The difficulty of consistency in writing is greatly exacerbated by authors fearing that the situations and characters in their heads aren’t quite unique enough or imaginative enough. And this angst can effectively kill an author’s enjoyment of the daily work. The mountain of their vision seems too high to climb. Yet let them close their eyes to the hill and simply
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It’s often spouted as conventional wisdom that anyone can have a great idea. What makes a great book–like a great company or invention or system–is the work. The commitment and unique persistence applied to making that idea fly. It sounds so true it has to be true, right? Well, not exactly. It turns out that some people have greater ideas, and
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“We have met the enemy and he is us.” –Pogo, Walt Kelly Reading through my journal I see that back on December 4, I wrote about my process of writing my first new chapter since before I went freelance, over 4 years previous. I wrote it from pieces that started with the basic action and locations, then researched the locations
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“Are we there yet?” Remember how fun it is to travel with small kids? The longer the trip, the more this favorite question gets repeated, like a bad commercial. I think that could be how God feels when we keep unfocusing on the real goal of art and start obsessing about the finish line. Two quick examples. Several weeks ago, I got frustrated at
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