Alice (if I may be so familiar)!! I loved, loved, loved this. I believe the first point about being my own friend is something I need to apply to my life in general, not just when writing. Thank you for the gentle reminder.
And, yes, re inspiration. I had to wait for it to come to me in bits and pieces (like it says on the side of the mushroom can) for this draft I now have, but I know it wouldn't have come if I had not shown up every day...now that I'm retired and can.
Finally, when it comes to faith. In your previous post you talked a little about having trust and I quoted what you said on George Saunders' substack for a similar topic. It's rare for him to comment on a participant's post, but he did on mine, saying "Alice is a wonderful writer, isn't she?" to which I heartily agreed.
Yes to everything. But what speaks to me most today is your closing: about having faith. Faith seems like everything. Faith that our subconscious is working even when we think we're not. Faith that epiphanies arise when we're revising. Faith that we'll finish. Faith that thinking about the human condition can make for writing that results in human connection.
Lordy be was this wonderful for my writing soul to read right now. I love your theory of three things, not four, and, of course, your advice to being on your own side. Also, I’m going to think more about little nuggets I can work on in my novel revision that I’ve had to put on the back burner (somewhat better than up on a shelf?) due to the need to navigate major life stuff and be present for my kids. I like this. I’ve been polishing and polishing the first paragraph of the last chapter I’d been working on when things happened. I can report that that paragraph is pretty darned polished. I’m writing, in any way, for any amount of time, when I can and knowing that I cannot put pressure on myself with any word count, deadline, or expectation. I’m also having a great time reading, including some buddy reading, which I so enjoy.
Alice (if I may be so familiar)!! I loved, loved, loved this. I believe the first point about being my own friend is something I need to apply to my life in general, not just when writing. Thank you for the gentle reminder.
And, yes, re inspiration. I had to wait for it to come to me in bits and pieces (like it says on the side of the mushroom can) for this draft I now have, but I know it wouldn't have come if I had not shown up every day...now that I'm retired and can.
Finally, when it comes to faith. In your previous post you talked a little about having trust and I quoted what you said on George Saunders' substack for a similar topic. It's rare for him to comment on a participant's post, but he did on mine, saying "Alice is a wonderful writer, isn't she?" to which I heartily agreed.
Thanks so much, Erica. And thanks, George!
This resonates. Especially about doing three things, not four. I think this may be why my ongoing attempts to do five crash and burn so regularly.
Thank you for another wonderful essay.
Thank you SO much.
I'm feeling all of this. thank you, Alice.
Yes to everything. But what speaks to me most today is your closing: about having faith. Faith seems like everything. Faith that our subconscious is working even when we think we're not. Faith that epiphanies arise when we're revising. Faith that we'll finish. Faith that thinking about the human condition can make for writing that results in human connection.
Lordy be was this wonderful for my writing soul to read right now. I love your theory of three things, not four, and, of course, your advice to being on your own side. Also, I’m going to think more about little nuggets I can work on in my novel revision that I’ve had to put on the back burner (somewhat better than up on a shelf?) due to the need to navigate major life stuff and be present for my kids. I like this. I’ve been polishing and polishing the first paragraph of the last chapter I’d been working on when things happened. I can report that that paragraph is pretty darned polished. I’m writing, in any way, for any amount of time, when I can and knowing that I cannot put pressure on myself with any word count, deadline, or expectation. I’m also having a great time reading, including some buddy reading, which I so enjoy.
Thank you, Alice, for this wonderful post.