Sometimes the words aren’t there. When the empty page, or blinking cursor begin to mock me, I remind myself to step away for a bit. I take the dog for a long sniffy stroll. Make a cup of coffee. Do a mindless but satisfying chore like fold laundry or empty the dishwasher. That can help. But not always. Sometimes I come back to an even longer empty page, and a more annoying blinking cursor. Then whatever project I’m working on feels impossible to complete.
I’ve been drafting a contracted curriculum piece on forgiveness for what seems like forever. Today I am stuck on one paragraph, in one section, in one of four sessions. There is plenty more yet to write, but I’ve stalled, and now the whole project feels insurmountable. I’ve taken the dog out. I’ve had my allotment of caffeine. I even took a drive to the pharmacy, and I still can’t get this section written. I’m starting to wonder how I can possibly write another 20-30 pages on forgiveness before my deadline.
Ever been there?
writing one true sentence
I’m reminding myself of something Ernest Hemingway said in A Moveable Feast.
“The writer’s job is to tell the truth,” he said. When he was stuck in his writing, he recalls, “I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, ‘Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now. All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.’ So finally I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there. It was easy then because there was always one true sentence that I knew or had seen or had heard someone say.“
Surely I can write one sentence about forgiveness. Instead of focusing on the whole length of the project, I just need to write the truest sentence I know. This seems like a good practice for writing as a spiritual practice. One true sentence.
reading one true sentence
I’m also learning to read for one true sentence, so I can recognize them when I see them.
I first learned about the practice of sharing the #SundaySentence on Twitter. The original curator, David Abrams, describes it like this: “Simply put, the best sentence(s) I’ve read this past week, presented out of context and without commentary.” Looking for the best and truest sentence is helping me slow my reading down, and savor it, rather than inhale it.
Here’s my #SundaySentence from the past week:
“To what end, he wondered, had the Divine created the stars in heaven to fill a man with feelings of inspiration one day and insignificance the next?”
Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow
a writing prompt
Write one true sentence.
Don’t overthink it. Just write the truest thing you know right now. Maybe you will feel inspired to write more after. Or maybe one true sentence is enough for now.
