GETTING READY TO DISCOVER
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust
All writers (and individuals) should always be open to discovery--have a willingness to be open to new ideas, new adventures, even new avenues of creating. I hope I am such a person.
But I often find that I need to take care of today and not look for new things in the 'morrow. This week I completed a brochure or pamphlette to use as a selling tool for a collection of short stories I would really like to sell. It took an amazing amount of time for me to type this up, get my brain around working with a template, and then figure out how to print them off, fold, and staple. Luckily, I decided to proofread my little production one more time before I printed off a zillion copies.
Why is it that we can type and proof and never find those pesky typos, grammarical errors, weird phrases--everything that is wrong with our work? I was horrified with the boo-boos I found in that first run. I was so sure I had prooofed fairly well. This has certainly been a good lesson in realizing that all of us as writers should practice what we preach--print off our work, put it away for several days (or weeks or months!), then go back and look at it with a fresh eye. I have been told I have four eyes since I wear glasses but they sure as heck weren't seeing a heck of a lot when I proofed the first time.
My search for new adventures, the pursuit of my love for sharing my minute knowledge about writing with others, is consuming me recently. I have responsibilities, deadlines, book faires, family obligations--so I should not be out and about discovering much of anything right now. But I have a list of books I want to read, a few notes on new articles I'd like to pursue and tomorrow I will overhear a conversation or read a line that will tickle my interst so I will be chomping at the bit to learn more.
I will get beyond this crunch. I will meet the deadline with my proofed, corrected pamphlette. I will have lunch with relatives tomorrow, teach my memoirs class on Friday, spend seven hours at the Book Faire on Saturday, and possibly fall asleep in church on Sunday. Then, next Monday, I will begin again--seeking new discoveries with words that I have seen with my own eyes.
*****
Never let the opportunity to discover something new pass you by. Your old eyes will offer wisdom to see the new in each opportunity.
All writers (and individuals) should always be open to discovery--have a willingness to be open to new ideas, new adventures, even new avenues of creating. I hope I am such a person.
But I often find that I need to take care of today and not look for new things in the 'morrow. This week I completed a brochure or pamphlette to use as a selling tool for a collection of short stories I would really like to sell. It took an amazing amount of time for me to type this up, get my brain around working with a template, and then figure out how to print them off, fold, and staple. Luckily, I decided to proofread my little production one more time before I printed off a zillion copies.
Why is it that we can type and proof and never find those pesky typos, grammarical errors, weird phrases--everything that is wrong with our work? I was horrified with the boo-boos I found in that first run. I was so sure I had prooofed fairly well. This has certainly been a good lesson in realizing that all of us as writers should practice what we preach--print off our work, put it away for several days (or weeks or months!), then go back and look at it with a fresh eye. I have been told I have four eyes since I wear glasses but they sure as heck weren't seeing a heck of a lot when I proofed the first time.
My search for new adventures, the pursuit of my love for sharing my minute knowledge about writing with others, is consuming me recently. I have responsibilities, deadlines, book faires, family obligations--so I should not be out and about discovering much of anything right now. But I have a list of books I want to read, a few notes on new articles I'd like to pursue and tomorrow I will overhear a conversation or read a line that will tickle my interst so I will be chomping at the bit to learn more.
I will get beyond this crunch. I will meet the deadline with my proofed, corrected pamphlette. I will have lunch with relatives tomorrow, teach my memoirs class on Friday, spend seven hours at the Book Faire on Saturday, and possibly fall asleep in church on Sunday. Then, next Monday, I will begin again--seeking new discoveries with words that I have seen with my own eyes.
*****
Never let the opportunity to discover something new pass you by. Your old eyes will offer wisdom to see the new in each opportunity.
posted by Barb | 9:14 PM
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