Writing Works

Posted byRebecca BuddPosted inDorothy Parker, Ernest Hemingway, Gene Fowler, George Orwell, Kurt Vonnegut, Ray Bradbury, Roald DahlTags:, , , , ,

The Challenge

Writers have a mysterious aura around them. We admire their brilliance, ingenuity, candour, flamboyance and even, on occasion, their eccentricities. Words appear to flow effortlessly with a languid confidence from their minds onto a blank sheet of paper.  Mere mortals labour over a sentence placement; “great” writers simply toss a couple of ideas into the air to create a best seller.

Writing is difficult, whether you fit into the “great” or the “mere mortal” category.  Gene Fowler once said, “Writing is easy:  All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead.” Ernest Hemingway agreed.  “There is nothing to writing.  All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”  Thomas Mann admitted, “A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” Roald Dahl pointed out that, “Two hours of writing fiction leaves this writer completely drained.  For those two hours he has been in a different place with totally different people.”

Kurt Vonnegut was more descriptive with, “When I write, I feel like an armless, legless man with a crayon in his mouth.”  George Orwell confessed, “Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout with some painful illness.  One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.”

Writing is not easy.   When your pen floats above the paper, ready to record you words, remember that angst is part of the writing process. Have courage. Write! Take it from Ray Bradbury, “You fail only if you stop writing.”

Perhaps the best way to describe a writer comes from Dorothy Parker, “I hate writing, I love having written.”

 

Published by Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

22 thoughts on “Writing Works”

  1. I have to agree with the Ray Bradbury quote Clanmother. That is the way I feel. Now, I must go write something………

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    1. Thanks for your visit and comments. The first time I met you was through your post on “My Neighbor Totoro.” I still watch it from time to time – a brilliant celebration of the environment, family and hope.

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  3. I did not realise that you have a few blogs, and I missed all the posts of yours, well, how ignorant I am on WordPress, need to catch up in 2013.

    This post is lovely, I often find difficulty in the first few minutes when I start to write something, I love R Dahl’s quote.

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    1. I am so very glad that you found me on LadyBudd. When I first started to blog, I set up the different sites based on my various projects/interests. LadyBudd is where I post photographs that I have taken over the years. You probably already know that I enjoy quotes. I start out my mornings with a quote that I store in the back of my mind to reflect upon throughout the day. I find it keeps me focused on important rather than petty issues. I am truly enjoying following your blog – I learn every time I stop by for a visit.

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    1. Well said! I just finished David McCullough’s “A Pathway Through the Sea.” The hours of research that went into this book was monumental. His ability to bring all of the facts together to write the story of the Panama Canal gave me some of the best hours of reading. We owe writers a great deal. They entertain, challenge, teach, inspire…

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  5. The only people who think that writing a book is easy are those who’ve never tried to write one. I have enormous respect for anyone who has written an entire book, even a crappy one. When my novel was published, some people scoffed (I’m a self-taught college dropout) and said that they could write a book, too. I smiled and said, why don’t you, then?

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    1. I laughed when I read your gracious response. These type of people remind me of Lady Catherine in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, who said, “If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient.” You are a marvelous writer – I scan my reader/e-mail notification for your latest post.

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    1. I agree! We understand when people don’t agree with our position, but when they decide that there is no merit in our efforts, it is indeed a bitter pill! But then I remember my good friend, Marcus Aurelius who said: “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”

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  8. You wrote a very good post. Congratulations! You inspired me, every time ! Congratulations for your general culture !

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