Technique Tuesday: Remember This Is Supposed to be FUN!

Fellow writers, do you ever feel like this about your writing? (And editors, anybody sympathizing with poor Flynn/Eugene?)

A skating friend of mine dreads competitions. As they approach, she often reminds herself and all of us at the rink to remember that “this is supposed to be fun!” It doesn't hurt to remember the same about your writing. The deadline looms and every word smells like yesterday's kitchen trash? Take a few minutes and remember what drew you to write in the first place.

Tonight, I read some of Shel Silverstein's poetry with my oldest daughter before bed, and rekindled some of my early sparking with words. So I leave you with some words of wisdom collected from Silverstein's poetry.

From IVITATION:
“If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer,
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire...”

From LISTEN TO THE MUST'NTS:
“Listen to the MUST'NTS, child,
Listen to the DON'TS.
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS, the IMPOSSIBLES, the WON'TS.
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me –
Anything can happen, child.
ANYTHING can be.”

And from THE LITTLE BLUE ENGINE:
“He was almost there, when – CRASH! SMASH! BASH!
He slid down and mashed into engine hash
On the rocks below...which goes to show
If the track is tough and the hill is rough,
THINKING you can just ain't enough!”

Write on! (And if you need a fun distraction, check out the cover directions for my novel and cast your vote!)