Thursday, April 9, 2015

Through a haze of vicodin . . .

"It's no mystery why people beat elephants to the top spot."

That's one writing quote that means a lot to me today. It was was said by . . . me, actually, this morning, as I started the third day of writing with one (broken) arm splinted and attached to the opposite shoulder with a tight sling. Elephants' trunks might be pretty handy but elephants' typing is the pits.

Seriously though, I've always liked "a writer writes", as spoken by the Billy Crystal character in Throw Momma From The Train, a fabulous film about writing.

And it's a good message - especially now when a writer can blog, tweet, post, pin, and generally spend ten hours a day at a keyboard doing all sorts of lovely writery things without producing a single word of story.

Sticking with films about writing, another favourite quote of mine is the two parter:

"It's a metaphor"
"For what?!"

spoken by both Nicholas Cage characters in the divine Charlie Kauffman's Adaptation.


It helps me remember both a. that clever writing is stupid if it doesn't mean anything and also b. never defend your writing when someone gives you an edit.

The rule of three demands that to finish this blogpost I either think of a great quote from another film about writing or quickly make a film about the rise of two-trunked elephants.

Easy. Slightly tougher is the choice between Misery and The Shining. But for a great quote alone, Misery wins.



The thought of Annie Wilkes saying "I'm your number one fan" can always remind writers who're less famous and bestselling than Stephen/Paul King/Sheldon to be careful what we wish for.

9 comments:

Paul D. Marks said...

Catriona, first off, I hope you heal quickly. I broke some bones awhile back and couldn't handle Vicodin. It made me sick, so I used Bufferin and just toughed it out. Anyway, I hope yours goes better than mine did.

Re: your piece. Yes, writers write -- and read too -- but I don't think a lot aspiring writers realize this. Or don't realize what it means to write. It doesn't just come from on high and out your fingers into the computer. It takes a lot of work and thought and mostly rewriting to get it right. But they don't want to do the work, they just want the "glory" (hahaha) such as it is.

Robin Spano said...

Cheers to our victory against elephants!

As always I love your wise an irreverent posts.

Hope you get fixed soon!

Meredith Cole said...

And writers write blog posts (even when their arm is in a sling!). Thanks for sharing the quotes (love Adaptation, BTW, and have never been brave enough to watch Misery). Hope you heal fast.

RJ Harlick said...

I'm impressed with all these quotes you guys are able to rhyme off. And I so glad this question is this week. I couldn't remember a quote to save my soul and that needs a lot of saving....:) All the best, Catriona. I hope you will be tossing aside the sling in no time.

Anonymous said...

Sorry about your pain but hope Neal is spoiling you and the vicodin makes for happy healing Ruth

Edith Maxwell said...

As one slinger to another - heal well and soon!

Susan C Shea said...

A particularly charming Catriona post today - Keep the vicotin handy for an acceptance speech some time! For now, sorry you need it and the sling thing sounds bad enough without having to type - or are you using voice recognition software? Get well soon!

Catriona McPherson said...

Thanks, guys. Writing long-hand is a revelation. I've decided against the little round table and long dress that made Jane Austen's full writing regime.

Kathy Reel said...

No, no, Catriona, you can't be broken! Thought I'd throw a dramatic reaction in, because don't we all need more drama? Hehehe! Now might be a good time to tell you that I have a present for you. No, it isn't a hobbling block. It's just a quirky little purchase that was prompted by a picture you posted and appealed to my sense of fun, which I thought would appeal to yours, too. It's very small and I will present it to you at next fall's Bouchercon. I promise it's just a wee present. Sometimes, you just come across something that is perfcet for someone.

I do hope you heal quickly, Catriona. Thanks for a post featuring two of my favorite movies, Throw Momma from the Train and Misery.