Is my writing fairy smirking, too?
So when I read these opening words of Jane Gardam's Long Way from Verona (recced by Michelle Cooper at her blog), I thought "Wow."
I ought to tell you at the beginning that I am not quite normal, having had a violent experience at the age of nine. I will make this clear at once because I have noticed that if things seep out slowly through a book the reader is apt to feel let down or tricked in some way when he eventually gets the point.
I am not, I am glad to say, mad, and there is so far as I know no hereditary madness in my family. The thing that sets me apart from other girls of my age -- which is to say thirteen -- is that when I was nine a man came to our school -- it was a private kindergarten sort of school where you could go from five upwards but most girls left when they were eleven unless they were really stupendously dumb -- to talk to us about becoming writers.
My second thought after "Wow" was . . . "Man, I suck."
And then all the writing/publishing/being-a-deeply-flawed-human ANGST washed over me, etc., etc.
Perhaps you know the drill.
In an effort to stop the flailing, I am going to make a list of inspiring/soothing blog pages.
1. This blog post from author Mette Harrison about "Failure."
"It’s really true that you can look at your life as a series of failures or a series of successes. The same life, the same facts, just turned different ways. I think that it’s also true that failing is just a way of giving yourself another chance for success."
2. "On a long run, on a long run," from Will Wheaton.
"I can stop being so hard on myself, and I can stop judging myself, and I can stop holding myself up to standards that are so high, even the people I’m comparing myself to every day would have a hard time reaching them."
3. "This is Not the End; It's the Middle," from dear friend Saundra Mitchell.
"I’m still working on a new book. I think it’s a worthy one. It won’t shut up and leave me alone. So can’t stop. I won’t stop. I’m not done."
4. And here's an old favorite: 12 Things Happy People Do Differently.
5. Also, baby animals!
So how about you? Any "go-to" websites/blogs/images/what-have-you to recommend for one who is feeling deflated and angsty? I'd love to see links in the comments! Perhaps I could make a "Masterlist of Anti-gloom."
In the meantime, don't be so hard on yourself, okay? And have a great weekend!
[Cross-posted at Livejournal]
