On the big desk

(Page 93-94): Mr. the King writes about the big desk he bought and put in the middle of the room that didn't end up working out for him. [I've always wanted a nice big desk for my "stuff" too]. He bought another one, half the size, and put it in the corner of the office (to make space for the more family-oriented furniture). His advice: "put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down to write, remind yourself why it isn't in the middle of the room. Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around."

I did let my big desk go awhile ago (it was a piece of junk anyway), but I'm not convinced I'm as enlightened as all that. So... anyway. The thought struck a chord with me. So there.

Mr. the King

"Mr. the King" is a quote from CARS. If you didn't know.

Today's quote is the next one that moved me closer to motivation. From page 69:

(context: I love that he threw CARRIE away and his wife fished it out of the trash for him. Just like I love that Tolkein threw away ~120 pages of his first manuscript. Gone forever, too, I think... To be able to toss the crap seems ballsy to me.)

His most valued lesson from that story were, first: "the writer's original perceptions of a character[s]... may be as erroneous as the reader's." And, 2nd: "stopping a piece of work just because it's hard... is a bad idea. Sometimes you have to go on when you don't feel like it, and sometimes you're doing good work when it feels like all you're managing is to shovel shit from a sitting position."

(Note to self: put a link to On Writing and recommend it to others. Ok, Ok, I will. I will.)

Is this legal?

Since reading On Writing, Mr. the King is my "muse" ... thanks a lot for the visual.

I am going to include "motivational" quotes in I've highlighted from On Writing in this category until he forbids it...

Today's:

(Page 47): "When you're writing a story, you're telling yourself the story… When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are NOT the story." and "Write with the door closed. Rewrite with the door open. Your stuff starts out being just for you.. But then… it belongs to anyone who wants to read it. Or criticize it."

Steven King - On Writing

By this time Jay had recommended, and Bruce had finished reading a book written by Steven King: "On Writing," wherein he elaborates the processes by which he writes his books. Situational writing, closed-door policy, 1st draft 10% cut, etc. Lots of things we never knew or realized. The single thing that inspired us the most at the time was situational writing. We knew if we could use it, it might move the story forward faster.

The following week was scheduled as the start of "production." Our first-ever attempt to treat our fun hobby--writing--like work. Like a job. Because we felt a need to take the magic out of that part of life, too. I guess.