For the past three weeks I've been making and posting images intended to support the process of writing. I hope you enjoy this week's visual pick-me-up—which is all about willingly stepping into the fire.
Withstand and Turn Up the Heat
All writers—indeed, all creative professionals—are well acquainted with the metaphor of the dumpster fire. It's what happens when we first begin to create: we supposedly fail. More often than not, early drafts are painful to write and/or to read afterward. This is especially true once you've already produced, polished, and (perhaps even) published several other stories. A high standard and disappointing comparison is inevitable. We crave that piece-of-perfect from the outset when in fact, it takes several passes, revisions, and edits to achieve it.
So for this week, I bring you the good old slogan: KEEP WRITING ANYWAY. A pile of words that are akin to reeking garbage is better than no pile at all. And who knows? Torching that draft might just produce something more than ash; it might just force your story to eat the flames and shine through.