‘And joy…joy is the infaliable sign of the presence of God‘ Madeleine L’Engle, A ring of endless light
New writing project
Starting any new writing project is nerve-racking. Capturing the beauty of an idea and turning it into a black and white reality is an onerous task.
It’s why writers almost permanently have a pen and a notebook attached to them.
Despite which we are eternally chasing the butterfly words and rhythms that haunt the corners of our minds. Seductive, provocative whispers of words asking to be daisy chained together…
Reverse alchemy
It’s what makes ‘getting started’ hard. It’s what makes continuing in the face of the muck you’ve just written down even harder. The reverse alchemy of hearing gold in your mind and writing lead on the page requires a certain determination. Pig-headedness or even semi-depressive martyrdom are also useful attributes in the process of continuing to write. It’s a game of chasing the rainbows-end gold.
But it’s the prospect of gold that keeps us panning the river of words.
It’s the fact that sometimes you do manage a particular turn of phrase that sparkles like refracted sunlight caught on water, a joy in and of itself. The loosing and finding of yourself in the absorption of the act of writing. It’s that the words keep coming and won’t quite let you alone. That however many times you give up, there’s always that irresistible need to approach the page. One. More. Time.
So I’m relaunching my blog on this swanky, new, bought-my-own-domain-and-hosting, grown up girl website, replete with the sense that this is what I have to do. I have things to say, to shout into the ether, irrespective of an audience.
Just make a start
Listening to one of my favourite podcasts recently I was struck by a particular truth shared in it: You have to be prepared to do the crappy version of whatever it is that you’re here to do first.
It may not sound especially deep and meaningful in the retelling but it was one of those ‘aha’ moments for me. The idea of holding what we have to do lightly, not burdening it with the pressures of having to be anything more than it is, revelling in fact in the very ‘crappiness’ of it, was like a door opening for me. A welcome invitation – come on in; just make a start…
What I know for sure in this writing life is that there are some things that simply need to be written. We have to start with the lead to find our way to the gold. And there’s so much to be learned and loved in the playful, crazy, creative exercise of alchemy. How could you resist giving it a go?
