Marble Canvass

I work well with word pictures. My mind dances around pictures and words as art - but I learn from these pictures; about who I am, about where I'm going, about how I can help others.

I find a blank piece of paper or a blank document on my computer exhilarating - full of possibilities. I don't see a daunting task, rather an opportunity.

I have noticed, though, that writing is different from other art forms. Not that I am an expert on all things artistic. I picture part of the process of writing as chipping away at a marble slab. Michelangelo, the creator of the renaissance masterpiece "David", once answered a question about the process of creating such a beautiful work of art. When asked how he accomplished such a task he simply (or maybe even comically) answered, "I just chipped away anything that was not David."

Profound.

The problem, or rather process, a writer faces is that I don't get to start with a marble slab. I have to create the marble slab and then chip away at everything that isn't "True Grace." I start with a blank document and must fill the empty spaces with something to chip away at.

I admire the writers that have forged the way ahead of me. I can glean from their insight, learn from their struggles and hopefully curtail much of the needlessly painful process.

And fill those empty spaces I am doing. I read through the rough, raw and imperfect and see such possibility. I see a lot of what is and isn't True Grace, but I refrain from hacking away just yet. There is much of the story to still be told.