We Try...

I was reading the beginning of Julia Cameron's The Right to Write again this morning (thanks to my friend CF who reminded me that this book existed and that I already owned a copy of it), when I came across the following passage. Well, "came across" is putting it too lightly -- it was more like the words jumped off the page at me, waving white flags and shouting "hello" and "this means you" to get my attention. She writes:

...most of us try to write too carefully. We try to do it 'right.' We try to sound smart. We try, period. Writing goes much better when we don't work at it so much. When we give ourselves permission to just hang out on the page. (3)

It's what happens to me when I write entries for this blog vs. what happens when I write in the pages of my notebooks. Something happens and suddenly I'm trying too hard. Worrying about making sense and finding just the right word and whether to use a semicolon or a dash at a particular junction of thought instead of just letting the words and thoughts flow. Writing becomes work instead of play. Maybe I just need to try to impress less and "hang out" more in these entries.

Thank you, Julia, for helping me remember this!