"Being a writer is not about owning the right gadget or program. It’s about sitting down and doing the work. Just like the invention of the vacuum did not mean 20th century housewives no longer had to clean, the invention of the iPad does not mean 21st century writers no longer have to write."

This quote is from an Indie Jane blog post written by Nancy Kelley. The original blog post has to do with writerly gadgets, which I, personally, don't relate to much (mainly because I am too poor to buy all of the latest gadgets). Yet this quote jumped out at me.

Regardless of your budget, if you consider yourself a writer, you probably at least have access to a computer, a printer, and the internet. And all of these technological advances are a great help - as well as a great distraction.

Check out this blog, which also features this comic strip & which covers the similar tangent of procrastination. Procrastinating while pondering the evils of procrastination? How awesome is that?!

Well, maybe the printer's not a distraction, unless there's a copier/scanner attached...

Just remember, if you're doing this at work -- you do not look as adorable...

& it's not as though Internet & computer games are the only distraction, either...

• Most writers have either school or a job (and many have both),
• many writers have children to take care of & raise (a blessing, but undoubtedly time-consuming),
• and then there are the small necessary chores (cleaning the house, laundry, etc.);
• not to mention, who doesn't get sick once in a while?
  

I know that I, personally, need an adequate amount of sleep to function like a halfway decent human being.

& even then, to be honest, it's not very pretty

With a myriad of other things to do with one's free time, and all of the obstacles whittling away at this so-called "free time;" why write?

I mean, really, doesn't it often feel that writing is a waste of time? Who doesn't feel like their writing is complete shite as they are writing their first draft? (Leaving F. Scott Fitzgerald and his ego out of this conversation, thank you very much.) Who doesn't feel drained? Uncreative?

Although he does look lovely in drag...

I suppose part of it is that a writer gets depressed, does research into his or her favorite writers, and generally realizes that he or she is not alone - almost no one feels like they know what they're doing when they're writing. Yet they keep writing, and some people get rather good.

For some reason, writers feel compelled to continue practicing & refining their craft - despite occupations, children, and illness.

And all writers know that there is no better feeling in the world than having placed the last mark of punctuation on a first draft.

That's why I keep trying, anyway. Thoughts? Please share them in the comments below!

"'It's very important to take revenge. In the right way, of course. It doesn't mean you have to hurt anyone. But you act in a way that lets you keep your self-respect.'"

-Maxine Swann. The Foreigners.

As I mentioned previously, I recently finished reading Maxine Swann's The Foreigners. It's a beautiful book, and deals with different cultures and self-identity. This quote, in particular, jumped out at me as I was reading.

What I like about this quote is that it sums up why people like the idea of revenge. Revenge, often petty, is the subject of movies and TV shows, and we've all fantasized about it. There is a reason - it is about self-respect. It is about letting someone else know that they are not allowed to walk all over you. This is why scenes such as Veronica's smug look at the end of the pilot for Veronica Mars are so satisfying - they uphold the idea that revenge is possible, and that it feels great.

Not quite the smug look to which I was referring, but she definitely looks like she's enjoying her revenge.

Moreover, this quote brings up another aspect of "revenge" - that it must be done in "the right way." That it doesn't necessarily mean that you hurt anyone else, because revenge is more for yourself. I really liked this qualification. It's true - revenge is for you, which is why it can result in pettiness and get out of control. So it is important to limit yourself - to allow yourself to keep your self-respect, and feel better, but not to lose control of the situation or yourself in the process. This is why it is okay to verbally cut someone off who is being a complete asshole, but it is not okay to, say, shoot someone in the head for failing to say "Bless you." (I might have watched "Dogma" last night.)


I don't know that I'm advocating vengeance - I just like the manner in which this quote succinctly sums up what revenge should be, and why it is so appealing.

Quote Analysis

"It wasn't so much desire that led me as my intention not to live like a coward. I was determined to take what life would offer. I didn't want to be the only woman of my generation to hold to standards everyone else had long ago abandoned."

-Anne Roiphe. Art and Madness: A Memoir of Lust without Reason. New York: Nan A. Talese, Doubleday, 2011. 19.

I just began reading this book, and I'm already in love with it. The quote above is something that I know I have felt and thought, and that I have a feeling most people go through.

For how do we want to live life? Do we want to strive for an excellence that might not be achievable? I mean, I'm sorry, but the fact is we can't all be rich and famous. Celebrity depends upon and only means something when there is the mediocre, those yearning, the proletariat with which to compare.

So we can strive for whatever we want, but there's never a guarantee that we will achieve it. I can write until my fingers are knobbed and shaking with arthritis, and my wrists crack from carpel tunnel syndrome, but that doesn't mean I'll strike that lucky vein (or marketing team) that Stephenie Meyer did and be able to make a living from it. In fact, with all of these changes recently in the publishing world, it will probably only become harder for the diamonds to glitter among the rough (I'm not saying my work is any good, just that I think a lot more crap is going to be published with the increase of book piracy).

Do we go with what's safe? Can we trust what our parents tell us? All parents do their best, but the fact is that the world changes. People's attitudes generally don't, but it certainly seems that their morals do. The shy, smart girl is generally just considered a stuck-up bitch who won't put out, rather than chased and admired from afar like some John Hughes movie.

Sometimes, we just have to face our fears. That's the only way we can change, the only way that we can improve. For sometimes, we're not perfect just the way we are. To anyone.

And usually, when we feel the safest, that's when we need to change the most.

Anywho, that's what this quote got me thinking about. What about you? There's a lot of meat there, just begging to be chewed over... (Which is my way of saying, please comment below; I'd love to hear your thoughts!)