And there are days when it’s that easy and that hard, almost at the same time.
So: you sit down at the keyboard. Check.
When I first started out to be a writer, I had grandiose plans and lots of wonderful ideas. I researched my little head off, and saved all the research in lovely files that I never looked at again. I named characters who were as flat as the paper they would (someday) be written on. And I outlined. Okay, I sort of outlined.
Then: you put one word after the other until it’s done. Check.
Well, now, and isn’t that special! Only I wasn’t doing that. I wrote the first sentence of the first page, and the last sentence of the last page. And then I quit and went and read a book that somebody else had written. Then I came back and deleted it all and started over.
It’s that easy, and that hard.
The easy part is the desire. The hard part is the work. Because writing is work, and once I accepted that fact, the easier it got. I’m fortunate to be doing work I love, and I have two published novels and a third nearly finished to show for it.
Now, if you want more great quotes that inspire you and possibly kick your butt to get you going, go here.
I love the simple truth of the Neil Gaiman quote. And the dog! He’s awesome! Look at those paws go!
Another great Gaiman quote is the where he says, “Perfection is like chasing the horizon. Keep moving.”
I think all too often we hang ourselves up looking for the perfect word when we should be putting one word after the other.