On Writing (Part 1)
A lot of writers blog about the process of writing, but I've just never spent a lot of time writing about it myself. I love writing, I really do. I'm a storyteller at heart, there are always stories and characters building in my head and fighting to make their way out. And I do have some degree of process, or have learned from experiences and others' experiences some degrees of process. And yet, I just never write much about it.
I feel odd about it sometimes. So many other writers spend gobs of time and blog posts dedicated to the art of writing. Giving a glimpse into themselves at the same time. Not to mention the mountains of Tweets on the subject (On Writing: In 140 Characters or Less).
Oh, I love talking about writing. Well, namely my own. But I think that's true of most authors. We could spend forever talking about our stuff. I could spend hours going on and on about my writing, but to talk about writing itself, I'd probably be done in 30 minutes.
And partly, I think that's the answer. I'm more interested in the stories and characters in my head, than I am the process of how I vomited them out of brain, ears, and then into words.
I'm gonna try to take some time to talk about writing. It's a new blog, though old, and it's almost a new year so I feel mildly like setting goals. Any resources I have, that I feel others could use, I'll be sure to include download links of templates and such. Templates are good.
But at the end of the day, I fear, I won't have much to add. Sometimes, my method is, well, for lack of a better term... madness.
I feel odd about it sometimes. So many other writers spend gobs of time and blog posts dedicated to the art of writing. Giving a glimpse into themselves at the same time. Not to mention the mountains of Tweets on the subject (On Writing: In 140 Characters or Less).
Talking about writing
Oh, I love talking about writing. Well, namely my own. But I think that's true of most authors. We could spend forever talking about our stuff. I could spend hours going on and on about my writing, but to talk about writing itself, I'd probably be done in 30 minutes.
And partly, I think that's the answer. I'm more interested in the stories and characters in my head, than I am the process of how I vomited them out of brain, ears, and then into words.
And yet,
I'm gonna try to take some time to talk about writing. It's a new blog, though old, and it's almost a new year so I feel mildly like setting goals. Any resources I have, that I feel others could use, I'll be sure to include download links of templates and such. Templates are good.
But at the end of the day, I fear, I won't have much to add. Sometimes, my method is, well, for lack of a better term... madness.
Hey Nathan!
ReplyDeleteJust read this. I want to write stories too. But I don't have many ideas. Perhaps I should just begin with a conversation and see where it takes me. Looking forward to more ideas from you.
Happy New Year.
Dipankar
I think that might be one of the hardest things to talk about, honestly. Having an idea, how do you describe that, and how do you give people advice on having more ideas? I don't believe when it comes to art that it's a born with it or not scenario. My next post delves a little into the idea of digging into characters, and some of that it touches on this in a way. I'm already drafting it. I may also post something directly on the topic of ideas, how I come up with them and so on. One thing in particular is that I will seek out something that embodies the mood of the type of story I'm in the mood to write. Example, music or movies that are in the mood or style I'm wanting to write in. Music is huge, though, because it gives you more freedom. Especially if music is instrumental, because there are no lyrics leading you.
ReplyDeleteDear Nathan,
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I posted one more of my poetry pieces. Part of my translation project, the idea being to introduce the Western world to the rich tradition of Bengali literature. I have tried my best to make this one universal, except for t he title. It will be unfamiliar. So, I added a footnote at the end explaining it. I did the first version prior to 2010. And now I have polished it up as well as I can and put it up. It is one of the best poems I have ever read. Here is the link: http://dipankardasgupta.com/2014/12/28/hridoypur/
Dipankar