Do The Write Thing

Mr Bojangles did me some new CDs while he was off: Flaming Lips - At War With The Mystics, The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers and Timo Maas - Loud. Today is a good day...

I'm also halfway through by The Night Buffalo by Guillermo Arriaga which is incredibly macabre but I've been unable to put it down yet - I started it yesterday lunchtime and I'm three quarters through.

I love having the time to read and digest another person's view point. I love language and the fact that every book you read uses it differently. Some writers over-complicate and twist words like a calligrapher might his pen - whilst others are basic and raw, matter-of-fact and dry.

It quite literally astonishes me what can come out of a persons imagination and it inspires me to let go and dive into the depths of my own mind to see what I can find.

I seriously lack confidence. That is probably the biggest obstacle I face when it comes to this. I hate myself for being insecure sometimes but the truth is, something wonderful can come from learning a lesson about yourself and gaining experience from mistakes you've made. If I thought myself perfect and wonderful then I would have nothing left to learn, would I? And then I'd have nothing to say and nothing to write about.

Sometimes I think my dream is impossible because the best artists have been tortured souls and I'm not tortured. How can I write beautifully and eloquently twisted narrative when I'm just a normal girl with normal issues? But I guess that just means I've got to absorb things from other sources and tap into any experiences I have had. I have to do this and I have to do it now, or I never will.

My brother's advice on the subject:

From: Wondy Bro
Sent: 24 July 2006 11:26
To: Woman, Wondy
Subject: RE:

Some of the best writers started out with short stories. Read some of Kafka's shorts!! And try http://www.slowlydownward.com/ for some Stanley Donwood. Both are a little out there but it will teach you to primarily write for yourself, its clear from there style that they weren't concerned about general acceptance and mass appeal. They gave form to their thoughts and let the people come to them, instead of tailoring something for the ever changing taste of the public. Don't think about writing a best seller, just think about writing something that you feel is true to you and your world vision, the stories will come from the sense of self you can achieve from, for want of a better phrase, 'keeping it real'

Good advice indeed.

Oh the things that play on our minds,eh? Well, it's better than lying awake at night thinking about money worries isn't it?