“When you risk writing from where you’re at, you set in motion a whole set of internal processes. The first rotten sentence you write has a life you can inhabit, evaluate, cross out. To be replaced by a second, hopefully less rotten sentence. Maybe a good piece of description, a nice turn of phrase, a sharp line of dialogue.”
Dennis Palumbo, Writing From the Inside Out
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“Every morning I jump out of bed and step on a landmine. The landmine is me. After the explosion, I spend the rest of the day putting the pieces together. Now, it’s your turn. Jump!”
Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing
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There is vulnerability in writing.
There is a risk that we will reveal too much of our ourselves.
Or worse, reveal our limitations.
But writing helps us understand our hopes and dreams.
We must pass through the narrow pass of mediocrity to gain the upper paths to the summit.
And writing, like walking, starts with the first step.
We may wish to be at the top, but must start where we are.
At the bottom.
Looking up.
By writing we may find ourselves fragmenting.
The part of us we usually hide from the world wants to be seen on the page.
Maybe we keep it there.
Or we don’t.
We have the power of the edit.
To put ourselves back together on the page.
But there needs to be something there in the first place.
That’s why the best thing to do is jump into writing.
Put something on the page or screen.
You might not make it to the summit.
But you will still have an adventure.
Conversations With Quotations 