tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post3885000546023560798..comments2023-11-05T05:01:58.563-05:00Comments on Ward Six: ProcessUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-92183068677523543602008-06-05T15:02:00.000-05:002008-06-05T15:02:00.000-05:00Just because writers love process it doesn't mean ...Just because writers love process it doesn't mean it's always a pretty love. Sometimes it's the gotta-go-brush-my-teeth-even-thought-I'm-wiped-out-before-bed-so-I-don't-stink-like-garlic-for-my-spouse kind of love.Kate Evanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16478737570632377733noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-23006001515480110482008-06-04T15:12:00.000-05:002008-06-04T15:12:00.000-05:00I think that process is that state of flow that yo...I think that process is that state of flow that you have to be into for your reader to get into it. If you don't, the reader won't. But then of course there is that detached, analytical non- or semi-process step of editing. It's a different part of the brain.xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17866348942612559536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-70227670343104869382008-06-04T13:46:00.000-05:002008-06-04T13:46:00.000-05:00I think the writing process is the best antidote f...I think the writing process is the best antidote for being a control freak (and what writer isn't a bit of a control freak?). Once you give yourself over to following the words, you take yourself by surprise. That's the best part for me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-67785317476064804532008-06-04T13:24:00.000-05:002008-06-04T13:24:00.000-05:00I dunno. I really love that initial flash of an i...I dunno. I really love that initial flash of an idea and then I get kind of depressed over the reality that now I have to write it...then I move into elation as I do the writing, thinking I'm getting it, only to discover upon reading the rough draft that it doesn't live up to the original idea at all. Then I put it away for a long time, vow never to write on that topic again, curse myself for having had the idea in the first place....and then I get another idea....and the whole thing starts again and somewhere along the way I pull out the horrid draft of the first idea, and begin revising, rewriting, shredding if necessary, then rewriting -- and along the way I find I'm having a ball -- until the bugger's done, and I can't remember any of the angst. <BR/><BR/>So, yeah, process is the biggest part of the "fun" of writing, but then again, I love that initial burst of an idea, which if only I'd be smart enough to leave alone....<BR/><BR/>Did anyone say "vicious cycle"?Lisa Romeohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01522310766694189857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-72538765263978838172008-06-04T11:23:00.000-05:002008-06-04T11:23:00.000-05:00YES! I'm in a writing group of post-grad writers, ...YES! I'm in a writing group of post-grad writers, a few of us have MFAs, and I try to stress the process rather than the end result. I feel like young writers especially focus so much on getting published, whether it be freelance work or pushing forth work that they feel isn't up to par, simply to see their name in print. <BR/><BR/>It sounds a bit hippie/bohemian-ish but I remind them of the early French poets who used to write poems and then burn them because they were more concerned with creating a piece of art every day rather than the end result.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-48056199051507358802008-06-04T08:01:00.000-05:002008-06-04T08:01:00.000-05:00I do like sentences, though. A fresh, strong, funn...I do like sentences, though. A fresh, strong, funny, clear sentence is sometimes enough to make the world seem worth it.rmellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03133206908895131438noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-41078548553773613312008-06-04T06:44:00.000-05:002008-06-04T06:44:00.000-05:00Hey yeah I remember that Annie Dillard thing! I'v...Hey yeah I remember that Annie Dillard thing! I've always liked that, "You have to like sentences."<BR/><BR/>I don't have a darkroom--oddly there are no rooms in our house without windows. I just load the film in a lightproof zipper bag, develop it in a small tank, and send out scans for printing. But I'd love to get an enlarger someday.<BR/><BR/>As for Rhian...you know what they say about opposites...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-12480504026583060092008-06-04T01:47:00.000-05:002008-06-04T01:47:00.000-05:00Hmmm... I like writing, but I really like having w...Hmmm... I like writing, but I really like having written. The two things are pretty much simultaneous, or at least very close together, so I don't have to distinguish. What I really don't like is the not-yet-writing, the knotty feeling I get when I'm still trying to work out what it is I'm trying to do, and why, etc.<BR/><BR/>Still, it beats working.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-44883028456590401792008-06-03T20:51:00.000-05:002008-06-03T20:51:00.000-05:00There is nothing like being in the dark room. It c...There is nothing like being in the dark room. It can be a tedious process, but it's a beautiful craft. I took three photography courses over past summers just for the dark room access. I lived with my folks who weren't keen to let me create my own in the basement. The dark room process is very close to writing. You fail a lot. Often, you have to keep re-trying exposure times or may have left the print in the developer for too long. Also, it's a place of experimentation like making photograms or tinting or sponging developer.<BR/><BR/>In the "Writing Life" by Annie Dillard, she talks about a time she went to hear some famous writer speak and a person in the crowd asked the writer what would make a person a good writer. the writer tells the questioner that "you have to like sentences" and it was similar to a painter needing to love the smell of paint.(um, it may've went something like that) Anyway, I really thought deeply about the need to love the process, to enjoy the constant struggle in rearranging words.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2046663689477874544.post-41301514864581455612008-06-03T18:38:00.000-05:002008-06-03T18:38:00.000-05:00I would like my story ideas to float from my head ...I would like my story ideas to float from my head to the page with no effort from me. Then I could enjoy them, and cackle over them, instead of being reminded how bloody difficult the whole process was. <BR/><BR/>You and I are kind of like opposites.rmellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03133206908895131438noreply@blogger.com