Spring Growth
Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 10:19PM Word count: 247 Reading time: 1 min. 
As the local cherry petals drift to the ground, the rhododendrons are starting to open in a riotous display of spring colour. The other day I drove around a corner and a host of golden daffodils almost blinded me. My mistake: it was a thick carpet of dandelions.
Still it’s a season when the world seems bursting with life and new energy and I feel out of sync when my work isn’t infused with the same urgency. As usual, I turned to wiser people for help. Walter Benjamin said, “Never stop writing because you have run out of ideas. Fill the lacunae of inspiration by tidily copying out what is already written.”
I can’t find the full quote to determine whether he meant copy your own work or copy the work of masters of your craft. Some people I’ve spoken to disagree strongly with the idea of copying other people’s work; they suggested it might lead to plagiarism. On the other hand, William Hazlitt maintained that rules and models destroy genius and art.
Because I needed help, I made a decision and started copy-typing pages from Marge Piercy and Margaret Atwood. The sensation of such polished prose flowing off my fingertips invigorated me. I returned to my novel freshly inspired.
When ideas fail or your prose writhes flat and lifeless on the page, how do you encourage new growth? When you aspire to daffodils but dandelions keep invading your space, how do you get back on track?
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Photo by: Andrey Prokurononv
Reader Comments (5)
Thanks for the weekly words of encouragement, Maggie. Writing takes energy. On those days I feel none, I at least read a few pages of an energetic writer.
Allison
Yeah - just read stuff. Good stuff. But don't watch TV - that just zaps a person to the core.
I did the best thing for my weed patch today - I let myself be kidnapped and whisked south along Chuckanut Drive to La Conner Washington, particularly to the Tulip Festival. Forgot about writing for the day, although writing didn't forget about me. A tonic.
Did I mention that the bookstore in Fairhaven, the old part of Bellingham, was wonderful?
Thank you for visiting my blog, Allison & Lynn.
Maggie
Well, I'm not an author, but I do know dandelions. Don't underestimate them, they are the foundation for a wonderful wine, just takes a little work and a little time. Your works are like the dandelions, a little work and a little time and I'm sure something wonderful will develop.
Nice to see you here, Jan! Yes I'm valuing even my dandelions because they too are part of the picture!
Thanks for coming by.
Maggie