tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post2263058638375821247..comments2023-06-15T09:13:45.467-04:00Comments on Liberty's Torch: What Do You Care About?Francis W. Porrettohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05862584203772592282noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-40584867882354001652019-01-06T17:23:25.829-05:002019-01-06T17:23:25.829-05:00I've never attempted a work of fiction or a co...I've never attempted a work of fiction or a comprehensive anything of non-fiction. Non-fiction acquires a momentum of its own as, for me, it becomes an intriguing process of polishing and refining.<br /><br />Mencken's idea is probably the bottom line: Writing is easy. You just sit there at your typewriter until little drops of blood appear on your forehead. However, I did for a brief moment experience what I thought was true inspiration once when I put together a stand up comedy routine for an office party. The ideas truly seemed to flow out of me effortlessly. It's as though they came from somewhere remote from my conscious mind. Never repeated in any intellectual endeavor of mine since, alas, but something to think about.<br /><br />I think for me the most important thing to do is ask what problem am I trying to solve? It's an approach to any aspect of life but no less so if the objective is to produce a written work.<br /><br />I do think I could maybe start with a sentence such as, "He sat reading his book at one of the tables outside his favorite coffee shop when something caught his eye." Just start is probably the operating principle here but I think it's likely to stall out without a real plan. If a few paragraphs help formulate a plot, that's great, but just continuing to write down stray ideas is probably a formula for really hard work ahead and eventual frustration.<br /><br />The movie "Multiplicity" has always delighted me. Start with the premise of easy duplication of yourself and the story almost writes itself.<br /><br />I attended a workshop years ago where it was demonstrated that a large group is better at problem solving than a small group or an individual. People play off of each other in a fun way that the smaller group does not. I don't know how that can be made to work for an individual author but perhaps the thing to avoid is becoming bogged down in one's too-narrow view of one's work. Col. B. Bunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09590364016079745156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6557458849091969678.post-30970710540588765962019-01-03T14:34:03.812-05:002019-01-03T14:34:03.812-05:00While I appreciate what I've learned from Mad ...While I appreciate what I've learned from Mad Genius Club and According to Hoyt, I have to disagree with the idea that "not painful" is good enough. There is a point at which you have to accept that most of your writing is not perfect, but that shouldn't keep you from making the effort to make it "as good as it can be, given time constraints".Linda Foxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15024201252345608291noreply@blogger.com