I'll say right up front I haven't read the book. But I want to read it. I got an email with quotes from it in it. Thought I would throw some of those in.Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

On feeling ordinary:

“This book is about making art.? Ordinary art.? Ordinary art means something like: all art not made by Mozart.? After all, art is rarely made by Mozart-like people–essentially (statistically speaking) there aren't any people like that.? But while geniuses may get made once-a-century or so, good art gets made all the time.

?

“Creatures having only virtues can hardly be imagined making art.? It's difficult to picture . . . Batman throwing pots. . . . If art is made by ordinary people, then you'd have to allow that the ideal artist would be an ordinary person too, with the whole usual mixed bag of traits that real human beings possess.? This is a giant hint about art, because it suggests that our flaws and weaknesses, while often obstacles to our getting work done, are a source of strength as well.? Something about making art has to do with overcoming things, giving us a clear opportunity for doing things in ways we have always known we should do them.”

On feeling untalented:

“Talent, in common parlance, is 'what comes easily'.? So sooner or later, inevitably, you reach a point where the work doesn't come easily, and–Aha!, it's just as you feared!

Wrong.? By definition, whatever you have is exactly what you need to produce your best work.? There is probably no clearer waste of psychic energy than worrying about how much talent you have–and probably no worry more common.? This is true even among artists of considerable achievement.

Talent, if it is anything, is a gift, and nothing of the artist's own making.?The fact is, artists get better by sharpening their skills or by acquiring new ones; they get better by learning to work, and by learning from their work. . .?. So when you ask, 'Then why doesn't it come easily for me?', the answer is probably, 'Because making art is hard!'? What you end up caring about is what you do, not whether the doing came hard or easy.

Talent is a snare and a delusion.? In the end, the practical questions about talent come down to these: Who cares?? Who would know?? and What difference would it make?? And the practical answers are: Nobody, Nobody, and None.”

On fear:

“Making art can feel dangerous and revealing.? Making art is dangerous and revealing.

Art, however,?is a high calling–fears are coincidental.? Coincidental, sneaky, and disruptive, we might add, disguising themselves variously as laziness, resistance to deadlines, irritation with materials and surroundings, distraction over the achievements of others–indeed as anything that keeps you from giving your work your best shot.

So if a critic praises Nabokov's obsession with wordplay, you begin to worry that you can't even spell 'obsession'.?But the point is that you learn how to make your work by making your work, and a great many of the pieces you make along the way, will never stand out as finished art.? The best you can do is make art you care about–and lots of it!”

And if you ever wonder whether the “real” artists struggle with not liking their work, consider Tolstoy in the Age Before Typewriters, re-wrote War & Peace eight times and was still revising galley proofs as it finally rolled onto the press.

Two dreams which have come true, an earthquake, a hailstorm, a demon scare, a major case of the evil eye, protective custody, a baby being born with a cord around his neck, a jealous rival, an armed invasion, a lion attack, and a mob stoning an old bald man… These are the ways I've been torturing my main character… So far.

People give you the most depressing advice:

Orson Scott Card says you have to hurt your main character, over and over again, to make a good story.

Stephen King in On Writing says that you have to pick the character who hurts the worst.

Immediate Fiction author (can't remember the name) says that each thing that happens must be bad, must be worse.

Someone, can't remember who, requires a surprise every 800 words. (That's two pages of a packed novel. Five or six of a “light read.”)

The last three things in my first list don't happen to the main character, although the armed invasion is on her city. But the lion attack and the mob stoning, that's someone else. I haven't decided if she is going to be there when that happens. I've set it up so that she could, but right now she's not. I may have to change it.

I told myself that I would have this section of the novel complete by the end of the month. Just in time for my baby bro's 40th. I have 82,000 words, which is about 200 pages. I expect the novel will be around 500.

Card says you have to start with the character wanting to change. I don't. I start with the character not wanting to change, but events making her do so. It works better. In fact, this whole section of the book is about how my character likes her life and her plans and wants to keep them from changing. However, because of who she is (honorable, etc), her life keeps changing.

This character is from a real life person. Rather, she was a real life person 3000 years ago. But all I know about her was she was a girl, a slave, and a true believer. The rest of the story sprang from my questioning how she got to be those things. (Well, not the girl part.)

A friend of mine asked me who I would want to be my patron saint from the Old Testament, if I had to choose one. I told her this girl. My friend said, “Patron Saints have to have names.” I answered, “She has a name. We just don't know what it is.” BTW her name is Dielli.

The Artist's Way is a book which suggests lots of interesting and useful things. It also talks about some goofy ones. You can read some reviews here and order the book for as little as .99cents. (On a side note, I bought a used book for $2 and it had never been opened. Was also out of print. Sometimes you can get a real deal on those used books.)

One thing she recommends is morning pages. Hard work. Many people find them useful. Since I am incredibly introspective, I didn't learn a lot new from them. (Basically you write for three pages every day. Don't read them for a week or a month, I think. Then go back and read them. See what is in their consistently.)

Another thing she recommends is to do your art daily. I wrote three daily poems for months. I don't think any of them are great literature, but they kept my creative juices going. (Now I am working on a novel. It's not as easy to write part of a novel daily. At least not for me.)

I love her artist's date idea. Maybe because I like an excuse to go out by myself. She says to take yourself somewhere that encourages your creativity. Somewhere that gets your juices flowing. An art show. A hobby shop. An antique shop. A flea market. Go and enjoy. (I like simple assignments, too.)

The book is written in a series of weekly programs. Like a workshop, kind of.

One recommendation she made is to not read for a week. I thought back and realized that really helped me before. So I thought, okay, I'll do that. Then I find that I am reading blogs and newspapers and magazines. Anything I can get my hands on. (That is normal for me.) But I am not picking up any novels to read. And I was in the middle of a series, which I had planned to finish reading this week. And I put the newspaper down as soon as I remembered. (Not the blogs though.) I've watched more TV today, though. But since I went through a week's worth of Home and Garden type shows in less than two hours, that's not too bad. (Or maybe it is.)

So I am on a “do not read” week. AAAHHH. It hurts already. (Does that mean I can put off grading my students' finals? Guess not. Grades are due Monday.)

Haven't been writing here much. Haven't been writing anywhere. I've been reading and antique shopping to avoid working on my novel. I want to finish the first section by the end of the month. I'm close. But I have got to get over being afraid to finish it (it'll be bad, no one will want to read it, I won't want to read it, etc.).

As mentioned in the last two entries, I read a book I didn't like. My first thought was “run away.” Go get another book and hide from the feelings. My next was “eat.” Since I just finished eating half of a not very good Chinese meal, that was a bad choice. A choice from before I was getting healthier. Now I'm in the Healthier stage, not the Eat stage. So, I thought of some fun words as a short term pick me up on my way home. Then I went and worked out with my weights.

Once someone suggested I make a list of ten things I liked to do as a replacement for emotional eating. My favorite is “having sex.” However, since it's that time of the month in a major way, that's not as much fun as normal. I don't even remember what else was on the list. Maybe I need to make another one.

Bike

Weight lift

Work out on the trampoline (an exercise one, not the big thing)

Listen to the song that never ends (60 minutes of guitar and rain mixed together into the most incredibly soothing sound, which my husband hates)

Write poetry

Read

Work on my novel (72,000 words and counting!)

Plan for my classes that I'll be teaching next year

Have sex (You have to save the best for last! At least on the list.)