English French German Italian Portuguese Russian Spanish

Five Writerly Paradoxes

"there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." (Hamlet, Shakespeare)

Five Writerly Paradoxes

I create this to be a writer-friendly and writing-friendly blog. I hold space for interest in writers and what they write, and in all aspects of the writerly life. And from the get-go, I intend this to be a writer-positive  blog.

I run into the same challenges as any other writer. And rather than commiserate-commensurate, I take the above-mentioned advice from Shakespeare and reframe--how am I looking at it? Can a  challenge be exciting instead of disheartening? YES!

Five of our delightful paradoxes:

  1. Writing is delightfully playful, color-outside-the-lines activity. AND Writing is also hard work, and it invokes conventions that must either be followed or flouted with great consciousness.
  2. Writing requires spontaneity. AND Writing sometimes doesn't get done if it isn't placed on your schedule, with phone alert buzzes or other stick-carrot devices. Ask yourself: is it a matter of "too busy" or of mismatched priorities?
  3. Some of the best ideas come in the bathroom, or walking, or away from the desk. AND Some of the best ideas need to be synthesized from our mental sawdust, via strategic forays into Google (bearing in mind that the Google search is tailored to the searcher, so even our research findings are in the eye of the beholder).
  4. All writers who send out their work deal with, are dejected by, rejection (Walt Disney, and also Jack Canfield of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books, were each rejected literally thousands of times before they got traction. AND All writers who send out their work are co-creating a world that values writers, that values lively discussion and observation of the world around us, that values words and language.
  5. Writer's block pity party. Most writers claim to feel "blocked' on occasion. But I think we talk about it too much. The block pity party uses up steam that could be puffed elsewhere. Instead, what if that particular project needs to brood in its roots, in the soil of your heart, for a time? What if it's time to take the pencil as butterfly net and catch some of those dozens of ideas that run through you each day? Perhaps one project needs to sit, but I guarantee there's another one ready for you to breathe life into it. ("inspire"=breathe into)

About the Author

Ela Harrison

Ela is a wordsmith and herb lover who has lived in many places and currently resides in Tucson, AZ.

Leave a comment

You are commenting as guest.

FREE Newsletter

Upcoming Events

No events