I nightly enjoy another episode of Outlander and I'm awestruck by its brilliance (except for one or two episodes out of dozens), about how they lift the everyday into the extraordinary. They’re always elevating things to the profound by invoking standing stones, oceans, the passage of time, life and death, etc. There’s also a lot of blood (because she’s a surgeon, and because of battles) and sex, which seems to ground everything into the most basic and relevant things. I am daily humiliated by the brilliance of what Diana Gabaldon has done, and I think every day. Ditto The Weight of Ink, the book that Unlocked might have been. I can either give up and feel bad that I’m not as talented and skilled as those authors are, or I can make it happen with the best I’ve got. That’s how I get back to my desk every day.
In other words, feeling your pain, and seconding it.
I’m also really aware that it’s not appropriate for all works to constantly hark back to that level of the elements, eternity, profundity, etc. Every work is different, so there’s plenty of room for us to create our own blend of brilliance... :-)
Strength, patience, and perseverance to us all!
Storm Petrel
