After finishing a rough first draft of a book for writing runners and running writers, I have begun working on the first revision. This is where I must allow my internal editor and critic to speak. And he's screaming - he doesn't like much of what he reads. I know he is as right as he is wrong. I must listen without feeling disheartened.
It's hard to keep believing in the manuscript's potential. The other day I reread the notes I made while on holiday in Oregon last month. One is a small poem:
Mystery of running
and writing
Only shows itself
if we keep practising
with faith
and gusto.
Mystery: anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown.
Faith: confidence or trust in a person or a thing; belief which is not based on proof
Gusto: keen relish or hearty enjoyment
In the manuscript for my fifth book, with the working title Write. Run. Live., I feel very long on mystery and short on faith and gusto.
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