"We get the work done on the ground level. And the kindest thing I can do for you is to tell you to get your ass on the floor. I know it’s hard to write, darling. But it’s harder not to. The only way you’ll find out if you 'have it in you' is to get to work and see if you do. The only way to override your 'limitations, insecurities, jealousies, and ineptitude' is to produce. You have limitations. You are in some ways inept. This is true of every writer, and it’s especially true of writers who are 26. You will feel insecure and jealous. How much power you give those feelings is entirely up to you."
--From Dear Sugar #48, which isn't precisely written for me, but close enough.
I saw Cheryl Strayed, who IS Sugar, at the Unity Temple on the Plaza last night. There aren't many authors I would be so simultaneously pleased and flummoxed to meet, but she is on a very short list. She was as warm, as funny, as generous with her time and wisdom as I might have hoped. I am once again reminded that at the end of the day, no one cares if I write but me, so I have to be the one to make it happen.
Watch this space. I'll be accountable here.
