I’ve owned the book Take Joy by renowned author Jane Yolen since 2014 but I’ve not read it cover to cover. Instead, I’ve skipped around the book, soaking up stories and writerly wisdoms from its pages in a manner similar to sopping up olive oil with french bread–it’s a savory effort but it doesn’t fill you up and it’s no substitute for a meal. Now, I’m about to take in 13-courses (chapters) in their original order–ready to experience the full flavors of the book and nosh on sustenance.
Take Joy is the featured title for a book study group I’ve joined with writers in the 12×12 Picture Book Challenge group–a challenge with the aim of writing one picture book per month (or twelve books in one year). We are currently on the first two chapters and I find myself very intrigued with chapter 2, aptly titled The Birkenstock Muse.
The chapter begins: The writer’s Muse wears sensible clothes, perfect for sitting in. She has on Birkenstock sandals because of all the nasty, muddy places she has to go to find ideas…
So, The Birkenstock Muse, it turns out, is an unreliable aid to the writer, as is Imagination and Time Fairy, the other characters we meet on the page. Jane suggests that writers not wait for any of these characters to assist in the writing process and offers the following:
I, on the other hand, being a professional writer, someone who makes a living writing, will do what professional writers always do. I will not wait around for inspiration but rush right into perspiration mode. I sit at my computer, fingers on the keyboard, and get to work.
Writers write. It sounds too simple to be true, but there it is. Writers write.
Looking forward to reading and fully digesting each chapter.
(P.S. This is day three of my daily-post-for-a-week challenge.)
