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9 February 2007, 1:02 AM The grooveI've been writing little stories to put in the Valentine's day cards I'm sending to some of my friends. I've been failing so far in my "write more" campaign--at least till now--so I'm fascinated at how much more quickly I'm able to pick up writing again than after my last hiatus. The last one, granted, was at least five years long. And I hadn't done much serious fiction writing, even then. But I thought the process would be similar: a lot of starts and stops, waiting for the right words, constantly editing even though I know I shouldn't. But it's completely different. I feel...like my thought processes, at least the ones not related to physics, are writerly. So even in terms of social thinking, I tend to "practice" conversations, which is an awful lot like writing a story with real people as characters. And the exercise of writing these little stories for my friends is less like laboring to come up with something that works, and more like becoming aware again that I can capture these fleeting bits of fancy my brain creates all the time. I'll be sitting somewhere, think, "Oh, that would make a nice bit of a story," and there's a beat before I remember that--oh yes! I CAN write it down! And because I'm trying to write now, in a way I haven't had time to for a while, that's more...directed than it was before. It also feels pleasantly like cleaning out cobwebs from my mind. Thus wrote Melanie in the categories:
Writing
9 September 2005, 12:09 AM Short Story WritingI don't claim to have a lot of experience editing short stories--I'm still new on the workshop, of course, and I've had some but not a lot of experience in class. One thing I've noticed, though, possibly because of that inexperience, is a proliferation of stories which read like outlines. Some of them are like this a bit, with spaces of description in between vivid scenes; others are nothing but related action. I suppose I can't really talk, because the short story I just sent off a couple of weeks ago is 3/4 the protag relating how this situation got about and only about 1/4 current action; but I hope the narration was at least engaging. So, questions: 1. Is this because some writers try to fit novel-sized plots in short stories, rather than taking stories which are more innately suited to the short story form? 2. Is this because it's the mode of most people to start writing as a teller (not the comedian) and only gradually to move into a shower (not the bathroom fixture), and I've just found people who are part of the way there? 3. Is this because I suck as a reader of short stories? 4. How many licks does it take....er, sorry, different area of expertise required. Thus wrote Melanie in the categories:
Writing
17 August 2005, 2:08 PM WorkshoppingIt's funny how nervous I get about my writing. When I woke up this morning, I thought, "Oooh! I should go check if the story I posted last night on OWW got any reviews!" Two hours after coming downstairs, I finally check my email. I'm still trying to get up the courage to look at the actual review. Well, I get this nervous about everything, I guess. I need to know but I'm just so worried that it'll be bad... Thus wrote Melanie in the categories:
Writing
1 July 2005, 2:07 AM Music associationsI've just been going through my collection of instrumental or non-English-or-French vocal music, assigning categories to all the songs. (I don't speak French well, but I know just enough that hearing occasional words will drive me nuts.) Anyway...I had a point...oh yes. I'm fascinated that every single piece by the Canadian Brass makes me think of mid-1800s society. See, I used to watch the 1994 version of Little Women all the time, and the score is very heavy on brass. Took me a while to figure that out, though. It's rare that I have such strong associations, but I can't stand any brass except the highest quality--the thing I hated most about percussion was always sitting behind the trumpets. Oh, and a capella with a wide range of voice parts will always be Church Music to me. I don't know why, as I never attended church and wasn't a great fan of spiritual works; I think it may have had something to do with the choice of music in all the choirs in which I sang. So, the short version of this is, when I'm writing spiritual stories, or stories set in a world similar to mid-1800s Western society...the songs on the soundtrack are ALL GOING TO SOUND THE SAME. Hee. Thus wrote Melanie in the categories:
Writing
30 June 2005, 12:06 AM A tribute to lazinessIn this month's Discover magazine, there's a short entry in the Flash column of the R&D section on a study that was done on problem-solving skills vs. position. Apparently, you can solve problems faster when you're lying down; even the minor effort involved in sitting or standing triggers the release of norephinephrine, a stress hormone. I'm assuming this means you'd be better at other cognitive skills, too. So I'm feeling a little more justified in my recent purchase of a laptop--since apparently it isn't just my imagination that I write better prone. :> Of course, I'm also a little puzzled at the entry two down from that blurb, which states that researchers say overweight people have a lower risk of death than average-weight people. That's the literal phrase. "Lower risk of death." What, immortals are more likely to be obese? (Insert your own joke about Buddha figurines here.) I suddenly want to write a story on that. "Well, I'm never going to die, so I might as well indulge in my vices...mmm, chocolate!" Usually when I've seen this done it's smoking. Or alternately, "Scientist proves death-defying power of Popsicles!" Also, further to yesterday's bit on LHoD, has anyone noticed the similarity between Estraven and estrange? (This is probably because I pronounce "Estraven" as ess-TRAY-ven, rather than ESS-truh-ven, like everybody else I know.) However, Ursula Le Guin has said before that the similarity between Ged and God came as a complete surprise to her when someone mentioned it years later; this, I think, would be the same. Thus wrote Melanie in the categories:
Reading
, Writing
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