Saturday, June 27, 2009

A Million Words

Blue sky outside, perfect weather, so I'm keeping it short, folks.

I'm going to write about the painfully honest today -- what it takes to write a book. There is no magic fairy wand, no incantation, no gift of the Irish, no talent, no brilliant idea, no flash of genius -- writing springs out of practice. Reading thousands of books helps, but the biggest thing you have to do to write a salient manuscript is to press a minimum of a million words to many sheets of paper.

You can't run a marathon, climb a mountain, or sail around the world without some work, and you can't write a book without some work. That's why you keep hearing the advice to write every day. Most of those words are about learning how to write. If you have a writing dream, fan it this week. Toss on kindling. Throw on dedication. Make some tangible goals. Mix in some accountability. Stop dreaming and get on your yellow brick road. Press some words against paper.

My computer is on a slow boat back from China but good news for all of you who love the doodles : here is a doodle. I call it a "Scribble."



Today's playlist hit is "Mr. Blue Sky" from ELO. This song spun around my turntable soooo many times through junior high and high school.






Here is the quote of the week!
The conditions of conquest are always easy. We have but to toil awhile, endure awhile, believe always, and never turn back. Marcus Annaeus Seneca

2 comments:

Kjersten said...

Love this post, Molly. Perfect. To the point. So true.

Molly/Cece said...

Thanks!