Monday, July 2, 2012

Motivational Monday


THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS ARE THOSE
THAT MADNESS PROMPTS AND
REASON WRITES.
(Andre Gide)

Well, I don't think I'd call my Camp NaNo novel 'beautiful' but I would definitely say the idea was prompted by some sort of madness. Sometimes the roads my imagination wants to take me down are twisty and dark, and I balk, afraid. I scare myself. A lot. My wonderfully supportive husband - in the role of the person in the movie/book who wants to open the door to the basement to prove that it's really only a mouse making those blood-curdling screams - encourages me to let myself go, to not hold back, to dive in and delve under. 

And so I do. 

Because there's a reason why my imagination goes where it does. I don't know what the reason is but I have to trust that there is one.

Because as big a chicken as I am, I like to be scared. Just a little.

Because - and this is the biggest 'because' of them all - I know that when I come crawling back up that sinister road, when I am mentally scarred and bruised and somewhat broken, there is goodness waiting for me - my husband, our home, the tortoises, photos of my niece and nephew, sunshine and a sandy beach.    

So, let go this week...but let's make sure there's someone or something - a lifeline, a map, a compass - around in case we get a little lost and need help finding our way back.

9 comments:

  1. Letting go and diving in is definitely not easy for me but it's something I'm learning to do more. Thanks for the motivation! I hope you and your hubby and Larry and Mrs. Larry all have a happy 4th coming up. :)

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  2. the contrasts of life make it exciting, lows make the highs higher, sadness makes happy happier =)

    scariness makes family comfier and safer!

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  3. Julie - you're very welcome! I will pass on the 4th of July wishes to everyone here, although I think the torts will spend most of it in their shells. They're not big on the noisy fireworks. :)

    Tara - very true! :)

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  4. Sometimes I get a little concerned about where my ideas come from - but I just let them flow. Like you say, there's a reason, even if we don't know what it is!

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  5. Annalisa - it took me awhile to get to the point where I'm okay (for the most part!) with my thoughts/ideas and letting them go where they want. :)

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  6. Letting go can be exciting, but also scary at times.

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  7. Donna - I guess it's best to focus more on the "exciting" part than the "scary" part... :)

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  8. Here's to writing challenges, dark twists, and following your imagination no matter what (also to plot thread ponchos, which still have me laughing from the previous post). I'm right there with you, troubling my loved ones and beta readers who didn't know I had such strange ideas in me. Congrats on your Camp victory and experience!

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  9. Jillian - when I was in high school, a teacher once looked at me very oddly after I turned in a dark short story... Some things never change. :)

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