notes from a session on Doubt, at Justen Ahren’s Devotion to Writing workshop,
Noepe, Edgartown, 2015
Ring the bells that you must ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.
— Leonard Cohen
Doubt is:
punctual
every day
natural
common
a good worker
not just feeling, emotion, but exploring structure, meter, music, tension is structure, structure is tension
doubt signals that we’re at the edge, increasing the boundaries of our craft
doubt creates a chance to pause, slow down, deepen our resolve
train your doubt: e.g., “why do you think this is ugly?”
demand proof
doubt is attentive, persistent, potentially one of your best workers. ask it, “why shouldn’t I be writing that?”
we do not doubt what is mundane and casual
we doubt what is new
how can we not have doubt about something new? new to the world, new to ourselves
what doors are we opening?
pink paper clip, blue-purple wooden top, grabbing brass ring
coming back to a work: getting quiet, listening, because sometimes we mishear the universe during a first draft
What is the cost of writing — your whole life, but it is not a life that is lost, it is a life that is gained. — Joseph Stroud