You are writing steadily, making some kind of progress. At least you are creating pages. Going forward. Now it begins to feel stale, dull, devoid of energy. The thought of going through your text yet again and again seems very tedious.
Once, when working on a book, and in just such a state, I called my editor. “It feels like junk,” I said. He said, “I don’t publish junk”—a figurative slap in the face, enough to wake me up, and get me back to work.
There is another way to re-energize, to wash away your author’s eyes of murky fog: read good writing. Not just any writing, but something you admire, that the world has told you is good, that is good.
If you are like me, you’ll be struck by a mix of envy and admiration, but even more, an awareness of what is good writing. It is not that you will imitate that good writer, but it will remind you why your work is not as good. Then when you go back to your work, it will be like that good old English teacher you once had, leaning over your work, and saying, “You don’t need that word.” Or, “You can cut this part.”
There is no better editor than a good read.
1 thought on “Re-energizing”
I don’t know if it’s too late to ask, but as a huge fan of your writing, I’m interested to know a few of your favorite authors to read when you’re looking for inspiration as a writer. Could you list a few? Please forgive me if you’ve done this elsewhere and I’ve missed it. Thank you very much!