Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Tuesday's Tip

Thanks for hanging in with me over the summer. As August draws to a close, I'm wrapping up the Tuesday's Tips posts. . .and rethinking this blog. Let me know what kinds of posts might be most helpful to you!

In the meantime, please allow me to share my favorite misquote. For years, I was in love with these wise words from Russell Hoban's A Mouse and His Child: "You've got to take those daring leaps or you're nowhere." This sentiment spoke to my writer's heart and experience. Sometimes, simply sitting down at a blank page (or screen) is an incredibly daring leap.

I re-read the book recently and realized Mr.  Hoban actually wrote, "You've got to make those daring leaps or you're nowhere."

I hope he won't send down a lightning bolt from above at my boldness, but I actually prefer my misquote. As a writer, I take daring leaps every single day but making those leaps? That's a different issue. Sometimes I fall short, barely reaching the cliff's edge, scrabbling for purchase on some scrubby shrub to keep myself from falling into the abyss. And sometimes, I do fall --- down, down, down. But sometimes, I clear the gap like an Olympic hurdler. The deal is, unless I actually take a leap, I won't know what kind of landing I'll make. That's what makes writing so awful. And so awe-full.

My next leap? A picture book. Who knew?

What's yours?


8 comments:

  1. I feel ya! Can't wait to hear about the new picture book! :) e

    ReplyDelete
  2. Could it be the picture book idea was inspired by a new little beloved baby?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, I guess if you take a leap you're going to make it...maybe not where you intended, but it won't be (as the book says) nowhere, and that's--as you point out--the most important thing. ;-)

    I know it's a lot of work to keep up a blog, but it's always good to have you pop up for air every now and then. Maybe if you get too busy, Winston could drop a line. I wonder..has he read Peg Kehret's "Animals Welcome: A Life of Reading, Writing, and Rescue"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will check with Winston to see how busy he is! And I can't wait to read Peg's new book. I mean, Winston can't wait to read it.

      Here's to lots of leaping!

      Delete
  4. Karen, your guess is pretty close! The book beat the baby to the world, however. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy Summer-Sliding-into-Autumn, Kirby -

    I remember hearing you speak of that quote. Maybe sometimes we have to "make" the leaps that we take (as in create them, not necessarily land without a hitch), like we have to make our own way.

    Blessings to all, especially that new baby!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love your misquote and feel exactly the same way!! I have often thought that writing a novel is like jumping off a cliff or diving into deep water--and not knowing where I'll land. Thanks for this post! I just took "hattie Big SKy" out of the library and am looking forward to listening to it in the car-- one of my favorite ways to "read" books!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I certainly like the leaps you take and the leaps you make. I (and friends) especially enjoyed Hattie Big Sky, but I also enjoyed your book The Fences Between Us. And they were such different book!

    ReplyDelete