Ah, the challenge of a writer. Tell me what color hair they have within a few paragraphs of beginning...without pausing the plot. Tell me what they want and why pronto...but stay in their voice. And, above all, don't bore me!
I've spent more time on one sentence these past couple of days than I have on some pages. Working and re-working. Phrasing and re-phrasing. Going through The Mental Checklist of Excellence:
- reveal the character
- describe her goal
- maintain tension
- move forward
- stay in voice
But the quest for excellence is worth it. Always. Not perfection. Perfection is the result of excellence, not the goal. Excellence is the goal. I'm learning what it feels like. Learning what makes a lame sentence different from the excellent one. I can see the difference.
You rock, awesome writerly peoples. Go be excellent. How will you be excellent today?
1 comment:
If I could hug you, I would. But I'll have to settle with sending you hugs over the Internet. And hot chocolate. And cookies.
Well... One must appease the muse, right? :P
I struggle with the same things. Sometimes I end up staring at the paper, or word document, for Great Long periods of time completely absorbed in one silly sentence. It takes time. Lots of time. But in the end it's worth it.
Keep plugging away! Keep striving for excellence! It's what will set you apart from the rest.
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