“I think there is this fear of writing badly, something primal about it, like: ‘This bad stuff is coming out of me…’ Forget it! Let it float away and the good stuff follows. For me, the bad beginning is just something to build on. It’s no big deal. You have to give yourself permission to do that because you can’t expect to write regularly and always write well. That’s when people get into the habit of waiting for the good moments, and that is where I think writer’s block comes from. Like: It’s not happening. Well, maybe good writing isn’t happening, but let some bad writing happen. Let it happen!”
-- Jennifer Egan, author of "A Visit from the Goon Squad" & winner of the Pulitzer Prize
More Jennifer Egan, via The Days of Yore, here.
2 comments:
I love this. Thank you for the reminder to keep on writing and putting myself out there. :)
I saw this and thought that it was really wonderful. The whole article is worth a read. The other thing she speaks about is the importance of sharing your work and finding a good writers or critique group rather than soldiering on in isolation...
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