“I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning,
and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.”
Oscar Wilde
I can so relate to this Mr. Wilde.
I have agonized over one line and fiddled with it until it didn’t make sense any more.
I have cut lines and put them back. It is an arduous process but necessary.
“Nothing you write, if you hope to be any good,
will ever come out as you first hoped.”
Lillian Helman
I know exactly what you mean Lillian. When I start to write a play there is a point where it starts to write itself and I either get out of the way or it all just shuts down. I have to give up on what I thought I wanted to write and give in to the mysterious powers of the creative process. I have tried to force the issue but it never works. There is a point where the play reveals itself and tells you what it wants to be.
“You must write every single day of your life…
You must lurk in libraries and climb the stacks like ladders
to sniff books like perfumes and wear books like hats upon your crazy heads….
may you be in love every day for the next 20,000 days.
And out of that love, remake a world”.
Ray Bradbury
Oh Mr Bradbury I love when you talk like this.
“The first draft of anything is sh*t.”
Ernest Hemingway
Well in my case that would be true. As a matter of fact I secretly call the first draft
the sh*t draft and sometimes I will have sh*t draft number three before I actually start writing the actual first draft.
Well I guess I should stop having imaginary conversations with famous writers and actually
start writing. I must say though that connecting with these brilliant writers through their words
is like connecting to some kind of amazing magic. I feel the spark ignite.
