http://www.wordsworth-editions.com/blog/virginia-woolf-1941

Confused by sun, which shone like a red fire,
I  dressed for summer, made myself a meal
I sat outside and now I feel quite dire.

My husband  was  a gentleman and liar
He told me  he was warmer than  hot steel;
We sinned, seduced by sun, which raged like fire.

My mind’s made up; his ashes are for hire.
I need the cash to  get this cold to heal
I  ate outside and now I feel quite dire.

My eyes are red and no-one them admires.
I miss the cat, shall I adopt a seal?
Bemused by men, whose eyes watch me on fire,

I loved online and it was but satire.
He spun my mind and then he spun the wheel.
I loved outside and now I feel right queer.

My mind and heart are broken and concealed
No man will  see my body on newsreels
Made mad by men who claimed to be on fire,
I lay outside and now I feel desired.

Attention in the moment gives us grace
To lose our self in seeing brings us peace.
We see the most when we are most effaced

Life is  a strong tapestry of lace
The little threads connect and never cease
Attention  to each  moment  brings us grace

A friend who never doubts, we can’t embrace.
They make  themselves more boring than a beast
We hear the most when we are most effaced

A friend who’s open gives our hearts solace.
With these, we share the wine, enjoy a feast
Attention  to each  moment  brings us grace

We will  meet our  lovers as we play;
Who notices the details, most and least.
We feel the most when we are most effaced

In our soul, we feel the spring release.
Guarded by attention, not police.
Attention in the moment, that is grace
We see the most when we are most effaced

 

 

 

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/may/20/what-makes-bad-writing-bad-toby-litt

“Bad writers often believe they have very little left to learn, and that it is the literary world’s fault that they have not yet been recognised, published, lauded and laurelled. It is a very destructive thing to believe that you are very close to being a good writer, and that all you need to do is keep going as you are rather than completely reinvent what you are doing. Bad writers think: “I want to write this.” Good writers think: “This is being written.”

To go from being a competent writer to being a great writer, I think you have to risk being – or risk being seen as – a bad writer. Competence is deadly because it prevents the writer risking the humiliation that they will need to risk before they pass beyond competence. To write competently is to do a few magic tricks for friends and family; to write well is to run away to join the circus.

Your friends and family will love your tricks, because they love you. But try busking those tricks on the street. Try busking them alongside a magician who has been doing it for 10 years, earning their living. When they are watching a magician, people don’t want to say, “Well done.” They want to say, “Wow.”

At worst, on a creative writing course, the tutor will be able to show you how to do some magic tricks; at best, they will teach you how to be a good magician; beyond that, though, is doing magic – and that you will have to learn for yourself. For what a tutor can’t show you is how to do things you shouldn’t be able to do.”