Writing

I just finished writing a post. Instead of posting it I asked myself why did I write this? Nobody wants to read it. Then I gave the mouse a little push and clicked on save as a draft.

I have done this repeatedly. I want to write things down but I am unsure about anyone reading what I write. Then I opened Julia Cameron's book the Right to Write and read these words "in order to be a good writer, I have to be willing to be a bad writer. I have to be willing to let my thoughts and images be as contradictory as the evening firing its fireworks outside my window. In other words, let it all in- every little detail that catches your fancy..."

I know this is true when I paint; I know it is essential to give myself permission to paint a bad painting. There is no faster way to ruin a painting than to decide it has to be great or, God forbid, perfect. I've learned not to listen to myself when I start telling myself that what I am painting is terrible or fantastic. Experience has taught me that I have no perspective on the quality of a piece while I am working on it. For some reason it doesn't bother me to paint a lousy painting. Sometimes I remember this when I blog but other times I forget and then I don't want to post.