Nicked...

 
...from LJ friend cg07446 (who hasn't been heard from in a while):

On Writing from Susan Sontag

The writer must be four people:

1) the nut, the obsédé (who supplies the material)
2) the moron (who lets it come out)
3) the stylist (who provides the taste)
4) the critic (who provides the intelligence)

A great writer has all 4 – but you can still be a good writer with only 1) and 2); they're most important.

Fortunately, 1) is already taken care of if you write translations!

Cheers...

I made it, somehow...

Twice, even.

The first time was when I came in a solid third-from-last in my LJ Idol group, where the bottom two participants were dropped. I think this is the closest I've come to the shiny thin edge of the ax head, but at least I've survived to be among the "Top 19" of the competition, a group that comprises just under 10% of the original contingent.

Looking back at this past week's essay, I've started to think that my effort could have been better, and have come to believe there were little telltales in my gut telling me so when I posted the thing. My experience over the years tells me that this kind of thinking is not healthy, because beating yourself up for not having made more of an effort at something is a surefire dead end unless you knew going in that you hadn't tried all that hard.

I think this is a pretty subtle distinction, because a lot of people get in the habit, after the fact, of thinking that something they've done could have been done better, cheaper, faster... whatever, if only they had tried harder.

The problem is, this is always the case (even if you think your work is the ne plus ultra of its kind). Therefore, the only proper reaction to such a reaction is to dismiss it - and the baggage it entails - as utterly unproductive and to concentrate, if necessary, on evaluating the work as objectively as possible to find errors in order not to repeat them again.

(Listen to me, I'm channeling Ayn Rand!)

In short, you can fix errors, but you can never try hard enough (so don't worry about it).

(Now, from where did I get this nifty soapbox? I must put it back.)

* * *The second time had to do with finishing 1800 words after returning from dinner at nearly 8 pm from Drew and Shannon's place. If I never translate another sentence having to do with high-rise construction in urban environments, it'll be the proverbial "too soon," but I'm sure I'll take such an assignment if one is offered.

I shall have to get up early to address some terminology issues, then do a despeckling cycle, and finally process some figures in the source file.

Once I get rid of this assignment, my plate will merely become full again, as I have a pile of stuff due Wednesday, including a file that arrived in my inbox this afternoon.

Cheers...