I’m Joanne Miller Waldron, and Write Something You Love is my blog. Its purpose is to discuss writing, but I may share other tidbits from time to time. I owe special thanks to Elsa Schneider, “artiste du dimanche” (translation: spare time painter), for the picture of the Ampersand Cafe and Bookstore in Sydney that she has graciously allowed me to use here.

I want to share how I came up with the name Write Something You Love for this blog. My son was lucky enough to study with Klara Berkovich, an iconic violin teacher from Russia, who had the highest standards imaginable. She always used to say, “Do something you love.” When my son had finished performing a piece that he’d prepared for a lesson, she’d ask, “Did you love it?” In this manner, she taught him to analyze his own playing. The idea was to continue working on a piece of music until he could say that he loved it. My son took the principles he learned from his violin teacher and applied them to many other disciplines. I believe these principles can be applied to writing, as well. Just as great musicians must be able to evaluate their own playing, writers must also be able to evaluate their writing objectively. So, when I speak of writing something that you love, I don’t mean writing about gardening if you enjoy plants. My goal is to work on a piece of writing until I can say honestly that I love it. If a passage I’ve written doesn’t feel quite right, I’ll put it away until I have an idea about how to fix it. I know a piece of writing is finished when I feel happy about it.

I invite you to grab a cup of hot tea or other favorite beverage, and join me on my writing journey. I’ll begin with a favorite quote from the Gilmore Girls series:

“I live in two worlds. One is a world of books. I’ve been a resident of Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County, hunted the white whale aboard the Pequod, fought alongside Napoleon, sailed a raft with Huck and Jim, committed absurdities with Ignatius J. Reilly, rode a sad train with Anna Karenina, and strolled down Swann’s Way.”

— Rory Gilmore, The Gilmore Girls

I’ve discovered that the best writers are avid readers. I believe one of the best ways to become a better writer is to read as many examples of great writing as possible. According to Australian writer Patrick Lenton, there were 339 books referenced on the Gilmore Girls series. Even if you didn’t watch the series, take a look at Rory Gilmore’s reading list challenge. How many of these books have you read? Share in the comments below. Have any of the books referenced influenced your writing? Comments are moderated in order to keep the blog respectable and spam-free. Thanks for your patience.

Until next time,

Write something you love! — Joanne

WriteSomethingYouLove.com