NaNoWriMo Day 18: Advice from Gayle Brandeis

I came across this lovely tidbit while perusing writer Joshilyn Jackson's blog Faster Than Kudzu.

In this post, she interviews writer Gayle Brandeis. She asks Brandeis what advice she would give writers "as they pursue this maddening and delightful craft."

Brandeis answers:

My favorite bit of advice is this: stay open. Keep your senses open—as writers, we so often live in our heads, but when we drop down into our senses and remember to take in the sights and smells and sounds and tastes and textures of the world, it gives us so much more juicy stuff to write about. It makes our writing really come to life. Keep your mind open—you never know where the next story will come from, and you should be ready for it. Inspiration often strikes from unexpected places. Be open to change—don't get too attached to any of your words; be prepared to slash them all, to start from scratch if need be (but at the same time, of course, be sure to stay true to your own personal vision and voice.) Read widely, live deeply, and dive into your work unafraid.

Excellent advice. I'm glad I stumbled across it.

NaNoWriMo update: 36,008 words and counting. I'm keeping up with my 2,000 words-a-day goal, and I'm feeling pretty darn proud of myself for getting in 300 words today before playgroup and then the other 1,700 after playgroup while the kids were napping. If it teaches me nothing else, participating in NaNoWriMo is definitely teaching me to use time wisely. Unfortunately, I had to decline an invite to an impromptu playgroup lunch at Chevy's and that hurt (this mommy likes to eat), but I know that Chevy's will be there for me after December 1...

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