One question I ask never gets a good answer. "Do you have any chocolate cake?"
Sometimes when I want chocolate cake I ask that, and the answer invariably disappoints me. Without conducting exhaustive surveys and studies, I'm inclined to believe it's the same for "apple pie" or most anything else that would strike my fancy. Sure, sometimes people have ice cream or candies, and that's encouraging, but it's not like anyone, ever, has some special dessert just waiting for me to ask about it.
I worked once with a guy who was taking a class in stained glass. His wife was joining him and was taking a class in cake decorating. For three months Fridays were the best day of the week. I never knew what to expect, but there was always a cake, and each successive one was the best so far!
...writing in "more"...
I'm learning something about my style, but I expect it to change in the next year. I like to write very compactly.
I think this puts people who skim at a disadvantage because they may miss, or skip over, an important, telling word. I learned to read that way in college, wrestling with philosophy, and have pretty much assumed everyone else does.
They don't.
A lot of writing, or at least a lot of mine, is all about expressing thoughts. I have a mental picture or a "notion" I want to put on the page, and I spend a lot of time trying to get it "just right." The raw idea can be written in a moment, but describing it artfully takes me a lot of time. This is one of the reasons why I'm successful at NaNo, or any other first draft, but I may be lacking when it comes to writing decently.
I like making things better, but like so many, never know when to stop.
But that's not the point.
Recently, The Angler has been wondering about quantity. I checked back with my friend Cybele (who never tires of answering my dumb questions), and she sent me, once again, this list.
Leaving aside the one plot idea, which has gotten me into trouble before, there's sixty-seven stories wating to be told (3+7+20+37).
It's now my intent to write one story featuring each of the plots.
Another Entry About Food
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1 comments:
I just finished reading a novel by an old lit prof. In a note he sent after I told him I was reading the book, he said that he wrote the book in the order it appears in print. He shaped it three or four times during successive revisions. If I adopt this model, I might not ever have to think about the quantity question again. I just write and when I'm done with something I'll move on to the next one--step and repeat.
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