• Home
    • About Us
    • Recordings
  • Prior Bootcamps
    • Write and Sell for Magazines
    • I Got a Send It Bootcamp
    • Say It Like a Pro Bootcamp
    • Scrivener with Patrick Hester
  • Contact Us

SKINNY-DIPPING WITH NEIL GAIMAN

7/31/2013

9 Comments

 
In the spirit of full disclosure, I have not actually skinny-dipped with Neil Gaiman.  However I find this phrase a quick way to reference an important writing lesson, which I'll share if you'll permit me the latitude to explain.

Also in the spirit of full disclosure for those of you keeping track, I only achieved 2 of the 5 writing goals I set this week. 
In a moment I think you'll understand why.
Picture

The lesson begins
with the Swedish Embassy
and ends with Finding Nemo,
and it goes like this:
Picture
My son was due to get on a plane last Saturday to spend a year studying in Sweden, but as of one week prior he still didn’t have the requisite Residence Permit.  Everyone involved was sure he’d have to forfeit his ticket and reschedule his trip, but I wasn't ready to give up.  So I spent last week relentlessly phoning, emailing, and faxing the Swedish Embassy, and to everyone's surprise (even my own) managed to secure my son's permit 24 hours before his flight.

Lesson Part One:  PERSEVERANCE PAYS OFF

Or at least it can pay off when applied properly.  In my case I did not apply it to my writing, thus only completing 2 of my 5 writing goals this week.

The lesson of perseverance should come as no surprise, especially if you're a writer.  Writers are told time and
again that perseverance is essential.  In fact, in a ten minute Web search, I found about a hundred "perseverance" quotes from famous writers about writing.

"Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody."
                    Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
So, what does this have to do with Neil Gaiman?  The easy answer would be that I found a quote from him about perseverance, but if you bet on that you just lost your lunch money because what I found wasn't about perseverance at all.  What I found was this:

"The moment that you feel that just possibly you are walking down the street naked...
that's the moment you may be starting to get it right."                                  
Neil Gaiman

I sure don't like feeling (or being) naked in public, but "getting it right" as a writer is what I live for.  It's right up there with family and coffee.  It's what I strive for each time I sit down to work on a manuscript.  Which brings us to:

Lesson Part Two:  TO WRITE THE GOOD STUFF, YOU MUST EXPOSE YOURSELF

Of course I'm talking about feeling vulnerable and exposed due to putting authentic, personal thoughts, emotions and fears on the page, so don't take this as license to become a flasher. 

And finally, the Finding Nemo connection.

As I slogged bleary-eyed through multiple phone mazes in Swedish (which I don't speak), and then later as I searched the Web (in English) for writing quotes about perseverance, I kept hearing this little voice in the back of my head. 
Picture



"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming."                      
Dory in Finding Nemo

And thus we arrive at:

Lesson Part 1 + Lesson Part 2 = 
TO WRITE THE GOOD STUFF, YOU MUST EXPOSE YOURSELF
OVER AND OVER
-- JUST KEEP SWIMMING, JUST KEEP SWIMMING --
AND IF YOU'RE FEELING NAKED,
NEIL GAIMAN SAYS YOU MAY BE STARTING TO GET IT RIGHT

Which is a really wordy lesson to carry around in your writer's toolbox.  Believe me, I tried.

So I hope you'll forgive me the somewhat misleading headline "Skinny-dipping with Neil Gaiman" and allow that it's a much pithier (and easier to hum) mantra.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm swimming my naked self over to my manuscript -- I'm down by 3 goals, and I'm determined not to let the Swedish Embassy team win this one.
9 Comments
Kristi Lloyd
8/1/2013 06:22:41

What a fun post, Chris! It's filled with lots of great info and a little humor too. Thanks for sharing....Just keep swimming!

Reply
Margaret Yang link
8/1/2013 12:51:45

Dory and Neil Gaiman--two of my favorites. Whenever I feel scared, I often tell myself to "just keep swimming." But picturing Neil Gaiman swimming next to me will make it even better.

Reply
K.J. Scrim link
8/1/2013 14:57:51

What a great post! I listened to Neil Gaimen's speech (where the naked quote came from), and I would never had connected the dots to Dory! You are so right about perseverance and that push to reach goals....I just have to keep it in mind. "Where there's a will, there's a way!"

Reply
Rachael Dahl link
8/1/2013 21:27:14

In the last four years, I've lost four extremely close family members. Three of them to cancer. The youngest, a 37 yr old mother to four children, her youngest child was only two when she passed. Because of this I've been smacked down by a tsunami of grief and there were days when I could barely pull myself out of bed, let alone meet my writing goals. However, I've learned that while life is messy, I can still write. It may only be five words on a page or five sentences, but as long as I write something, I have not failed. Now, I'm past the stage where five paragraphs is no longer a major accomplishment and am able to meet daily, weekly, and even monthly goals. Not all the time, but as someone once said, "Failing is never trying." Keep on trucking Chris, even if it is naked.

Reply
Chris Mandeville
8/2/2013 07:59:23

I'm in awe of your bravery and fortitude, Rachael. You're the epitome of Just Keep Swimming, and you're winning. Thank you for sharing this. You inspire me.

Reply
Alison Holt link
8/2/2013 17:46:42

What a wonderful, creative way to bring an uplifting message to your readers. Thank you for reminding me to keep swimming with Dory even when the sharks are circling and I feel like I've lost my way back to the computer keyboard. Whenever I'm down, I will swim naked with Dory and her wonderful smile.

Reply
Mardra link
8/5/2013 16:47:05

Love this! And you'll be happy to know I actually stopped reading halfway through to write a bit on what I'm stalling, then I came back to finish this (and stall sommore) But NOW - back to it!

Reply
Deidre Greenly link
8/10/2013 02:44:35

Swimming not so bad. Exposure...the tough part. It's the exposure that causes the leg cramps, sometimes forcing me out of the pool for recovery. My YA is pure fiction...how can a story not related to myself or anyone I know feel so personal?

Reply
Jason P. Henry link
8/26/2013 18:31:38

Awesome post!! Intelligently stated... kinda want to strip down and jump in the water. Just not with Neil, and only metaphorically!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Chris Mandeville is the president of Delve Writing and a writer of "new adult" novels and a non-fiction project for writers. 

    This is the chronicle of her journey to define and achieve her writing goals.

    Archives

    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

  • Home
    • About Us
    • Recordings
  • Prior Bootcamps
    • Write and Sell for Magazines
    • I Got a Send It Bootcamp
    • Say It Like a Pro Bootcamp
    • Scrivener with Patrick Hester
  • Contact Us
✕