Hard Work
“Writing is hard, even for the best wordsmiths. Ernest Hemingway said the most frightening thing he ever encountered was ‘a blank sheet of paper.’ And Winston Churchill called the act of writing a book ‘a horrible, exhaustive struggle, like a long bout of painful illness.’”—Timothy Egan, columnist (and suffering writer), 2008
Editor’s Note: Brain gout.
Today’s Wish-I-Were-Here Photo: Trinidad State Beach
Truman Capote—A Massive Headache
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What a great quote! As a person who has made several(albeit, poor) attempts at writing poems and short stories, I can totally relate to what Tim is saying. I've never felt more frustrated than when I'm trying to take some ridiculous idea from my head and put it on a piece of paper. Although, I think that it's not so much the task of transferring the idea from head to paper that is the tough part, it's transferring it from head to paper AND making it interesting enough for other people to want to read it. The times one fails as a writer are endless, but this high rate of failure is the thing that motivates writers to keep going. As hard as the task is though, the feeling you get from succeeding is absolutely amazing.
ReplyDeleteThis quote gives us lowly beginning writers some hope in our craft. If a writer that's as well known and read like Hemmingway struggles then I don't feel so bad.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Steve. Winston Churchill just threw me a bone.
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