Go Read This . . .

"To be a writer is to sit down at one's desk in the chill portion of every day, and to write; not waiting for the little jet of the blue flame of genius to start from the breastbone - just plain going at it, in pain and delight. To be a writer is to throw away a great deal, not to be satisfied, to type again, and then again, and once more, and over and over...." 

- John Hersey 

Valerie Geary  of

Something to Write About

My fabulous critique partner, Valerie Geary, had THIS beautiful post on her blog yesterday. It resonated with me in a powerful way, as I'm sure it did with every writer who visited. It's a post of such powerful TRUTH that I feel compelled to share it.

Rather than take up your time here today, I ask you to go visit Valerie and read her post in its entirety. To pique your interest, though, here is a snippet of what you'll find there:

I wanted my love for writing to be simple again. For it to be about nothing more difficult than creating and trying to find beauty amid this chaos we call life. But in order to do that, I needed to let go of my inhibitions and start trusting myself again. I needed to stop rushing headlong towards my what-if future and start living in my present.         

So I shelved my fifth manuscript and started a new one, number six, and was delighted to find it felt nothing like giving up.

In fact, quite the opposite: it felt like ropes slipping free, like running full-tilt down a steep hill, like swimming in a snow-cold stream. It felt very much like freedom.

And I realized then that letting go is not equivalent to giving up and in the letting go there is opportunity for rediscovery, for finding beauty and joy and truths unexpected. 

Go. Read. Enjoy!