Riding the Quote Train.

The most powerful myths are about extremity. They force us to go beyond our experience. There are moments when we all, in one way or another, have to go to place we have never seen, and do what we have never done before. (p. 3)

[Myth] enables us to place our lives in a larger setting that reveals an underlying pattern and gives us a sense that against all the depressive and chaotic evidence to the contrary, life had meaning and value.

A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong.

And on the other hand..

Why can't I have the yummy feelings that writing gives me AND all sorts of happy rewards?

Quote of the Moment.

Sometimes, other people just say it best. Here's Anne Lamott from Bird by Bird.

I still encourage anyone who feels at all compelled to write to do so. I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all it is cracked up to be. But writing is. Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. The thing you had to force yourself to do - the actual act of writing- turns out to be the best part. It's like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony. The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.

Sometimes I need to be reminded of this.

*sigh*

Ok. I lied.

I am depressed about cutting those twelve pages.

I know it's the right thing. I know the book will be stronger. But damn, that was a cute scene. It even had a sea serpent.

Ah, writing.

I'm glad I like it better than anything else I've done.

Otherwise, I would be very depressed after cutting those 12 pages and discovering I needed to add three completely new scenes to a manuscript I thought was finished.

But really? That's part of the fun.

*wince*

Well, I was doing great until I realized I had to cut twelve pages of utter nonsense. Now I have to do 25-30 words per page per day.

Still do-able though!