Getting Up Off The Couch

Just finished Haven Kimmel's book She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana and you have to admire the skill with which she tells the story from the point-of-view of a pre-teen child. She never strays from the POV and never sentimentalizes the event as they occur in the child's eyes, but essentially this is the story of her mother, Delonda, who tirelessly solved problem after problem to get a college degree in 2 years. Despite her poverty, her husband's total lack of support of the idea, her oldest daughter's pregnancy, lack of transportation, and more, Delonda manages to overcome all and DO SOMETHING about her dissatisfaction with her life. An inspiring story for persistence for us all.

I was curious about how Kimmel's mother is doing now and ran across this interview with her on the Southern Scribe website, and she had this great advice for writers:

"Writing is like carrying around an empty bucket. You have to fill it up with words even if they're crap. You have to be willing to write one bad draft after other."

Now we know where "Zippy" got her tenacity and persistence. If Zippy's mom can overcome all of these things, you can fill up your bucket with words... even if they are crap.