tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6396788184066846681.post2281459376609805903..comments2023-06-12T13:43:01.685+01:00Comments on Icy's Blunt Pencil: How to work on your writing when not writingIcy Sedgwickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11501193571425442406noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6396788184066846681.post-75929810984270593522011-07-22T01:56:31.745+01:002011-07-22T01:56:31.745+01:00Working in the garden does it best for me. Reading...Working in the garden does it best for me. Reading. Can't call yourself a writer and NOT read.<br /><br />Totally agree with your sentiments about cinema. A successful movie has the same elements a successful novel needs: great dialogue, plausibility, tension, strong setting, well-drawn characters, etc. Smart writers watch and learn. ;-)kathrynjankowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16708011523767228663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6396788184066846681.post-35362245474327891412011-07-22T00:22:27.063+01:002011-07-22T00:22:27.063+01:00I find walking or doing something like knitting he...I find walking or doing something like knitting helps me work on my story and be productive at the same time. Also, if I'm focusing on something else and not thinking about my story, that sometimes helps me look at a problem with a fresh eye.Golden Eaglehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08721520451194318436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6396788184066846681.post-38521929382542424572011-07-21T15:56:38.354+01:002011-07-21T15:56:38.354+01:00(This may feel a bit disjointed. Writing it betwee...(This may feel a bit disjointed. Writing it between bits at work.)<br /><br />Having two degrees in Art, I have to say that absorbing what's around you is essential, even passively. It all rolls into your craft, be it art or writing. The learning is important. Ever been around a painter who talks about how it makes him 'feel' rather than talking about how his work fits into the history of impressionism through post-modernism and how it relates to.. you get the idea. He hasn't learned about his work, about his craft. He's a good bullshit artist but not a good painter.<br /><br />Anything and everything can be that critical trigger of a synapse that gets your brain going in that amazing new direction.<br /><br />And as a graphic designer and having a friend or two who were in architecture, the project changes at the whimsy of the client. <br /><br />The essence is that you are a filter (not a sponge!) for everything you see around you. If you don't know about the world, how can you create one? It's all out there for you! Use it to your advantage!<br /><br />Music and writing tend to be the times my brain figures things out. As Leah said up there, driving works very well. Night time + some industrial/EBM cranked up on the interstate at 75mph works best!snemmyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00581078984764732287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6396788184066846681.post-90139353705937790802011-07-21T15:45:04.316+01:002011-07-21T15:45:04.316+01:00Stupid Blogger commenting!!
John - I hate to argu...Stupid Blogger commenting!!<br /><br />John - I hate to argue with you but yes, architects can (and do) change projects as briefs evolve due to cost considerations, problems with planning regulations or even the site being sold between clients. They DO study new buildings when problems make themselves known. Naturally they rarely do it when the building work has started but it's not entirely unknown. I've worked among architects for the last five years and have seen this happen. My point was not to compare the professions of either architects or surgeons with writers, more to highlight the fact that no one can work entirely in isolation for their peers.<br /><br />As for film and television, I'm not saying that a person should slavishly devote themselves to writing something in the way a film or a TV show is constructed, but you can certainly learn a lot about narrative patterns and structure etc. by watching them. Also, watching something like a Shakespeare play has definite advantages over merely reading one.Icy Sedgwickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11501193571425442406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6396788184066846681.post-43537737323578140982011-07-21T15:09:20.288+01:002011-07-21T15:09:20.288+01:00The architect example doesn't hold for me. An ...The architect example doesn't hold for me. An architect does not necessarily study new buildings in the middle of making one, and certainly can't scrap or change a project she's been hired on to build. The surgeon example makes much more sense, though comparing the long stretch of writing a novel to the single event of a surgery sets up very different periods of time in which one might get abreast of the rest of the field.<br /><br />Even when composition drains me of literary energy, I still feel the urge (and even the obligation) to read. It's incredibly frustrating to be so mentally tired that I can't make it past a few pages, but 6-10 hour writing days will do that to me. Maybe it means I'm made of weak mental stuff. I do my best to supplement reading in my down time; have a massive book list, with one at the desk, one in my bag and one in the bathroom to catch up at any spare time. All the film and television I consume can help with ideas or progression in storytelling, but the mediums are so different that they can deceive you into thinking prose should operate too similarly. The classic example are amateur authors leaning too much on dialogue because they talk a lot on TV, and TV is popular.John Wiswellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07416044628686736927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6396788184066846681.post-64864595559874561812011-07-21T14:59:36.280+01:002011-07-21T14:59:36.280+01:00I "write" (think out my WIP or really wr...I "write" (think out my WIP or really write in my head the actual words and then just transcribe when I get back to the computer) when I'm driving. Especially if I have to go anywhere that's a fairly long ride. (I live in a rural area so a long ride is usually 1hr @ 60mph on a road with very little traffic.)<br /><br />Oddly, I don't think much when I knit. I think that's one reason I like it. ;) But I can't "write" while knitting.Leah Petersenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17668989627100455974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6396788184066846681.post-46584441482821313172011-07-21T14:52:35.715+01:002011-07-21T14:52:35.715+01:00Lately, I've been drawing. On one of my mad da...Lately, I've been drawing. On one of my mad days I went off and bought some Bristol paper and an art pencil kit. Haven't stopped drawing since.Carrie Clevengerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05093923008179106837noreply@blogger.com