover from which plant or bloom or cloud or rainbow or cape this wisp escaped in the first place.
This alternative feels foreign, like wearing jeans indoors. But the alternative is this:
You already know. You simply have to write it.
(Or film it, create it, sculpt it, launch it, and so on.)
I mourn all the ideas and projects waiting for someone else's jolt of enthusiasm. The truth is, no one will ever be as enthusiastic as you are for your own work. (If they are, you might not be excited enough.)
So make it. Finish it. Then share it.
You might find a YES or a KEEP GOING after the fact. You might find silence.
But you'll know those responses don't matter quite as much, because you already heard one yes.
It was the one you said to yourself.
“Wake up! Keep waking up! Wake up more and more often!”
There’s the getting-out-of-bed wake up, and then those dozens of other points of illumination that happen throughout a day.
This weekend I enjoyed reading Making a Literary Life: Advice for Writers and Other Dreamers by Carolyn See. (Thanks to Brass Ring reader Jebra Turner for the recommendation!)
Nothing's gonna harm you
Not while I'm around
Nothing's gonna harm you
No sir, not while I'm around
Here’s Katrina Lenk singing “Not While I’m Around.”
Do you like these daily emails? Please share with a friend!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Love, Kara