Last summer I decided it was time to get serious about a slimming regime (aka a diet) that I could incorporate into my lifestyle and maintain long-term. Three years ago, my husband totally changed his diet from a horrorshow of unhealthy fare to low-carb, non-processed, sugar- and starch-free nutrition. As a result he lost 50 lbs and has kept if off ever since. Although I lost weight and gained energy on the same foods he ate, it wasn’t as much and I often let myself stray.
I tried to analyze why I had a much harder time losing and maintaining than he did, besides his being a guy, and I concluded there was a major difference in how we respond emotionally to “diets.” For a slimming diet to work for me, I need hard, fast rules so I don’t have to make judgment calls. He, however, is miserable with rules and does better with an eating philosophy, especially if it’s one he formulated for himself. Once I discovered the right combination of rules and choices for me, I managed to get to my goal within a few months.
This epiphany got me thinking about writing. Over the years I’ve attended lots of how-to writing workshops—how to plot, how to add tension, how to market yourself, how to write a bestseller. The best instructors tell you upfront “This works for me. It may or may not work for you.” Others, however, are happy to inform their audience, “This is how you do it and it works if you do it this way.” And when it doesn’t work for me, does that make me a bad writer/person/student? Nope. Someone else’s rules will not make anyone a great writer. True, learning craft is essential, but without the je ne sais quoi of inspiration and hard work it only goes so far.
In my daily life I use rules to avoid spending mental energy on mundane decisions, but in my creative life I know I have to fashion my own path and not be afraid to try a bunny trail now and then. As craft becomes more automatic with experience, I try to focus on freshness, originality and emotional impact. At times I give myself permission to write crap knowing my laptop has a delete key that will be used liberally on the next draft. That's fine. To quote Nora Roberts, "You can't fix an empty page." And some of the very best writing breaks a whole lot of rules.
How about you? Do you like rules, guidelines, boundaries, or are you more comfortable with limitless freedom to do whatever strikes your fancy?
4 comments:
Lark, I'm in awe of what you accomplished on your "slimming regime," a term that sounds a hundred times better than "diet." You look great.
Meanwhile, like your husband, I've adopted an eating philosophy. So far, that philosophy has me losing weight sl-o-o-wly. Then again, it's a philosophy rather than a diet, and I'll follow it for the rest of my life.
I don't react well to "my way or the highway" instructors, but I've learned so much from writing teachers and others who encourage students to try different techniques and aim for emotional responses.
Your writing has gone from strength to strength. Congrats on fashioning a successful writing regime.
Thanks, Pat. I think you look great, too. Slowly changing habits works much better than radical abrupt changes. You can maintain them in the long haul. Now if I could just train myself to write for an additional 2-3 hours every evening, I'd get the revision of this WIP finished!!
Interesting tie in between a healthy eating regime and manner of writing. I find I have great control in most aspects of my life, especially food and exercise (after a lifetime of struggle.)
And yet now I take on a writing regime the same way I used to with exercise. I kind of...don't do it until I absolutely have to. Sad, really, I could have many more stories written if the fear of a blank page didn't make me jump up...and exercise instead.
Happy Wednesday, guys!
I tend to exercise when I should be writing, too, Sarah. Or run errands on the weekend. Even with a self-imposed deadline looming, getting my butt in the chair is the hardest part of the process. Once I get started, I get lost in the writing and wonder why it took me so long to buckle down!
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