Angel in the Marble

Words of wisdom from Katherine Paterson, on writing, from the Week 2 pep talk for NaNoWriMo:

I live in Barre, Vermont which calls itself the "Granite Capital of the World." Outside our town are enormous quarries, so when I speak in local schools every child has a mental picture of a granite quarry. "You know how hard it is to get granite out of the quarry," I say. "You have to carefully score the rock and put the explosive in to make the great granite block break loose from the face of the stone. Then you have to attach the block to the chains so that the cranes can lift it slowly out of the hole a nd put it on the waiting truck. That’s the first draft. It’s hard, dangerous work, and when you’ve finished, all you’ve really got is a block of stone. But now you have something now to work on. Now you can take your block down to the shed to carve and polish it and turn it into something of beauty. That’s revision."

Love that image. The first draft may be a block of stone unappealing to look upon, but it's something to work with, to carve eventually to a perfection only it can attain. Michaelangelo's quote on the art of carving statues suits Paterson's quote beautifully:

Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.

And this one as well:

I saw the angel in the marble and I carved until I set him free.

Love that last quote. Love it.

And now I need to stop reveling in inspiration and get back to work. Inspiration will only carry me so far, ;P

Had a wild rush of ideas for my NaNo (that is, caved in at last and decided to pillage my January novel, Playing with Angels, for the glory of an evil overlady.) Slightly peeved by the fact I've only just started chapter 3 and am only inching toward the fulfillment of those ideas. But I've only wandered off the path of my goals; I need to remember I want to meet November 30th with the words "the end", not merely 50k. So adieu to all the extravagent detail I've been wallowing in! (read: word padding. Despite all resolution not to give in, x3)

Just finished watching The Incredible Hulk for movie night. Fun times. Lots of battles and explosions; all those thrilling things to take one's mind off NaNo chapters that stubbornly refuse to end. Adored Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky, made LotR jokes whenever Liv Tyler was on screen, and wondered what kind of movie Hulk would be if the gender roles were reversed: a woman as Hulk (or some other creature of a great and uncontrollable power) rescuing/being cared for by the guy who would take Arwen Betty Ross's role.

Again, fun times.

P.S. Have forgotten how to use the word "I", x3 Shorthand ftw.