Having spent some contemplative time recently along the shore I gave thought to how I approach life, and, of course, writing--which is integral to my life.
Am I a fisherwoman or a surfer?
Both require patience and skill but one seems more passive, the other aggresive. I'm sure some people would debate this, especially since a fisherman reeled in a Great White Shark in San Diego last week! That ought to get muscles pumping, adrenaline surging.
But mainly, fishing is passive compared to surfing. I'm not trying to say one is better. Fishing can yield sustenance. Surfing results in endorphin rush. Both give personal satisfaction. I've done both but not in a long time.
As a writer, if I wait quietly like a fisherman, ideas may leap up from the deep, filled with energy. And if I sit bobbing on the water, waiting to see the dark rise of a building wave, then put myself in position and paddle hard, I might catch a most amazing swell.
Either way, patience and preparedness are key. Do you see yourself or your writing as fishing or surfing? Or am I hopelessly waterlogged?
10 comments:
I read this, then came back and read it again, then came back. (I do this with you!)
I think, for me, it is both. When my writing is zooming, when the characters and plot are unfolding at a rate that I can barely keep up with, I am surfing... tsunami surfing.
BUT: The road to publication of those surfing adventures? Pure fisherman. My question is: a wise fisherman, or a surly, mean, crazy fisherman? (My dad was a fisherman, I know the types!) Thanks Tricia!
I've only body surfed and not board surfed, but I'm familiar with the catching-a-nice-wave adrenaline rush. But as you say, there's an awful lot of waiting for those waves; and positioning yourself just right so you're at the best point of the swell. The only fish I've caught were two very small trout, but what an adrenaline rush! I hereby claim myself a fishersurferwoman writer.
Suzanne--Yikes, I hope you come back because you are merrily musing, not confused by whatever I was yammering on about....From what I've read of your writing on your blog, I'd say wise fisherwoman meets tsumani rider.
Melissa--How cool you got the moves! Now I'm thinking we need a fishersurferwomanwriter logo/crest. (guys will have to design their own or agree to be feminist)
I grew up waterskiing and was married to a fisherman, but I'll go with surfwriting. Seems like I paddle a lot, watch for a wave, then write it in to shore.
Donna--I love that image: write it in to shore!
Love both analogies. I'm not sure which one I am. Got to ponder. Maybe I'm both at different times.
I think I try both fishing and surfing and figure out which one fits me better.
Fishing gets old after a while. And I can just go buy the fish. But it's fun when they're biting. Surfing has to make you feel great when you're improving.
Yat-Yee: Yes, I'm both at different times, too.
PJ: Ha! True you can buy a fish, but you can't really buy catching a wave. I love the way a wave can propel you forward with so much power.
how about fishing off a moving surf board - that's me
Shelli: Oh, yes, after you described what you've been up to with your revision, I think that would be it!
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