by Alice Rush
I WROTE last week about the invisible block that I had to overcome in my mind to make myself take control of the helicopter and learn to fly. I did that. I am a good pilot. The obstruction in my path forward now involves writing.
I’ve always wanted to write, and apparently I’m a decent writer because friends like you find some enjoyment in reading this column week after week. In writing a book though, I would write fiction, because that is what I primarily read. Reading non-fiction, when I do, always feels like work. It’s about learning something or self-improvement. Ew. Fine if I really need to learn something, but I prefer to escape. It’s my mini-vacation, if you will.
The Beatles song “Paperback Writer” is from well before my time, but I’ve always held an affinity for it. I also enjoy movies about writers. My first fascination was with Jo, played by Janet Leigh in the 1949 version of Little Women. I can’t remember if I read the book first or saw the movie. My more recent favorite movie is Under the Tuscan Sun, now more than two decades old.
THE IDEA of being a writer has so much romance to it. The character in Love Actually outside by the pond, typing away at his pages until they are blown away into the water where he ultimately falls in love. The reality of writing is that it is really hard work. I’m not a big fan of research, but then, if it applies to what I’m writing about, it could be interesting. My favorite Maine writer Paul Doiron puts a lot of research into his works of fiction, and I really enjoy his books.
So there is some background to what I’m facing. The main problem is more obvious. I can’t get started. Fear comes from all sides. When I did my Rush Hour show for Paperback Radio, for folks like myself who wanted to write, I did research about it. There it is, research. Yes, I read books about writing – and it was fun! I tried to offer words of encouragement to others who, like me, were struggling with putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard.
The biggest take away I found, no matter what the fear, was that the writing should be for yourself. It’s never about the pennies you will bring in when a few of your books sell. It’s about the feeling you’ll get from accomplishing the goal, writing the book. If that is what it is all about, then what is there to be afraid of?
I CAN find excuse after excuse. I suppose it’s about disappointing myself. What if I don’t like the finished product? Or maybe I’m concerned with sharing too much of myself on the page. What will people think? I also have a nagging fear that I will get sick and tired of typing all of the quotation marks and finding new verbs and adjectives for dialog so that I don’t write “he said” “she said” “they said” all the time. On the practical side, who will clean the house and do the laundry if I’m really applying myself to writing? Who will make dinner? That gives new meaning to starving artist. Maybe I should consider it a great distraction and a weight loss challenge? Time will tell.
* Alice is a Maine realtor and a licensed helicopter and fixed wing pilot. She first met her Dutch husband in Maryland in 2005, and married him four years later.
