My son asked me to solve his Rubik’s Cube today. As I worked on it, I decided that solving a Rubik’s Cube is a lot like writing a book or song. My two passions.
(I’ve loved puzzles since I was a kid, so bear with the random analogy here.)
1) You begin with all the pieces in a jumbled mess. It’s colorful, with great potential, but entirely overwhelming.
If you stand back and look at it, you think, No way. I can’t do this!
2) But…you start playing around with it anyway, and a few things fall into place–some by design, some by accident. You decide you’re not doing too badly on your own. In fact, you might even get a little cocky.
Oh, yeah. I totally got this.
But then…
3) One wrong move and you’re stuck. Completely stuck. And quite frankly, making it worse.
You feel like you’re going backwards.
4) So you turn to the professionals. You look to others who have done it before you, and suddenly, you have all these ideas and tricks you can use to pull things together.
5) So you work. Watch. And work some more.
6) Suddenly, things start coming together, and you think you just might solve this after all.
You’re SOOOO close.
7) A few last tweaks, and it’s done. You stand back, look at it, and think, How the heck did I just do that? But you already know. A lot of hard work. Some ideas and tips from others who’ve done it before you, and BAM!
A masterpiece.
What a blast!
8) The best part is that every time after that first time gets a little easier, a little faster.
I’ve solved a Rubik’s Cube five times. Yes, I’m counting. And I’m about to finish my fourth polished novel. I’m definitely counting those. Liberty, book 2 of Citizens of Logan Pond, is on step 6 of this process. It’s so close, and all the pieces are finally coming together. Yahoo!
So…
I’m here to tell you that it’s possible. Rubik’s Cubes. Writing. All of it. Don’t give up mid-puzzle. Keep going.
It’s worth it.
If you want to learn how to solve a Rubik’s Cube, turn to youtube, my friends. You can solve any problem on youtube, right? 🙂 Here’s the video I used today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvhKNXHQqyM
If you want to learn to write a book or song, hang out online, talk to other writers, follow them on twitter, facebook, and my personal favorite spot for tips, Pinterest. You can find me any of those places in my social links above.
HAPPY PUZZLE SOLVING!
What about you? Any fun, quick tips on Rubik’s Cubes or writing? Any other random writing analogies you want to share? 🙂
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