In 1997, I had just signed the contract for my first picture book Elizabeti's Doll. So, all of a sudden, I was a writer, except I didn't really know what a writer was supposed to do. I signed up for a writer's workshop my town was having. The speaker was Peter Brandvold, a teacher at the local community college who had recently published his first couple of Western novels.( And since then has a bucketload of novels.)
He began talking about his writing routine, which included a piece of advice that would end up driving my writing process for the next decade and beyond. He said, "I always try to get in 1000 words a day, even if it's not very good. Because it's a lot easier to revise bad writing than to revise a blank sheet of paper."
Yeah. It is so true.
So, even on days when I feel like I am writing complete crap, I will still do it. Because within that day's work, there will always be something, maybe a sentence or two, a word, or even simply an idea, that is worth keeping.
And it makes those days of lousy writing seem not too lousy after all.
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2 comments:
Stephanie,
This is such good advice--something I have a hard time sticking to myself, but when I do it, I realize how valuable it truly is! Thanks for the reinforcement.
I always feel better about myself if I get something down on paper each day (or most days). Even if it is "bad" writing, it feels like it might be bringing me one step closer to something good.
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