The myth of writers' block and the cardboard man...
January 6, 2010
Hey, did I mention the FABULOUS update Mr. Michael Gravel — web designer and Director of MG Creative did on the “Waiting for Columbus” page?. He designed this whole site, which I love!!! Anyway, you can see the four “known” covers of Columbus, and there are some pretty nice new review excerpts there, one of the from New Trail (the U of Alberta Alumni magazine):
“…Trofimuk’s novel has more of a political bent, drawing deft parallels between past and present: the Spanish Inquisition and the War on Terror, the New World Order (post 9-11), and the mapping of the unknown seas and the unknown self. Trofimuk delves even deeper into the uncharted waters of the mind, asking the reader to judge which is ultimately more important: the truth of the teller or the truth of the tale. It’s a tribute to the talents of the teller of this tale that the story of the delusional Columbus is so compelling that, like Consuela, the reader will fall hopelessly in love with him and wish to join him in his fantasy forever. Unfortunately novels, like fantasies, must end, and the ending of this story will amaze you, proving that the heart and the mind are still terra incognita.”
Listen, I never thought that “forgiveness” would be part of the writing process, but I think, for me, it is. Last night, I sat in at a Book Club on the south side, and someone asked what it was like, as a writer, to sit down at the computer, or in front of a blank sheet of paper, and to have nothing come….to draw a blank? What’s that like? “It’s never happened,” I said. There have been days – many days – when the writing has been awful, but that’s what editing and re-writing and refining are for. (“All first drafts are shit” – Ernest Hemingway) Writing is always getting the words on the page. And for this, I forgive. I forgive myself for writing badly, and for writing well. I do not edit before I write. I simply write. It does not have to be perfect. It does not have to be brilliant. It just has to be what it is – a first draft. This forgiveness makes writers’ block a myth.
There was a woman at Book Club last night who told me a story about how she’s twice caught herself saying hello to a cardboard cut-out man at Superstore, near the entrance. This is something I will use in a future book, or story. I love things like this. It’s odd, but also sad and beautiful.
3 Comments
1. Rubis had this to say: Jan 07, 2010 ~ 14:47 ~ #
Speaking to inanimate objects isn’t so weird really, Catholics do it all the time with statues and what-not. When those bad boys reply, now that’s a story!
2. thomas had this to say: Jan 08, 2010 ~ 14:11 ~ #
To be caught by the same cardboard man twice, though…I like it!!! How distracted are you by your life? How outside the moment? I find it fascinating, even if the cardboard man doesn’t talk back…
3. Mike Gravel had this to say: Jan 08, 2010 ~ 14:27 ~ #
The cardboard man thing is a powerful image/idea. You could take that image in a few directions. It’s definitely a sad image.