tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post167396179878808417..comments2023-10-11T14:18:03.816+01:00Comments on Works Well: Forget the grumbles; this is what countsRoderick Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-54019490508328539032011-02-02T15:15:32.599+00:002011-02-02T15:15:32.599+00:00All: Writing prose is different from composing mus...All: Writing prose is different from composing music, painting a picture or creating a poem. After a burst of imagination has run out, the author may continue the story by tacking on banalities which fit the sequence but which are neither going anywhere, nor adding anything to what has gone before. And the reader will quickly recognise these self-evident non-sequiturs.<br /><br />More interesting is what goes on in the author's head having reached this point and needing to continue the story. Theoretically the range of options is infinite. But in testing the possibilities the author instinctively recognises the duff ones via a curious dullness or deadness emanating from them. This isn't right, says a voice, though it would be extremely difficult to rationalise or explain this sensation. I suppose authors should just be grateful.<br /><br />M-L: With writing, false starts are eliminated with the Delete key. But with the visual arts I assume false starts are marked by an increasingly high pile of paper. Does there come a time when the pile is so high it (to mix metaphors) points an accusing finger and the temptation to compromise becomes almost unbearable?<br /><br />Hattie: I take your point with its implied defect; there is a limit to the number of characters one may add, ad hoc, to solve such problems. Someone who read my previous book recently mentioned the disappearance of a character I had introduced to achieve two separate lengths of dialogue with the joint central character, She had found this added character interesting whereas I hadn't and the situation remains unresolved as (I'm presuming) publishers' readers are presently assessing the MS.<br /><br />DO: I have never opted for this walking technique though yesterday and today, in picking up the paper, the novel was very much on my mind and I was able to concentrate on it in just the way you describe. Logically I could take a turn round a large open area close to our house but I fear constructive thought would be at the mercy of imminent dog doo.<br /><br />Plutarch: Exactly. And this is the thesis: if something can be chopped out easily then do it, if chopping it out creates problems consider instead addition.Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-15838250087276417322011-02-02T10:52:35.343+00:002011-02-02T10:52:35.343+00:00Your moment of inspiration is well described. It i...Your moment of inspiration is well described. It is another instance of how you can edit and improve a text by adding rather than taking away something.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06972049290586377462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-31583469309847374542011-02-01T21:57:23.473+00:002011-02-01T21:57:23.473+00:00Whenever I have a writing problem I walk. I don...Whenever I have a writing problem I walk. I don't quite understand that connection between the feet and the writing brain, but I know it is there.DuchessOmniumhttp://www.duchessomnium.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-25921825661793685672011-02-01T21:48:07.740+00:002011-02-01T21:48:07.740+00:00It is wonderful to create worlds this way. Sometim...It is wonderful to create worlds this way. Sometimes when I'm reading I pick up on where the author has introduced a character to solve a problem, just the way you have.<br />I love the way fiction works.Hattiehttp://hattie.typepad.com/hatties_web/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-58793329508879387852011-02-01T19:36:49.900+00:002011-02-01T19:36:49.900+00:00Those supposedly accidental finds and solutions ar...Those supposedly accidental finds and solutions are what make the creative act so satisfying! And that's what happened to your braces too! Nice connection.marja-leenahttp://www.marja-leena-rathje.infonoreply@blogger.com