Arts and Craft
When I was in grad school, it took a lot to get through some days. Willing myself to write was excruciating some days… because I was scared of getting it “wrong”.
One day, a benevolent voice whispered in the back of my brain, “Write it down today, get it Right tomorrow.”
From that day forward, I had it as a constant reminder, as it became my screensaver, and stayed my screensaver for a few years.
It’s been many years since those days… I’ve written countless drafts of more than a few plays and songs. And yet, the fear of getting it “wrong” is still very real most days. (These days, I find it easier to push through that fear, and I look forward to writing most days now. It’s a challenge more than a chore.)
So this morning, after grappling with a lyric and getting nowhere yesterday, I wrote a really BAD lyric today. I actually laughed out loud after I had it down on paper and tried to convince my sister it was actually a good lyric. She laughed too, once I admitted that it sounded funny.
That laugh set me free to find the next lyric, which is the working lyric for now. Not sure if it’s “it”, but it’s no longer laughable.
The best part, I don’t have to keep carrying around the burden of creating that “perfect” lyric because I already wrote a crappy one, had a good laugh, and moved on.
Just a reminder of why they call writing a “craft”… it takes a lot of time to shape.
–Sue
Add comment February 18th, 2010
