Here’s a poem from the Southern Indiana Writers Group‘s anthology MOST WANTED.
The Part of My Brain That Wants to Sell My Writing
by
Marian Allen
The part of my brain that wants to sell my writing
is the part I want to destroy.
If I could send a bullet
into that pocket, bulge, or fold,
the pistol would be
in my mouth
now.
If I could stick a straw
up my nostril
and inhale a drug
that would fry
just that piece of my mind,
I would be snorting
even as I write.
Come, Science! Come
with your lasers
your scalpels
your manuscript
uptake inhibitors!
Smother, strangle,
mangle, excise, alter,
blast or burn
the urge
to sell.
Kinda grim, eh? Some days I just feel that way, though. Other days, I’m like: Hi! Buy ALL THE BOOKS! 😀
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: Write about a character who becomes unutterably weary of selling — or attempting to sell — something.
MA
Jane
September 29, 2014 at 8:36amI get it. Rest up, friend. Then go forth and SELL!!
I already know you don’t WRITE with an eye to selling. You always write a story the way it needs to go, not with some imaginary publisher in mind, sitting there like a wizened gnome on your shoulder. That’s what gives your fiction its unique panache.
And I still like the story about the wild cow just the way it is.
Marian Allen
September 29, 2014 at 11:49amThanks for the vote of confidence. And, as for the wild cow story, Bossy says to tell you — well, I can’t repeat it here without a content warning, but the CLEAN version is, “Damn straight!” lol