We all know writing is a lonely job, not unlike that of a goatherd, I sometimes think. All day long the lonely goatherd must watch his or her flock, making sure their charges don’t run away, choke on poisonous grasses or get stuck in bogs or rocky crevasses. He has to use his crook (that big long stick with the curve on the end) to move them along to greener pastures, before they eat up everything in sight, leaving a dusty wasteland behind.
Just like us and our words; all day long moving them about the page, letting them graze a while before picking them up with our writer’s crook and trying them out in different positions – a longer or shorter paragraph, a spot at the beginning or end of the chapter, letting them feed a while here and there, watching to see if they become fat, plump or too complacent, before moving them on somewhere else. And still watching out for the runt, for you never know when that shaggy old discarded sentence might just turn out to be the one you need after all.
I wonder if goatherds and shepherds do in fact feel lonely – perhaps they are glad to spend the day away from the clamour and craziness of their big families. The trouble with writing is most of us don’t have a big crazy family to come back to at night – or not one that would get what we have been doing all day. We have to find our own family or community who can understand, like the goatherd, that we spent a whole day staring at one sentence as he would at one blade of grass.
Where do we find these communities? At our local writers’ or neighbourhood centre, in a local cafe, on the net, or we can start our own. Put an ad out for like minded scribblers and doodlers and arrange to meet up at a local bar. Designate one person each time to be in charge, to facilitate discussion and writing excercises, and always have time at the beginning where everyone can check in and talk about how their writing is going. Talking about all the ups and downs of the writing process is just as important as getting feedback on your writing. And reading your work, even though it is terrifying, is always good . You know as soon as the words are off your tongue what needs fixing and what sounds just right. Apart from anything else it is good just to be in the company of other writers, or goatherds, who don’t have to ask you what you did all day, because they know!
Join one big writer’s community at Ubud Writers and Readers Festival this October with writers from the Asia Pacific region and beyond, sharing their stories. Still a couple of places left on our Backstage Bali Retreat.
Writer’s Journey adventures booking now!
Jan 9-22, 2014: Moroccan Caravan. Fez, Tissardmine, Erg Chebbi, Marrakech – a 12 day desert journey.
Feb 11-23, 2014, Temple Writing In Burma – Green tea and Buddha’s in a brave new land.
March 8-15, 2014. Breakthrough Writing in Fiji – Eat, Snorkle, Write, in Fiji’s hidden paradise.
