Monday, June 24, 2013

Motivational Monday


IF YOU'RE LUCKY, YOU DO THE KIND OF WORK THAT
SPARKS YOUR CREATIVITY AND MAKES YOU WANT TO
MEET ITS CHALLENGES.
FOR ME, THAT WORK IS WRITING: 
ALTHOUGH I FIND IT HELLISHLY HARD, 
IT'S THE FIRST THING I TURN TO WHEN I NEED TO 
EXPRESS MYSELF OR UNDERSTAND THE WORLD.
I LOVE ITS VERY DIFFICULTY.
(Martha Beck)

It's that last sentence that strikes home for me. I can complain and moan and groan with the best of them - this story stinks, that character is boring, the plot is full of holes, blah blah blah. 

And yet....I keep going. I keep working. I keep learning. I change the story's point of view. I give that dull character a nasty little secret. I fill in those giant plot craters with heaping lumps of logic and mounds of motivation. I do what I can to make the work....work.

I love what I do. Sure, it's easier to love my work when it's clean and pretty and smiling and cuddly. It's a lot harder to love it when it's grumpy and pouting and grungy and smells really bad. But that's when it needs me the most. And that's when I need it, too.  

I hope you all have something in your lives that you love and that challenges you. And if you don't, why not try to find it? It's out there. It might be covered in mud or stink of fish, but when you're done wrestling it to the ground and hosing it off, you'll see its beauty and its potential. You'll see it's just what you need. Don't give up!

24 comments:

  1. Writing is so easy and fun (for me), but writing well is a whole different story. :) It seems like there's always something new to learn, and maybe someday, I'll know it all. ;)

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    1. I think writing is one of those crafts where we never really stop learning how to improve. :)

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  2. Wonderful post! I feel the same way about my own writing. It's a love/hate relationship sometimes, but in the end, no matter how much I complain, I absolutely love doing it and can't imagine doing anything else.

    Have a great Monday. ☺

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    1. The trick is to remember this on the "bad" writing days. :)

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  3. You know how much I needed this, right? Thanks so much.

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    1. I didn't, but I'm so glad it helped, and you're very welcome.

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  4. Wow this could be applied to virtually anything in our lives couldn't it?? I loved this Madeline.

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  5. Maybe us creative types are just gluttons for punishment?

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  6. Definitely feel the same way. Thanks for the inspiration, reading this was a good way to start off the week. :)

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  7. I hear that "grumpy and pouty" works tend to turn out better than the fluffy ones that love you back right from day one. Not sure I believe it, but I suppose it's the extreme of love (*ahem* time) that gets dumped into it, eh? Here's wishing you success with your grumpies. =)

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    1. Maybe it's kind of like tough love? Maybe my novel needs a "time out"? Actually, I think it's the writer who needs the "time out".... :)

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  8. Great post, Madeline.

    When I'm not reading or writing, I feel something is missing from my life. It's like an itch I have to scratch. Writing is hard, and rewriting is even harder, but I always manage to learn something in the process.
    Happy Monday!

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  9. Writing is my challenge too... Although I find my day job as a gym instructor challenging and creative too - when I customer can't do any of the exercises I suggest because of injury, I have to get VERY creative :-) Great post - your love of writing shines through!

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    1. So many jobs and careers offer ways to be creative - we might just have to be creative to spot them. :)

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  10. I couldn't say it better. I love it and I've learned to plow through the tough days.

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  11. Same here. I love writing. But sadly, I have another bigger love. Seeing my writing in a more polished form. So... it makes my writing a bit more difficult. :-/

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    1. It's like that saying - you can't revise a blank page. You've got to get something down before you can shine it up. :)

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