Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Thank you Mark Twain



I learned an important lesson about writing when I visited the Mark Twain house in Hartford, Connecticut.  During the tour, they took us to his writing room.  It was a beautiful room with an elegant pool table in the middle of it.  In the left corner was his writing desk and next to the writing desk was what looked like a mail box with a number of cubbies in it.  I asked about the interesting structure.  Mark Twain would generally be working on a number of manuscripts at a time.  Each cubby contained a different project he was working on.  He would work on a particular subject until "the well would run dry."  He would then put it away and work on a different topic.  Later in time, when he came back to the original subject he would find that the well was again filled with more to write.  Knowing this gives the author permission to leave one subject and move onto another.  

I often found that at 2 AM in the morning, I would be empty of things I wanted to write in Bedlam.  I would go to bed feeling drained.  However, the following morning, not only would I know where I wanted to go with my writing, the actual next line would be available in my head.  I have to give permission for my writing to follow the pace of my spirit.  

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