"...if nothing is ever published at all and you never make a cent, just the same it will be good that you have worked."
"...I am so afraid that you will decide that you are stupid and untalented. Or that you will put off working as so many wonderfully gifted people do, until that time when your husband can retire on full pay and all your children are out of college."
"It is impossible that you have no creative gift... [and] you cannot be sure that it is not a great gift."
-from Barbara Ueland's If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit (1st ed. 1938)
And, in honor of my current micro-fiction kick, here are two sites with some excellent short-short stories:
Ha ha--I misread the last quotation as "It is possible that you have no creative gift. . . ." It was a little depressing until I reread it.
ReplyDeleteGood job with the micro-blog post!
I started following your blog after the DUOTROPE post at Mur Lafferty's site. Since you are looking into micro-fiction, this site of mine might interest you. Stories inspired by Emoticons - The NecronomIcon ...
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This is one of the BEST books on writing (or being creative in general) that I have ever read. I will frequently go back to it for all her wonderful nuggets of wisdom.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I read yesterday's post too and now I am craving a steak sandwich. If you ever need help with blog ideas go to http://www.thewriteprompts.com/
ReplyDeleteIts a good website. Although I really don't think you need any ideas!lol
The second one got to me. Thanks for posting these.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I love the last one. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is okay to wait until kids are in and/or out of college. Sometimes they need you very, very much. All depends. You write along the way as best you can - little slips of paper here and there. You keep reading while waiting in line at the doctor, dentist, emergency room, music lessons, etc. But the multi-tasking of devoting yourself to personal passions and the self-less requirements of motherhood/homemaking can be overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteIt has taken me a long time, in the current culture of believing women can have and/or do it all, to honor - publicly and proudly - my devotion to my children, my husband, the family and home we wanted to have.
Now, with a son at college, I am finally sitting down to write - but just a little. I still have a daughter at home.
My husband is successful. Our family is intact. We are passionately in love. We have a home. We survived some grueling heartaches and have a cherished collection of wonderful memories.
I'm glad I waited.
Theresa, I think your informed choice is much different from the implied "well, I'll get to it someday when all the stars align and it's easy for me" thinking that quote warns against.
ReplyDeletePutting off a creative endeavor because you are living today fully is one thing. Putting it off because you feel like you haven't yet earned the right to be creative is another.
Yes! You are right.
ReplyDeleteIt's obvious I am sensitive to the implied "wait till the stars are aligned" connection to the "burden" of husband and children/college, which makes the words of wisdom targeted toward women/wife/mothers. (I know, I know - some men have husbands and children, too!)
We ALL struggle with our creative passions when we choose to enrich our lives with valuable relationships.
This would be a provocative blog post - how much do you dare to risk when your creativity and passions threaten the balance/health of your relationships?
Encouraging words can be so powerful. Hopefully all the other words we write can touch people too.
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