Fire post
On Fire Island for the weekend, so here’s another quick post. This one’s also from the vault, an article from Scientific American published in May. Don’t worry, it’s not for nerds. It’s for dorks like writers. Or creative people. Or something. Anyway, it could be helpful if you’re feeling uninspired. A little preview:
Julia Cameron: What drew me to working on my creativity was running into a couple of bumps. I had had a blessed decade in my 20s, and then when I got to my 30s I felt thwarted. I was writing movies and selling them to studios, but they weren’t getting made. I needed to find a way to maintain equilibrium and optimism in the face of creative despair. I fought my despair with what I call “morning pages”—three pages of longhand writing about anything: “I don’t like the way Fred talked to me at the office”; “I need to get the car checked”; “I forgot to buy kitty litter.” They don’t look like they have anything to do with creativity, but in fact, as we put these worries, which are sort of a daily soundtrack for most of us, down on the page, we are suddenly much more alert, aware, focused and available to the moment. And we begin to see that we have many creative choices. As I wrote those pages, new ideas began to walk in. Over time, I began to share the morning-pages technique with other people.
Check out the full article: How to Unleash Your Creativity.
…Michael Jackson “Thriller” joke
Quick one today. I’m leaving for New York in a few, but had to keep my daily post promise.
Google alerted me with this article about Mark Nykanen, a thriller writer. He gives a lot of pretty basic, yet invaluable, advice. Even for those who don’t write thrillers, I’d go and check it out just to have these tips burned into your brain one more time. It never hurts to re-learn, especially with writing.
Of all Nykanen’s quotes, I find this one most important:
“Don’t fall so in love with the prose that you lose sight of the story,” he adds. “In the thriller, that’s essential. Absolutely essential. Which isn’t to say that thrillers can’t be well written … but if you are so in love with your prose that you’re willing to sacrifice your story, you’re not going to be very successful, no matter what you’re doing, whether it’s a thriller or literary fiction.”
Like we discussed yesterday, you can’t let yourself get carried away with flowery language. Just tell us what happens. This, of course, goes beyond prose. I’d consider taking this approach when writing your dialog too. Nykanen’s words echo Faulkner’s, “Kill your darlings.” If you find yourself head over heels for a bit of dialog — that really clever, self-aware, “I’m so cute!” line you’ve given your protagonist — take it out back and kill it. At least convince it to commit suicide.
The dialog should serve the character, who in turn should serve the story. None of it, except the process, should serve you.
Sorry, I fell alseep in the lunchroom
Just think of that three month hiatus as the summer repeat season. And tonight, we’re back with new episodes! God, I need a grip on reality.
