Today’s joyous high five comes from Janet Lee Carey author of many wonderful books and recent wonderful fantasies: STEALING DEATH and DRAGONS OF NOOR!
I love Janet's work; she brings such a sense of the interconnectedness of everything. She pours out the java for us today:
Fiction is a faith walk. The kind of faith required only grows as a writer pays close attention and sets the words down upon the page. Even if you’ve successfully written one or more novels you can’t expect to reproduce that success. We all have to start with a tabula rasa and begin at the beginning each time. Over the years while working on my novels, I’ve used a journal to play with plot ideas, create characters, and stay open to story. My journal keeps me fresh. It also keeps me honest when I let it. My inner storyteller knows what I need to hear and lately my journal has been telling me to slow down.
Dueling deadlines has had me on a fast writing track in the past few years. I’ve had to write a lot each day to make my deadlines, but page count and word count are all about quantity, not quality. As I slow down and seek my own rhythm, the story unfolds at its own pace, my breathing pace, my heart rate, and I begin to hear my storytelling voice more clearly. If you’re like me and you’ve been writing in a rush maybe you’d to try slowing down a little, and finding your own natural rhythm. Fiction is a faith walk. If you walk at your own pace where might it take you?
Oh, what hot java for the penultimate day of the Golden Coffee Cup! Snap! Snap! Snap! See you back tomorrow. Post your goal stories, and I'll announce the winners on Dec. 1st.
You are all SO awesome.
Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe. St. Augustine
4 comments:
Wonderful words, Janet. Under the pressure of deadlines, it can be so hard to remember (and have faith in) our own rhythms. Thanks for the reminder!
what an amazing author, and good words for those of us in the arts, no matter what venue. :)
Excellent words of wisdom from Janet. I'm not one of those writers that can write great volumes in a sitting. If I try to rush or force it, I end up tossing out most of what I've written. I have to let the story unfold at its own pace. Some days it zips right along, and other days it says, "Wait. I'm simmering something tasty here." On the up side, I usually don't have to do much when I come back for revisions.
For GCC, let the confetti fly. I'm just a few pages away from finishing the first draft of my tween novel for girls! I usually write for middle grade readers, so this is a new twist for me. I'm so glad that I dared to stretch my wings a bit. It's been great fun. I'll be polishing the WIP through January, then sending it into my agent. Thanks for your daily inspirations, Molly. Three cheers for you!
Just the words I needed to hear! I'm constantly amazed and inspired by Janet's groundedness amidst a whirlwind career. I've been a bit down about not making more progress on book manuscript this month, but then I've been tremendously productive in general and also filling up the cup in other ways. Thanks for the perspective, Janet and Molly.
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