Weeds and flowers
Some days you take a look at your work in progress, be it story, painting, poem or kitchen remodel, and think:
“What am I doing? What is this hideous, dreadful thing before me? I should stop before it gets any worse.”
Just remember... every work of art has to go through this stage. Because we’re not God and can’t see the future, we just have to trust--blindly--that our vision is still true. We have to remember that the moment it will seem at its absolute worst is precisely the moment before it bursts into breathtaking beauty.
Don’t throw something away because it looks like a weed when it’s 99% there. Give it that last 1%, because it may end up being the most gorgeous flower in your garden.
Inspirational indeed. Beautiful photos and sentiment : )
ReplyDeleteThank you, Melissa!
DeleteThanks for that encouragement! I am looking at a hideous unfinished piece that truth be told only needs 5 things for me to finish it. I just feel like the 5 things are insurmountable. They aren't. Just feels like that, so I'm mired. Maybe I'll try getting one boot out at a time and see where I get!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly how you feel, Donna. I'm in a similar place with my ms right now, and this post was largely born out of that frustration. It is a bit easier when you've completed a novel before, because you can recognize this stage (more or less). But still pretty hard to get through. Good luck with those 5 things!
DeleteYes, yes, yes. This is exactly where my manuscript is right now and the last few days I've had to give myself a pep talk. I DO believe in my story and my vision for it, and I'm very excited to share it with the world someday.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could see a version of your pep talk, Melissa! :) I hope your WIP starts to go more smoothly soon!
DeleteSo very true! My current MS has been on and off my plate so many times since 2008 it's laughable. But this time I am seeing the weird-looking bud that seems like it might actually flower.
ReplyDeleteYep... it's funny how it just takes a new perspective sometimes. Sometimes you just have to plow through, but sometimes a little waiting is better (as long as you don't give up).
DeleteThis is a lovely post, Faith. And true. I must print it out and hang it on the wall in front of my computer.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Laura! I'm glad it helped.
DeleteYou don't know how much I needed to read this today. After looking at another chapter and thinking, what is this drivel?
ReplyDeleteI hope this means you are nearing the end of your revisions :)
I'm sure it's not drivel!! Just work on another chapter until that one starts to look better. :)
DeleteAnd, um...it means that I'm TRYING to near the end of my revisions and need to talk myself into it! I have managed to re-write a few pages over the last few days, which in revision time isn't too bad for me.
Well said, Faith!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt!
DeleteThis post is just what I needed this morning. I have been caught up with all kinds of non-writerly stuff and then I get into a dark place where I start saying to myself, "Who do you think you are? You're too old for this" when being the age I am is the BEST possible time to be writing. And I also have to remember there are forces at work that dissipate and nay-say and undermine and then I can look at a poppy (who slept underground in the dirt but never stopped doing its poppy work) and I know all manner of things are well. Great pics!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it gave you some encouragement, Rosemary! You HAVE to be writing--your writing is way too good for you to give up.
DeleteWell, I think those bobbing buds look graceful, too, even if they haven't bloomed yet. :)
ReplyDeleteThey do--but I admit that I am not the most knowledgeable gardener and even before the buds made it out I almost pulled up the spiny leaves! I'm glad I decided to wait and see!
DeleteThanks, Faith. I read this post at just the right time. I've been going over a novel I've considered finished for a while now and started thinking it was completely worthless. Perhaps it just isn't complete after all. Revisiting it with hopes that the last 1% (another round of revisions) will be just what it needs.
ReplyDeleteSometimes fresh eyes are the best remedy. I hope your revision goes very well!
DeleteLovely post, Faith! I once found a plant turned sideways past our woods. It had root rot, yet had survived somehow for a number of years. I decided to dig a hole in my shade garden, and then waited to see what might happen. The hosta has grown stronger each year. Then last year, one of our trees (110+ feet tall) toppled during a storm, and split my beloved Japanese maple. (Thankfully, it missed our house.) I wouldn't let my husband tear if from the ground, what was left of it. Today, its seedlings sprout across our yard. And while two-thirds of the maple is lifeless, one third clings to life, displaying clusters of brilliant red leaves. When I get stuck with my writing, I sit in the shade of this tree. Somehow, I always find my way back.
ReplyDeleteI love that, Betsy! Thanks for sharing your story, too.
DeleteIs that a poppy? Oh, I love them. We have them in our garden but, wow, they are hard to get rid of. My hubs planted grass over an old garden area and they still come up even though he did his best to dig them up. So, I guess we can take your wonderful analogy a step further and say, "You can tell the good ideas from the bad ones, because the good ones don't go away!" :)
ReplyDelete(Oh, and I wrote the story with your words. It's up on my blog. It turned into a voice experiment more than a story, but I hope you still enjoy it. XO)
Faith I'm offering you the Sunshine Award on my blog tomorrow. You can get the image there and the questions to answer, if you would like!
ReplyDelete