Words to Write By, Plus Something About Salad

The following words have kept me going these past few weeks. I don't know where I ran across them—little torpedoes of useful and not-so-useful information come at us every which way these days. For all I know, they were on bumperstickers or someone's t-shirt. So, the first is a challenge:

Dare to suck.

Yes, of course! It's not like a choir of angels began to sing when I read the words, but there's no denying that the tension in my shoulders eased up considerably and I thought, "I can do that! I can totally suck!" It's still writing, after all. Even if it's sucky writing.

The second was a simple statement:

An idea is not a story.

Hmmm. Good point. Excellent point. When you start out with "I have this idea..." it's just not going to go anywhere. Because, really, stories don't come from the same place as ideas. This is difficult to remember, especially during a rough spot when you start wracking your brain for answers. I know it's a cliché, but if you're looking for answers, aim a little lower and to the left. If that's unsuccessful, try your solar plexus.

~~*~~*~~*~~*~~* An Aside ~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*

Doesn't it drive you crazy when someone orders a salad and then, when the waitperson places it in front of them, they hoist their fork and start to stab at it with a Norman Bates-like enthusiasm, every movement producing that horrible clacking sound of fork on porcelain? This is especially true when it's a composed salad of some kind, and the diner feels they need to have one cherry tomato, one chunk of feta, one cucumber, one leaf of romaine, and one slice of chicken breast in every single bite.

Take it easy on the salad, everyone. The salad has never done anything to you.