some of the best stuff on writing i've ever read

i was perusing articles i'd collected about writing (read here: i was bored with my 2nd draft and didn't have anything else to do) and i came across a great piece i'd saved.

when i first started writing (was that 2005 or 2006??) two of my dear friends (Sombra and Teri) introduced me to the Yarn Harlot's blog. while most of Stephanie's stuff is about knitting, she's also a writer and this was a great post about the process of writing. it had me rolling on the floor laughing back then, and it's even more relevant now that i've been writing for 4 years and can relate to EVERYTHING she said.

i can't link directly to the post, but if you click on her July 2006 archives, you can then scroll down to July 21, 2006 to read "Easy as Pie." i hope it has you laughing as much as it had me laughing. great stuff.

i think my favorite quote in the whole thing (and one i frequently refer to) is this one:

It's nervous work. The state you need to write in is the state that others are paying large sums to get rid of. - Shirley Hazzard

and then this one is a good reminder as i sit around noodling with my 2nd draft and find i'm not making ANY PROGRESS!!! ARG!!!

As a writer, I need an enormous amount of time alone. Writing is 90 percent procrastination: reading magazines, eating cereal out of the box, watching infomercials. It's a matter of doing everything you can to avoid writing, until it is about four in the morning and you reach the point where you have to write... - Paul Rudnick