to fellow writers

I came across these two great quotes yesterday upon fishing around on a former professor's webpage. They are simple and helpful. At times I feel this unsurmountable pressure to create something good to prove myself to the world and MOREOVER to myself that I am a writer.


Frank Conroy

"Commit yourself to the process, NOT the project. Don’t be afraid to write badly, everyone does. Invest yourself in the lifestyle .. NOT in the particular piece of work."

Annie Dillard

"Doing something does not require discipline. It creates its own discipline – with a little help from caffeine. "

These quotes were a catalyst for a great release of pressure. I realized that I haven't been writing as much as I used to. I used to write for one hour every morning at Winnings Coffee shop, with a cup of $1 coffee and my greasy mug from home. I realized how much I miss the practice of writing, and then I remembered a great quote from Natalie Goldberg who said, sometimes writing is like composting...you can't use everything you write, but by practicing you are making the soil richer and more complex and something, yes something will come out of that.



I won't share all my writer's neorosis with my blog readers. That I'll keep to myself. Let me just say, I'm writing and it's for me, and no one else, and I feel good.