Thursday, April 11, 2013

King's Speech: J is for JUST

Regular readers of The Shellshank Redemption know how much I enjoy a good quote (see Motivational Mondays) and that I’m a huge fan of Stephen King (see the King of All Days Part I and Part II.) So, for the 2013 A-Z Challenge, I decided to combine the two, using some of my favorite King quotes about reading, writing and life in general. Enjoy!

*****

The scariest moment is always JUST before you start.
(Stephen King)

Whenever I have an idea for a story or a novel, I tend to jot notes about scenes and characters and plot. These notes are usually in a notebook or on a piece of scrap paper or the occasional napkin. It’s not until I’m ready to start the actual writing that the nerves start flickering like a match’s tiny flame. Will I be able to do the story justice? Will the characters live and breathe on the page the way they do in my mind? Will people love the story as much as I do?

In that moment, as my fingers hover above the keyboard, the hopefulness of possibility and the despair of doubt battle for the upper hand. And what do I do? I don’t wait to see which one wins. I. Just. Start. 

22 comments:

  1. This is so true! I've been jotting down notes and ideas for a story but can't seem to make the leap to actually start it. I need to just stop stalling and do it.

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  2. Love Stephen King and his On Writing book. So helpful!

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  3. I think starting is the absolute key because some people over-think and they lose that "window"...

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  4. I have the most difficulty with the start of my novels. I'm never sure where to start in the story. After I get the first one or two chapters done, I can fly through.

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  5. That's about all you can do. If we listened to those doubts, we'd never get anything written.

    My scariest moment is when I hit The End. And I think about how many revisions and how long it'll take. And it's so overwhelming cause I know it'll take a lot of work.

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  6. Julie - go for it!

    Jackie - it's one of my favorite craft books.

    OE - oh yes, I have shut that window a number of times myself. :)

    Susan - I try to take the pressure off by saying I'm most likely going to change the beginning anyway...

    Suzi - yeah, that scares me, too. :)

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  7. I always feel that way about NaNoWriMo projects. All Halloween night, I can feel the nerves building, and they don't go away until I hit that 50k mark.

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  8. Absolutely true. There's that second that I think, Well, this is just going to be an overwhelming amount of work.

    But once I start things just begin working themselves out.

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  9. I just start too... though lately I've been doing a lot more brainstorming beforehand with my husband, which should make for a lot less re-write-style-editing later on.

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  10. I can usually get myself started, it's the finishing that gives me the most trouble.

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  11. MJ - i feel exactly the same way about NaNO!

    Kelly - the trick is to keep believing that it will all work out. :)

    JL - I did more of that this time around, too. My husband's great at helping me work out logic and plot problems.

    Tim - it's funny how for some people it's the beginning, others it's the end, and for many, many of us it's both. :)

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  12. The hardest part for me is at the end of Nano and I'm left with... what is this again?

    I'm working on fixing that problem.

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  13. Getting ready to start is that magic moment, the breath before the performance. I love the way you described it- I'm sure many can relate!

    Love the photos of Larry and Mrs. Larry on the sidebar- so cute! :)

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  14. Starting is the hardest part. I often spend months on an idea and an outline before I begin writing.

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  15. Jai - just keeping working on it, and keep moving forward. Except when you revise. Then you do have to go back... :)

    Lexie - thank you! I'll let the torts know they have another fan. :)

    Alex - outline? What outline? :)

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  16. That's all you can do! It can be hard to make that leap as it's no longer a nebulous thing but becomes real. But if we want the story to exist in others' heads too, we have to give it a go.

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  17. That is so true. It is the hardest part.

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  18. I just had a leather journal inscribed with this quote for my husband... He's a fantastic writer who is a bit low on the self esteem. This is a great quote!

    Hugs!

    . Valerie Nunez and the Flying Platypi

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  19. The hardest part for me is just AFTER I start, when that first paragraph is down on the page and it definitely does not match the vision in my brain! It's an exhilarating moment too though, so fortunately I can usually keep myself going.

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  20. Liz - glad you enjoyed the quote!

    Valerie - I'm sure your support means the world to him. :)

    Jillian - it's funny how it's both terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. :)

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  21. What he said. And what you said.

    "Just do" it makes all the difference.

    Barbara
    Kitchen and Kinfolk
    The Daille-y News

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