The visual image of what she cut off was so helpful! And this is just what I needed to hear as I get ready to head to brunch with a computer and piece on progress in hand! 💛
Wow this was so inspiring!! It really is crazy how I will cling to things in a story just because I already wrote them, when really I should just take a saw to those parts and let the really good parts shine. Thanks for this lesson Elisa!
Yes! When I was working on my first novel, I kept a picture of one of Michaelangelo's prisoner sculptures on my bulletin board--it reminded me the story was in there somewhere, I just had to carve away enough marble to get to it.
Falling in love with a plotline, or tidbit from backstory, completely resonates. A dear writer friend recently reviewed my nearly finished memoir manuscript, noting sections that could be "saved for another project." I dutifully cut about 10,000 words from it, some I loved, but which didn't move the core story forward. I put them in an "outtakes" file just in case they would fit in another essay or book in the future. Kudos to all of us for courageous editing. Love the image of the table saw making the proportions right. Thanks for sharing this wisdom.
You are right about the process. I’m taking apart and putting back together my new project. Part of me is frustrated and part of me is excited to see what happens.
Your sister’s work is stunning. The roses are beautiful and there is movement in the still lives.
Love this image of physically sawing off what isn’t working and then seeing that not only as part of the process, but of a successful day! Have experienced this many times but sometimes it takes a lot of mental gymnastics to see destruction as creation. Thanks for sharing!
Pretty talented siblings, I’d say. One of the wonderful gifts of teaching is one never knows who is sitting in those class room chairs! As time goes forward, we see artists , writers, scholars, musicians emerge from the classroom cocoons, and we teachers are grateful for the time we spent in their company and hopeful we added something worthwhile to the soil wherein they grew.
The visual image of what she cut off was so helpful! And this is just what I needed to hear as I get ready to head to brunch with a computer and piece on progress in hand! 💛
Wow this was so inspiring!! It really is crazy how I will cling to things in a story just because I already wrote them, when really I should just take a saw to those parts and let the really good parts shine. Thanks for this lesson Elisa!
Yes! When I was working on my first novel, I kept a picture of one of Michaelangelo's prisoner sculptures on my bulletin board--it reminded me the story was in there somewhere, I just had to carve away enough marble to get to it.
wow I love that Elisa!
Falling in love with a plotline, or tidbit from backstory, completely resonates. A dear writer friend recently reviewed my nearly finished memoir manuscript, noting sections that could be "saved for another project." I dutifully cut about 10,000 words from it, some I loved, but which didn't move the core story forward. I put them in an "outtakes" file just in case they would fit in another essay or book in the future. Kudos to all of us for courageous editing. Love the image of the table saw making the proportions right. Thanks for sharing this wisdom.
Ah, yes. The beloved “outtakes” file! Thanks, Claudia.
YES. Murder your darlings!
You are right about the process. I’m taking apart and putting back together my new project. Part of me is frustrated and part of me is excited to see what happens.
Your sister’s work is stunning. The roses are beautiful and there is movement in the still lives.
Thanks so much, Morgan. She's incredible!
Now, you tell me!
June Schoenfeld
I’m in that process - aka as “killing my darlings”!
Painful, I know. Alas, the world will never get to meet Enzo, the hot handyman character who had to be sliced from my novel-in-progress.
Love this image of physically sawing off what isn’t working and then seeing that not only as part of the process, but of a successful day! Have experienced this many times but sometimes it takes a lot of mental gymnastics to see destruction as creation. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Nancy. That means a lot coming from you. Especially since I'm now second-guessing the title of this post. Writing, of course, IS art!
Pretty talented siblings, I’d say. One of the wonderful gifts of teaching is one never knows who is sitting in those class room chairs! As time goes forward, we see artists , writers, scholars, musicians emerge from the classroom cocoons, and we teachers are grateful for the time we spent in their company and hopeful we added something worthwhile to the soil wherein they grew.
You added so much to the soil, and I'm very grateful for all you did to nurture the muse in my formative years, O Captain My Captain!