"If you hold a cat by the tail, you learn things you cannot learn any other way."
--Mark Twain
I was going to go for some sophisticated, wise quote but I read that one and started laughing so I thought I'd stick with that one instead. ;)
I have a favorite phrase that I often repeat to myself: "You don't know what you don't know until you know it." A bit circular, yes, but that's me. However, it's pretty darn true. Sometimes, you just don't know something until you do.
For instance, I few things I've learned on my journey toward publication:
- You can murder your darlings and survive.
In fact, you can more than survive--you can learn to love it. Revision was a hard thing for me to understand for a long time. I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't always the most...responsive to critiques when I started out because I just loved my words. (I still do but that's another can-o-worms.) Changing them, rearranging them, *gasp* deleting them--it was more than I could bear.
Until...I knew that I could bear it. One day, it was just easier. I can't pinpoint the moment but it arrived and it was like an explosion in my head. I could flip my story on its head, cut and delete whole sections, start in a whole new place than I imagined and guess what? It was still the same story. Most times, it was a better story. Now, I frickin' adore suggestions and critiques because it's like a hundred pathways stretching out before me. Good stuff, that.
- Repetition is a good thing
I'm not talking writing/prose/structure. I'm referring more to absorption. When I first started going to conferences, I wondered why I often heard the same presentations over and over. Sure, the presenters were different and even their methods were different but it still came back to the same ol' stuff, right?
Turns out, even God repeats Himself. We humans have brains like colanders instead of goatskin bags. (After being buried in the desert for for six months, those suckers have been known to last for ten generations--waterproof for two or three hundred years! This fact was brought to you from copious amounts of research. And the number 5.)
Point being, retention of facts (goat bags aside) isn't always easy. But once you've heard it a bunch of times, you absorb it and start acting on it. It's a beautiful thing when you look back and see how far you've come just by learning to listen.
- If you treat your writing professionally, you can become a professional writer
Wax on, wax off. It sounds pretty obvious but it took me a lot longer to learn this than you'd think. *Disclaimer: I'm still learning. I'm definitely not a guru on the mountain top.* My friend ali is a great example of this. (In fact, you should probably go read her blog, instead. Just ignore my claws wrapped around your pant leg when you go.) I've watched her for a while now and she treats her writing very seriously. She has set hours. She's dedicated. And she's going places, I guarantee it.
A lot of people have some great advice on this topic: Show up and your muse will show up, too; Persistence pays; Climb every mountain, Ford every stream, Follow every rainbow...er, I mean...well, you get the point. When you treat your craft with the respect it deserves, it pays big dividends.
Those are only a few of the things that I didn't know until I knew them. Sadly, no one could teach them to me until I was ready. But when I got there, the strength of learning--of discovering those truths for myself--struck me and changed me for the better. It took time. Sometimes, I wonder if that's why we're encouraged to hang in there, because like a goat-skin bag, we're not properly tanned until we've put in our dues. (Thought you'd escaped that, huh?)
What do you know that you didn't know before?
Until next time,
L.T.
p.s. Can you tell I wrote this post while I was *"toiling upward in the night?" Right now, it's frickin' hilarious to me but I'm sure by morning, I'll be mortified.
*The heights by great men reached and kept
were not attained by sudden flight
but they, while their companions slept,
were toiling upward in the night.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
41 comments:
haha. Well, now I know that I will only know something I don't know when I know it. Um ... yeah, that made sense ... right?
Totally makes sense and cracked me up too so double awesome post. That poor kitty!
Beautiful post! (are goat bladders beautiful?) It reminded me of when I was expecting my first child and people would ask, "Are you ready?" Or say, "I don't know if I could be a mom." My answer was generally, that I could read all the books in the world, but until that baby was in my arms, completely dependent on me, that's when I'd be ready; that's when I'd know. And thank goodness, it was true.
LOVE the Longfellow quote. And love you, too.
So, so true! I remember going to a friend's workshop at a conference just to support her, not thinking I'd learn anything, because I'd been to similar workshops on the same topic probably a hundred times.
Turns out I did learn something, because it was taught in a new way.
And another time, I sat at a conference frustrated with some of the questions being asked. They seemed to obvious to me, and I wanted to ask the agent deeper questions. And then it dawned on me--I hadn't known the answers to the obvious questions several years before.
I hadn't realized I KNEW and had learned so much!
I feel so new in the writing landscape that there is no reason I shouldn't learn something new- even with repeated speaker topics.
Honestly, the most profound things I learn from writers are not necessarily exactly what the person said, but what the words made me realize.
And, I liked the goat-skin theory. Thanks for your insight. I shall now go forth and write (and learn) with greater fervor.
Great post and wonderful insight! As always, I enjoyed reading your post!
You operate well in at night~ better than me by leaps and bounds!
I love this post, I feel reminded to grasp the truths of this journey and embrace the repetition. It only leads to victory and publication!
Wonderful post. Love the cat quote and picture and the poem at the bottom. I hope you got some sleep! You are very wise, my friend. I'm learning this month that I can write faster than I thought. A good thing to learn.
This is such a great post! And so true. I completely understand your circular thinking. Thank you for sharing your wisdom... even about goat-skin bags. ;)
Great list! I laughed out loud at "And the number 5." That is just too hilarious.
And for me, I've learned that rejection won't kill me. Sure, it hurts, but I'm still alive.
Not a writer, but I LOVE this list. I think it applies to anything we want to do well. As a singer, the first point you make about revision and criticism definitely applies. I love getting feedback now, but it was once very difficult and ego-shattering. But learning to love it has made me better at my art. And guess what? It's still the same voice, just better. :)
And I love repetition in every area of my life. So important. Although, maybe I'll look into getting a goat skin brain so I don't need it so much!
Oh, you hit this one outta the park, sister. For starters, you had me laughing. Often. And as you can imagine, laughter served up at someone else's table is a feast for a humor writer. Yummm.
Then, I was wishing - oh, how I was wishing! - that I had said what you said about collanders and goat skin bags.
Then more laughing at the 'Know your Goat' graph.
Then a little singing nun stuff, wishing Lara were here to do it right.
And finally, a FABULOUS literary reference that describes 90% of my writing life. And here all this time I was content to imagine myself a writing vampire - doing my best work at night.
I bow to your nocturnal genius, darling.
Aw, thanks for the shout-out!
And this is a brilliant post. SUCH great realism here, I love that! Awesome, awesome.
I had something clever and insightful to say but then I got to the sound of music song and started singing it. Now my mind is filled with mountains and Julie Andrews spinning circles on them.
But yes, you don't know what you know. :) Great post.
What a perfect analogy! Yeah, I'd say my mind is a colander on far, far too many things. Good thing God is patient with me. :-)
Did you know I"ve been searching for a way to know my goat? (I'm still hazy on where the feta comes out.)
Great insights here, sista. And great laughs. Love this post.
I love goats, but I've never held one by the tail. ;)
You're fabulous... this post was hilarious... exactly what I needed today and Mark Twain knows what it's about!!!
It's all so true! I mean, I'm not all the experienced (or at all) with the writing aspect but it's just true in life! Just as you say, God repeats himself, too. Often. (How many hundreds of talks have you heard on faith?)
It's no wonder older people are so wise. It takes quite awhile to get there! And I love how you put that you don't know that you don't know it. That's what happens with judging all the time. You are surprised/disappointed etc. at something someone does and years later you learn why they did it through experiences of your own. And wish you understood it at the time. And learn to be less judgmental.
Which isn't really what your post was about, but it got me thinking. . . :)
Totally agree with all of it. I guess I know that every chapter you start will be hard, but eventually, if you work at it, because something great.
I didn't know how therapeutic writing could be. I started off just blogging occassionally because other people blogged and it seemed fun. I've always received good grades in school for my writing, but never thought of it as something that was unique to me. Once I started writing, and writing truthfully with no reservations, my spirit was awakened. My writing is my jewel. My writing is me.
I love this post. Taking critique is difficult. Taking it gracefully and revising your work into something that you view as "better" speaks to your loyalty to your (future!) readers. I also love what you said about treating your writing professionally. Definitely will be sitting on your words in this post. Blessings!
Me too! I totally had that transition where I went from swiping at criticism with a snippy little claw to enjoying mass deletes of whole pages and chapters.
As a playwright, it was easier to drop entire scenes and draft new ones quickly (dialogue is a fast write if you have the ear for it).
Now when I work on my students' essays and they whine about these "awesome" 500 words I cut, I give them my same 'ol speech about how as a novel writer I've dropped 50 pages at a time and started over, blah blah blah. (That's how I sound to teens.)
So nice of you to drop by 52 Faces and make acquaintance! Are you NaNoWriMoing this year?
Love the baby photo! You seem to have learned a lot about the business AND yourself through the experience of writing. So cool.
A wise person recently reminded me that all we have is time. I don't think I really understood that before now. But when I start to get caught up in the frenzy of all things writerly, I try to remind myself to slow down, I've got TIME. Very fun post!
I'm really struggling not to burst into song. "Cliiiimb eeeevery mountaaain!" Hee hee. You're so cute. And wise. Definitely some great wisdom here, hun. And just what I need as Nano starts in just a couple days. Eeep!
what a thoughtful post- especially about attending conferences listening to the same old same old over and again.
If you don't mind the suggestion, would you consider writing a post about writer's ego and how necessary it is to success?
Hello LT Elliot! I've been reading your blog. You write beautifully, btw. I could keep on reading, but I really need to clean my house!
You also post some very sound advice and I'm nothing if not a learner.
Oh, duh! I'm Becky from Theresa's blog haunt and it's nice to meet you. Your profile blurb made me laugh out loud!
*blogger is acting all hinky-this may post about a hundred times. sorry*
Love this L.T. (hard to use the initials when I know you). It's well thought out and you're right - persistence and absorption pay off! =)
I think i have a lot of learning to do- LOL.
Hi by the way- I'm here to haunt you "Boo" hehe and follow you around in some stalkerish fashion via your follower button. have a great weekend and I'm looking forward to getting to know you better.
Hey Laura! I got this freaky blog award (just in time for Halloween!) and I thought you were the only girl I knew who might appreciate it! (Besides the freaky girl who awarded it to me!)
So come on over and accept your Zombie Rabbit award! http://alicross.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-do-zombies-and-rabbits-have-to-do.html
I totally need this. I'm terrified of starting revisions on the novel I drafted last fall. I love hearing more about process. And I'll undoubtedly be back for more.
All of this, of course, applies to painting as well. The criticism, the professionalism, all of it.
My favorite line? "Turns out, even God repeats himself."
So true. You rock.
Hi, L.T.! I haven't been by in way too long, so I popped in to say hello. Hope all is well. :-)
Love that Longfellow quote. And for some reason I have the Don Quixote soundtrack running through my head now. LOL!
I didn't know I could NOT walk away from writing. Every time I get discouraged and think about quitting my next thought is I can't. I need to write for my own mental well-being. So then the next thought is I might as well learn the craft properly since there's no turning back.
Great post, Laura!
What a great post, Laura! You are so right. One can't learn unless they are ready. Writing is a craft, an art, and deserves study and love so that it treats you right when the time is right.
<3
So true! And it seems like that is stuff you just have to learn by going through it :)
Heheh, most of my blog posts I write between 11pm and 1am and them post them & hit the zzzz's. By morning, I've forgotten what I posted, thank goodness blogs allow sneaky post-edits. :)
Yes, I'm a believer of showing up to write, I try to every day. It's like the saying, "Life gives you the test before she teaches you the lesson." How many times has that happened with me? Too many to count, but each time, I wasn't ready to learn them until the time was right.
Okay, awesome cat picture (and quote)! Hee hee. I agree, especially with the goat, I need to hear things over and over before it really sinks in. Great advice LT!
The hardest lesson was learning that getting a publisher and keeping a publisher are NOT the same thing. The lesson hurt and set me back in writing for a couple of years, but it's good to know that getting complacent will never be a possibility.
Loved the post. I also love that I'm not the only one who has to learn things when I'm ready. I'm glad revisions are good for you!
This was a great post all around. I feel like I'm still in a phase right now where I'm trying to decide if writing is for me or it's just another way to enjoy the world of reading/authors. But I loved what you said about taking your writing seriously.
Brilliant. LOVE this! I also am finding it easier to kill my darlings. Now I can chop useless bits out without having to save them in a file I'll never look at again!
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