WRITING AS A RELATIONSHIP (NOT A JOB)

For a long time I have balked at the advice "write everyday." Mainly because I have never been able to pull that off, and it doesn't really help to feel like a failure.

Besides, there's so much more to life than writing! Which is why I subscribe to the "live a life worth writing about" habit of writing.

As does Patricia Cornwell, apparently. Imagine my delight when I read this passage in the interview of Cornwell that appears in the latest issue of Writers Digest magazine:

Wee me in an early "relationship" :)

"Treat your writing like a relationship and not a job. Because if it's a relationship, even if you only have one hour in a day, you might just sit down and open up your last chapter because it's like visiting your friend. What do you do when you miss somebody? You pick up the phone. You keep that connection established. If you do that with your writing, then you tend to stay in that moment, and you don't forget what you're doing."

Does anyone else feel lighter after reading that?

 And you know, you can apply that whole "relationship" bit on all sorts of levels. Like, listen, be generous, be considerate, don't hold back. Also, the relationship model allows for and celebrates growth.

Love it!