Not long ago, I read an interview with a writer who recently published her second novel. In the interview, she revealed that her second novel was actually her third novel. The second novel she "lost" because she discussed it too much with family and friends. She simply lost interest in writing down the story because she had already told it too many times.
I could relate to her experience. I find that when I'm working on a writing project, that the less I say about it to others the more likely I am to finish the project. During the 6 years I spent working on my first novel, I didn't talk about it to ANYONE (no matter how much the person begged). There's something about the power of your secret that creates pent up energy which is a nourishment for the imagination. I found this poem by Rumi, one of my favorite poets, which describes the importance of the heart's secrets:
When your heart becomes the grave of your secret,
that desire of yours will be gained more quickly.
...anyone
who keeps secret his inmost thought
will soon attain the object of his desire.
When seeds are buried in the earth,
their inward secrets become the flourishing garden.
Of course there are times during your drafting when you may need and desire feedback. But I've found that in the early, early stages, the secret is extremely important in maintaining my excitement for coming back to the project.
2 comments:
That secrecy, that private motivation is very important to me. I'll talk about how my writing is going, but I'm hesitant to share too many details. It feels like I'll jinx myself.
I think if you talk about it the NEED to write it goes away. You no longer have to need to communicate it anyone.
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