Last week I attended the National Romance Writers of America Conference. It was a fantastic, although exhausting, conference for me. I have several experiences and quite a bit of information that I'd like to share with you and blogosphere. BUT... I have two crushing writing deadlines. I must meet one of them tonight and the other within two days. Which means I need every spare minute. Which means this post must be brief. Which brings me to something one of the speakers said last week: PROTECT THE WORK.
I, of course, know what she meant by this and I promise to explain in a follow up post. But what do you think she meant when she said: PROTECT THE WORK.
Here are a few other quotes from various speakers. Sayings that resonated with me so much that I plan to tack them above my computer.
"Give up what brings you anxiety and you will have better control."
"The more you try to make sense of it, the further you are from the truth."
"Stay in the moment.... Go with the flow.... and when something bad happens, rise above."
Pick one or several of these quotes and, from a creative artist's point of view, tell me what you think they mean. What's your take?
SIS Beth
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7 comments:
Happy beautiful morning everyone!
I'm gonna take a stab at PROTECT THE WORK.
My first thought was that it might have meant--don't share your story with others until its completed. If you've told it and talked it to death there won't be a need to write it.
But then I had another thought--Maybe it means don't let life get in the way. This goes back to making excuses why we can't write. But we must, we have to to succeed. SO maybe PROTECT THE WORK means no matter what's going on in your world, you HAVE to set aside time to write.
Those are my thoughts and I want a prize if I'm right!!!!!
I'm curious as to others take on this so please share your thoughts.
SIS Barb
My first thought, like Barb's, was don't share anything about the story. But now I'm thinking she's right. Don't let life get in the way. Something I'm oh-so-guilty of doing.
Of course, my cynical side immediately saw "Protect The Work" as a warning, in this easy-access world of mass communication, to be VERY cautious of what and where you post or send or share any WIP so you don't get to see your words or ideas in someone ELSE'S writings before yours comes out. Then, after reading your other quotes, I kinda slid back towards Barb's second thought: Allow your life to flesh out your writing, but don't let what's going on today guide your work. In other words, someone may royally piss you off today, making it VERY easy to vent by writing some bitter diatribe being voiced by one of your characters --- which may be good for YOU, but may NOT be really what your CHARACTER'S all about. The others, my take, briefly:
1) "Give up...." Basically, you can't create (well) if you're distracted. Address the anxiety, you bring back control of your muse.
2) "The more you try...." Humans have a nasty habit of rationalization, nearly every day for nearly every situation. Rationalization REQUIRES bending the FACTS to our own satisfaction, and there goes the TRUTH of the matter.
3) "Stay in the moment...." This, to me, is Survival 101 -- bad things do and will ALWAYS happen. First, you gotta realize that; second, you gotta define "bad" (i.e., does having to wait 30 WHOLE seconds at a light when you have to get somewhere REALLY SOON constitute something truly "bad," or is it just part of "the flow" at that moment?); third, of COURSE, rise above, because the alternative is SUCH a waste of energy. In fact, one of the BEST thing, to me, about reading, especially books from centuries ago, is finding that there really is NOTHING "bad" that has happened or could happen to me that hasn't happened to someone WAY before me. The good of the read is finding that out itself, followed by either seeing how someone overcame the same problem or how they succumbed to it --- it's then left to me which is a better path to choose.
Look forward to YOUR explanation, Beth!
Tori,
Like minds and all!
SIS Barb
Richard,
Show off--you had to go and do them all didn't you? Actually, that was great and I can't wait for Beth to share the real meanings so we can see if we're close.
SIS Barb
You guys are so smart. :) Actually, you are dead on in all matters. I don't even need to expound, but I will because, come to tink of it... there is more. But you have the bulk of it. Woo-hoo!
SIS Beth
(who's still 'protecting the work'
Exactly - your writing above all other obligations. Best of luck on your deadlines, Beth!
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