tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post5670294495010555002..comments2023-01-08T13:48:58.890-08:00Comments on The Sound of Butterflies: The Shitty First Draft and other ponderings.Rachael Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07690377694600952816noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-2394394762066404382007-12-03T11:17:00.000-08:002007-12-03T11:17:00.000-08:00Glad to be of help Mary - your new office sounds j...Glad to be of help Mary - your new office sounds just great. And no internet! Very sensible.Rachael Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07690377694600952816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-9111304020075118832007-12-02T18:37:00.000-08:002007-12-02T18:37:00.000-08:00Dear Rachael, Wholehearted thanks for recommending...Dear Rachael, Wholehearted thanks for recommending Anne Lamott's book: 'Bird by Bird. Some instructions on writing and life'. Unity ordered in it for me and I am totally smitten with her voice, her advice, the practical no-nonsense innately moral/human/instinctive/fun approach she has to writing and literature(and to life). I have engraved on my forehead 'perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor', I have set to on some of the small projects she advises (a scene at a dance here, another one with a naked woman and a digger there), I am trying to leave my characters 'where the Lord flang' them, I am letting the broccoli talk to me, I am relaxing about the thought of a 'shitty first draft' and have at last -- just this weekend -- set up an office upstairs in the spare room FOR ME ALONE which I approach without fear every morning. Note Rachael, it does not have an internet connection. I am now right back into my second novel thanks to Anne and you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-22889890127402602802007-11-01T13:06:00.000-07:002007-11-01T13:06:00.000-07:00Not so much ditched as giving it a much needed vac...Not so much ditched as giving it a much needed vacation. :-)Rachael Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07690377694600952816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-15853743829151160822007-11-01T10:01:00.000-07:002007-11-01T10:01:00.000-07:00"The shitty first draft"What a brilliant (and hone..."The shitty first draft"<BR/><BR/>What a brilliant (and honest) way to put it. And also very liberating, as it always is to allow yourself to fail. It's like when you finally admit to each other that the holiday's being a disaster, and instead of going on pretending (miserably) it's wonderful, you laugh, and agree to salvage what you can from the wreckage.<BR/><BR/>I agree that you need to find the voice first, which is why I can't start my real first draft till I have it in my ears, but once I've found something that will carry me beyond the first couple of pages, that I try to push on regardless. But it takes a lot of faith in yourself and the book to push on over the lumps and bumps for the long haul of a novel, believing that you WILL be able to get it right at the next (or fourth or fifth) pass, if not this one.<BR/><BR/>Best of luck with the new one, and respect for having the courage to ditch its predecessor. Many don't. <BR/><BR/>EmmaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16175404.post-61065631181299031152007-11-01T08:13:00.000-07:002007-11-01T08:13:00.000-07:00I think that adaptability or flexibility, the will...I think that adaptability or flexibility, the willingness to let go of old ideas and beliefs and make room for the new in our constantly changing lives and world, may prove to be the single most important skill. Not the most important characteristic (I'd still be shuffling between compassion and kindess on that count) but quite possibly the single most important skill. Letting go, as I've learned the hard way this past year is so incredibly important, but it is only the first part of the process, embracing the new is the second part (despite the fear, the doubts and the mouse critics...).<BR/><BR/>love your new blog.<BR/>xAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com