High ambition creates creative block while low standards enable writing.
Evidence
Encouragement comes from the poet William Stafford, who advised his students always to write to their lowest standard. Somebody always corrected him: “You mean your highest standard.” No, he meant your lowest standard. Jean Cocteau’s editor gave him the same advice: “The thought of having to produce a masterpiece is giving you writer’s cramp. You’re paralysed at the sight of a blank sheet of paper. So begin any old way. Write: ‘One winter evening …’” In On Writer’s Block: A New Approach to Creativity, Victoria Nelson points out that “there is an almost mathematical ratio between soaring, grandiose ambition … and a severe creative block.” More writers prostitute themselves “up” than “down”; more are false in their determination to write great literature than in their willingness to throw off a romance. — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition, 80
Categorization
- XREF: Echoes the ‘easy/hard’ reversal of the chapter’s ending line (82) and the one-draft-at-a-sitting advice in paragraph 76. — connects to: Writer’s block in fiction stems from insufficient knowledge of characters and scene. — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide…, 79; Writing often requires passing through a muddle and despair before shape emerges. — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition: A Guide…, 78; Deliberate sideways projects let writers sidestep a blocked main work — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 42 (+4 more)
Related
- Writer’s block in fiction stems from insufficient knowledge of characters and scene. (similarity 0.83)
- Writing often requires passing through a muddle and despair before shape emerges. (similarity 0.83)
Broader Connections
- Deliberate sideways projects let writers sidestep a blocked main work
#corroborates(0.65) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 42 - Committing to a structure too early makes flawed writing seem right
#corroborates(0.60) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 1078 - Writer’s block is really a fear of committing to one narrative path
#corroborates(0.55) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 44 - Writing often requires passing through a muddle and despair before shape emerges.
#expands(0.50) — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition, 78