It takes the time that it takes. All things in the right time. But whew some moments are easier with that than others! Now if I could just convince my boss of this reality, lol.
I'm both. I can draft a novel very quickly sometimes, but I also have a dozen or so that aren't yet complete. I try to visualize it as a workshop or garden—some contained area wherein all my projects reside in whatever stage or state they're in. And I get to them when and how I get to them.
I love the idea of a novel garden. Some plants are growing beneath the surface of the soil even if we can't see their progress. And they flower when conditions are right.
It strikes me how very fortunate I am to have witnessed the slow marinade and gradual, glazed bake to perfection of my dear friend’s first novel. It took the decades you mention and it was tortuous for her (my tears well up as I reflect on our many phone chats). That said, the process moulded her into a helluva writer—the novel became three!—and she articulates the journey for others better than anyone I know.
Carpé Dior — seize the sassy handbags. They *will* be heard!
Isn't it. I too, when I first started writing, had the arrogance to think I knew what I was doing and could 'just' write a best-seller. What an unexpected and wonderful journey of learning it has become.
It takes the time that it takes. All things in the right time. But whew some moments are easier with that than others! Now if I could just convince my boss of this reality, lol.
I'm both. I can draft a novel very quickly sometimes, but I also have a dozen or so that aren't yet complete. I try to visualize it as a workshop or garden—some contained area wherein all my projects reside in whatever stage or state they're in. And I get to them when and how I get to them.
I love the idea of a novel garden. Some plants are growing beneath the surface of the soil even if we can't see their progress. And they flower when conditions are right.
That's a beautiful way of putting it 😊
It strikes me how very fortunate I am to have witnessed the slow marinade and gradual, glazed bake to perfection of my dear friend’s first novel. It took the decades you mention and it was tortuous for her (my tears well up as I reflect on our many phone chats). That said, the process moulded her into a helluva writer—the novel became three!—and she articulates the journey for others better than anyone I know.
Carpé Dior — seize the sassy handbags. They *will* be heard!
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️
That doctor anecdote is priceless!
That story is usually attributed to Margaret Atwood, and given her quick and wondrous tongue (!) I'd guess that to be true :)
Isn't it. I too, when I first started writing, had the arrogance to think I knew what I was doing and could 'just' write a best-seller. What an unexpected and wonderful journey of learning it has become.