Writing With Power
I'm training for my prequalifying exam for my second degree black belt in Shaolin Kempo Karate. This means that I am now training just about as much as I am writing/editing (roughly 2-3 hours a day). This is pretty damned exhausting, to say the least. However, in rare moments of lucidity, I am finding surprising similarities. That or I've burned enough brain cells that I've managed to somehow merge the two in my head. In any case, here were some cool epiphanies/brain sparks I've noticed:
1. It's Hardest Getting Started. In the beginning, there is talk, humor, and easy distractions as you warm up into the idea of dedicating yourself to the task ahead. Unfortunately, the world wants you to pay attention to dishes, TV, the Internet, the clock, etc. and you CANNOT let that happen! No! Fie! Get thee behind me, laziness! So you pick yourself up, stretch and review, taking the time to sink into the mindset of what's in front of you and shed the rest of the everyday. The faster you can do this, the quicker you can get down to serious business.
2. Partners help. A lot. Whether you're about to embark on NaNoWriMo or have a writing partner, a regular critique group, or a sparring partner willing to kick you in the gi pants, just knowing that there are people out there expecting you to get your game on can make all the difference for getting serious fast. These are your cheerleaders, your fellow sprinters, your shoulders to cry on, and your coaches who can nicely (and not-so-nicely) tell you to get off you tuchus and do the very thing you said you were going to do and are now dragging your feet, trying to act cute. It won't work, you know, and you're not fooling anyone. Partners keep you honest.
3. In the Zone. There's a moment when the rest of the world melts away and you are so in it that time has no meaning, the room disappears, and you are simply doing what you do best and it flows through you, crashes over you, inhabits you like a possessing spirit that is borrowing your space for a while going though the motions you know so well that if you stop to think about it, you'll lose it for sure, so you don't and surf the long, cresting wave of THIS MOMENT RIGHT NOW. AND NOW. AND NOW. as long as humanly possible. This is why you're here.
4. This, too, Shall Pass. That feeling only last for so long (although it's a killer when those moments pop up at inopportune moments such as driving in the car or in the middle of the night!): that itch to nail something down will wax and wane like the lunatic moon you worship and leave you breathless and slightly embarrassed as you become aware of yourself in the wake of whatever just passed. You suddenly smile like an idiot. It feels good.
5. Kill Your Inner Critic. Let's face it: most of what you did sucked. You may have even been aware of it at the time, but you kept going. Sometimes there may have been a sparkle of something truly marvelous, but you kept going. Keeping going is the *only* way to get through this and those hunks of gold are what make it all worthwhile, but the minute you attempt to try for all gold, you're lost. Admit that 99% of the exercise is trash and that 1% will get better and easier with time. This isn't about becoming perfect. This is about becoming the best that you can be...for now.
6. Regular Practice Means You Get Better & Better. How can you make the pacing work? How will you get your timing right? How will you manage to get from Point A to Point B? Practice. Hours and hours and hours of doing it. If there was a magic potion, we'd all be chugging it right now. If there was Aladdin's lamp, it would have been burnished to a nub. The truth is there's only one way to get there, and it's *through.* This is easiest when it becomes a habit: a certain time, a certain place, a certain mindset: ready, set, go. It starts when you decide to begin.
That's what I've got (as well as a few fascinating bruises...) -- I'm sure everyone can think of other parallels, but next time mine may be how writing a novel is like baking brownies! For now, it's time to sweat.
1. It's Hardest Getting Started. In the beginning, there is talk, humor, and easy distractions as you warm up into the idea of dedicating yourself to the task ahead. Unfortunately, the world wants you to pay attention to dishes, TV, the Internet, the clock, etc. and you CANNOT let that happen! No! Fie! Get thee behind me, laziness! So you pick yourself up, stretch and review, taking the time to sink into the mindset of what's in front of you and shed the rest of the everyday. The faster you can do this, the quicker you can get down to serious business.
2. Partners help. A lot. Whether you're about to embark on NaNoWriMo or have a writing partner, a regular critique group, or a sparring partner willing to kick you in the gi pants, just knowing that there are people out there expecting you to get your game on can make all the difference for getting serious fast. These are your cheerleaders, your fellow sprinters, your shoulders to cry on, and your coaches who can nicely (and not-so-nicely) tell you to get off you tuchus and do the very thing you said you were going to do and are now dragging your feet, trying to act cute. It won't work, you know, and you're not fooling anyone. Partners keep you honest.
3. In the Zone. There's a moment when the rest of the world melts away and you are so in it that time has no meaning, the room disappears, and you are simply doing what you do best and it flows through you, crashes over you, inhabits you like a possessing spirit that is borrowing your space for a while going though the motions you know so well that if you stop to think about it, you'll lose it for sure, so you don't and surf the long, cresting wave of THIS MOMENT RIGHT NOW. AND NOW. AND NOW. as long as humanly possible. This is why you're here.
4. This, too, Shall Pass. That feeling only last for so long (although it's a killer when those moments pop up at inopportune moments such as driving in the car or in the middle of the night!): that itch to nail something down will wax and wane like the lunatic moon you worship and leave you breathless and slightly embarrassed as you become aware of yourself in the wake of whatever just passed. You suddenly smile like an idiot. It feels good.
5. Kill Your Inner Critic. Let's face it: most of what you did sucked. You may have even been aware of it at the time, but you kept going. Sometimes there may have been a sparkle of something truly marvelous, but you kept going. Keeping going is the *only* way to get through this and those hunks of gold are what make it all worthwhile, but the minute you attempt to try for all gold, you're lost. Admit that 99% of the exercise is trash and that 1% will get better and easier with time. This isn't about becoming perfect. This is about becoming the best that you can be...for now.
6. Regular Practice Means You Get Better & Better. How can you make the pacing work? How will you get your timing right? How will you manage to get from Point A to Point B? Practice. Hours and hours and hours of doing it. If there was a magic potion, we'd all be chugging it right now. If there was Aladdin's lamp, it would have been burnished to a nub. The truth is there's only one way to get there, and it's *through.* This is easiest when it becomes a habit: a certain time, a certain place, a certain mindset: ready, set, go. It starts when you decide to begin.
That's what I've got (as well as a few fascinating bruises...) -- I'm sure everyone can think of other parallels, but next time mine may be how writing a novel is like baking brownies! For now, it's time to sweat.
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