tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post1283890057272846851..comments2023-05-04T08:55:45.336-04:00Comments on our stories, ourselves: The Hard Partsemma d drydenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08742492495749128209noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-45700022463707032932011-09-06T22:46:31.115-04:002011-09-06T22:46:31.115-04:00So true... When I begin a new poem or notebook en...So true... When I begin a new poem or notebook entry or article, I often feel just like a dog going 'round and 'round, unsure of how to settle into a nap. But then, once the ink hits the paper, the ideas bloom. Sometimes they're ugly, but at least they've bloomed! Thank you for your insights. A.Amy L Vhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03830987204619914326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-41263900741123091272011-08-10T15:41:46.790-04:002011-08-10T15:41:46.790-04:00Terrific post! I completely agree with your conclu...Terrific post! I completely agree with your conclusion, that it all comes down to a issue of trust. Not only do we need to trust ourselves as writers, we must also trust the process--whatever that looks like to each of us.Kate Hoveyhttp://www.katehovey.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-82533441815152597872011-07-20T14:53:16.764-04:002011-07-20T14:53:16.764-04:00Emma I ran across your name, info and picture on t...Emma I ran across your name, info and picture on the SCBWI website. I am a member of SCBWI, not a fully immersed member, but a member nonetheless :o) I am very glad I checked into your blog here. Your elaborations on "The Hard Parts", truly spoke to me as I am that terrified and "not-so-confident" skier at the top of that lonely, cold and windblown hill top awaiting some sort of entrance to hopefully a fulfilling career path! I cannot seem to get started and seem to be in a bog searching for a sturdy limb to pull myself out. As you are on the advisor board for the SCBWI might I inquire into a bit of advisory assistance? If you are able to answer a few questions, without my tying up everyone on this blog, could you please respond to my email address, rluvsdogs@yahoo.com. Thank you! And thank you again for the blog! <br /><br />A fellow artist,<br />Rose Simpao1WithNaturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15422339704091286334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-40345822080925936032011-07-08T12:19:28.458-04:002011-07-08T12:19:28.458-04:00Wonderful, Emma. A great reminder. I needed that. ...Wonderful, Emma. A great reminder. I needed that. Hope you are well!Veronica Rossihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15834719236454507432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-26346142640047239542011-06-26T07:44:16.215-04:002011-06-26T07:44:16.215-04:00How true! And what a lovely post. I've just la...How true! And what a lovely post. I've just landed, butterflies in my stomach, wondering what took me so long. I procrastinated with research and kept telling myself if I just took one more day to read this book or took a few more notes I be better prepared. It was time to leap! Please keep finding your way back to the page.marciehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07726634092560370185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-78654163115100489142011-06-19T22:52:57.165-04:002011-06-19T22:52:57.165-04:00Thank you for this delicate and intuitive explorat...Thank you for this delicate and intuitive exploration of the spaces between intention and expression on the page.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-34611216259292664312011-06-18T21:59:36.270-04:002011-06-18T21:59:36.270-04:00Emma, what an eloquent post. The fear I feel when ...Emma, what an eloquent post. The fear I feel when sharing my writing is palpable. Your post puts into words what I so often feel. I love to reflect and "write in my head" and I often feel like the actual words that I get out on a screen never completely express what I want to say or flow as nicely as they do in my mind. Thanks for sharing. It's nice to know that someone who writes as well as you do feels the same fears as I do.Jill Fischhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13162764425985636884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-67144553250459789002011-06-16T17:33:05.763-04:002011-06-16T17:33:05.763-04:00This is a beautiful post, Emma. It's nice to k...This is a beautiful post, Emma. It's nice to know I'm not the only one intimidated by fear.<br /><br />Thank you for your honesty. As always.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-32471979987305702082011-06-16T10:56:20.815-04:002011-06-16T10:56:20.815-04:00Thanks for this wonderful post. I totally agree. W...Thanks for this wonderful post. I totally agree. Writing is hard. At any stage. I also do both writing and editing and I find it's way easier to edit someone else than it is to sit down and write for myself. And yes, it's fear that often stops me. When I'm looking at someone else's work, I'm confident, but all that confidence leaks out when I stare at my own blank page. I'll share this link with others who probably feel the same!KL Goinghttp://www.klgoing.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-31185236809552981092011-06-16T09:40:19.194-04:002011-06-16T09:40:19.194-04:00It's funny isn't it? Diaries used to be su...It's funny isn't it? Diaries used to be such a private thing, until we were dead. (And then only public if you'd done something interesting or infamous.) Now we are encouraged to blather our thoughts willy-nilly to the world. So it's nice, Emma, that you take such time to post and your thoughts mean so much to so many of us.<br /><br />Personally I find my blog has motivated me - to think about what's interesting to share with others, to share my journey and to ponder on what not to share. I confess I enjoy the weeks when I have new sketches and artwork and maybe I hide behind them a little. Baring your soul is hard. When I get a reader from a far-flung place like India I wonder what on earth they make of my outpourings!Hazel Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01195335932993401440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-11244022431264057852011-06-16T06:16:43.460-04:002011-06-16T06:16:43.460-04:00Emma, I finally took a deep breath, gripped hard m...Emma, I finally took a deep breath, gripped hard my ski poles and launched myself onto that red slope and wrote the first chapter in a new (for me) genre this week, after a month of procrastination, only to wonder once again, as you wrote, what took me so long. I think if I were both writer and editor, like you, it would feel like looking down a black run, and I am still way to scared and inexperienced to attempt those yet. Thanks for the inspiration.<br /><br />P.S. Don't know if US and Europe colour code their slopes the same way?Joannahttp://www.joannamarple.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-89238394330941082812011-06-15T23:29:18.558-04:002011-06-15T23:29:18.558-04:00Yay, Emma, you're back! Woo hoo! Love both ana...Yay, Emma, you're back! Woo hoo! Love both analogies. I guess it all comes down to trusting yourself, for sure. Here's to writing and living our lives intentionally! Thanks.LynNerdKelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04167392990015741278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-23987454844569172282011-06-15T23:22:32.427-04:002011-06-15T23:22:32.427-04:00Your words find me at a perfect time. I know the f...Your words find me at a perfect time. I know the feeling of sitting atop a mountain wondering how in the world I will ever make it to the bottom or why I even rode that infernal lift up here in the first place. I know from experience that a steady series of left turns and right turns will get me safely to the place that sells hot chocolate. It is true. Somehow, when I no longer hear the voice in my head repeating, "left, then right," I discover that my mind and body take over and find a nice rhythm. Magically, I look around and realize how much d@mn fun I am having.<br /><br />With this analogy, I can now look at my WIP in a new light. I am somewhere near the top with the wind and snow still blowing strong. I have folded and refolded my map. I studied the big board carefully choosing a pretty path. I blow by my nice little green and head for the blue run with the rolling hills. This is where I am with my first novel length endeavor. Right now, I need to listen to voice in my head saying "turn left, now turn right" as my mind and body have not found that natural rhythm yet.<br /><br />Thanks again for giving me a process to compare my work to. This makes sense to me. I need to find that rhythm and then the joy will come just like on the slopes.Cindy Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14709897672486537522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-62906696555720040112011-06-15T22:50:27.135-04:002011-06-15T22:50:27.135-04:00Emma –
Your musings always hit home for me, and I...Emma – <br />Your musings always hit home for me, and I love the skiing metaphor. But - sometimes my writing is like my brother-in-law’s problem with the moguls (back when we could ski them). He realized that after taking that big breath at the top of the hill, he just held it in, so he ran out of breath ½ way down the run!<br />So here’s to trusting ourselves to not only start the journey but breathe along the way!Janet Lawlerhttp://www.janetlawler.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4050210624343654411.post-82185899739801672442011-06-15T21:59:31.225-04:002011-06-15T21:59:31.225-04:00Emma, thanks for sharing this. You found the perfe...Emma, thanks for sharing this. You found the perfect rhythm for this post!Carol Gordon Eksterhttp://www.carolgordonekster.comnoreply@blogger.com