“Crossing out is an art that is, perhaps, even more difficult than writing. It requires the sharpest eye to decide what is superfluous and must be removed. And it requires ruthlessness toward yourself—the greatest ruthlessness and self-sacrifice. You must know how to sacrifice parts in the name of the whole.”
From Yevgeny Zamyatin, who is a treasure trove of lovely thoughts. At any rate, I have begun the process of “crossing out,” and oh, what a task that is. One of my favorites, but it eats time like nothing else. Gnaws at you, too.
***
This is funny: Best-selling author Stephen King was mistaken for a vandal as he horrified an Australian outback bookstore, local media reported Thursday. A customer at the store in remote Alice Springs raised the alarm after noticing a man walk in off the street and begin writing in several books…
Just plain odd: A Japanese biker whose leg was severed below the knee continued his ride, apparently unaware of his loss.
No surprise here: One species of crows is known for its clever use of tools, but a study now suggests that the birds’ ability to put sticks to good use rivals that of bigger-brained primates…The new research shows the birds can also use common sense, not trial and error, in figuring out how to combine available tools to retrieve a snack.
***
At Meg Cabot’s blog, her latest post called Actually, Quitters DO Win, had me laughing and cheering all the way through:
It IS true that you should never quit something because it�s hard. Not if you love it. If I had quit writing because it was hard to get published, I wouldn�t be here today. But I honestly believe you SHOULD quit something if you hate it, or if it�s a stupid waste of your time. Because if you don�t, how will you ever have time to discover the things in life you love doing?
Amen, amen, amen.
—–