Be kind to yourself. Fill pages as quickly as possible; double space, or write on every second line. Regard every new page as a small triumph.

- Roddy Doyle
The Guardian, Feb 2010

3 Responses to Monday morning inspiration

  1. claire says:

    Love this quote.

  2. Georgina says:

    I’m posting this one above my desk!
    I think if more people could give themselves this kind space and permission, they would find out that writing, creating, painting or any kind of storytelling, truly is something that we all have within us. Sadly we often take our skills for granted and dismiss our dreams out of fear of failure. “Just keep the pen moving” is what I always say.
    Thanks for stopping by the other day. It was, as always, good to hear from you. – G

  3. Andrew Blackman says:

    Glad you both found it helpful! I love how you put it, Georgina, about giving yourself space and permission. I think that’s spot on. I think our society is full of crazy ideas about what creativity is, and so we think we can’t possibly be a REAL artist unless we are living in a garret in Paris, drinking absinthe for breakfast and casually knocking out a masterpiece in time for lunch. We believe a lot in “innate genius”, but read the biography of any supposed genius and you’ll find they actually worked really, really hard. Keeping the pen moving doesn’t sound very glamorous, but I think it’s excellent advice.

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