Which Comes First, the Story or the Theme?
Posted: September 26, 2016 Filed under: Fiction, Movies, Screenwriting, Writing | Tags: Creative Fiction, Fiction, Screenwriting, Writing, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
I asked Robin to do a post on theme for last week’s Writing Memo, as a compliment to my post here. She did a great job of explaining what theme is and how to bring it out in your story. She talked about how to identify your theme, how to bring your theme out in your writing and how multiple themes can be, and often are, woven into a single story. After reading her post, it sounded so easy.
One of the most difficult parts of writing, for me, is determining what my story’s theme is. The theme is what your story or screenplay is really about, and it isn’t always obvious. Often you really have to think about the story as a whole and look for the underlying theme. Or at least, I do.
Die Hard is a story about a man, John McClane, (Bruce Willis), trying to save his marriage, but when her office party is taken hostage, it becomes a story about survival – survival of the good guys, as well as survival of the marraige. (Yes, I see the irony in the fact that Robin and I both chose to use Die Hard in our examples.) Survival is what the story is really about.
Lethal Weapon may be a buddy cop movie about the two cops getting the bad guys, but Roger Murtaugh, (Danny Glover), is struggling with aging and his approaching retirement, and his partner, Martin Riggs, (Mel Gibson), is struggling with the loss of his wife and certain suicidal urges. Dealing with aging and the end of life is what the movie is really about. But the underlying theme is not always easy to pick up on under all the shoot ’em up, good guy – bad guy stuff.
While pursuing my screenwriting emphasis for my M.F.A., one of the things that I was taught was how to breakdown the structure of a movie into different parts, or beats. My professor and screenwriting advisor, J.S. Mayank, had us use the structure model presented in the Save the Cat books by Blake Snyder. Professor Mayank had us watch a lot of movies and read a whole lot of screenplays and break their structures down, and one of the things I learned from this, is that in almost every movie, one of the characters states the theme in their dialog, usually by page five. As a general rule, it’s true. And if you can figure out what the movie is really about, you can put your finger on which line of dialog that is, however, that’s not always an easy thing to do.
For one
thing, the line of dialog that states the theme usually doesn’t do it outright. To do so would make the dialog feel forced, untrue to what the character would say. For instance, the line that states the theme in Lethal Weapon is, “Your beard is getting gray. It makes you look old.” Coming from Roger Murtaugh’s daughter, as his family serves his 50th Birthday Cake while he takes a bath works well, but it doesn’t come out and say, “You’re getting ready to retire and your life is coming to an end. How are you going to deal with it?” It’s said and gone, and most viewers probably didn’t even catch that it was the theme stated unless they were looking for it.
These exercises in screenwriting were very helpful to me, but they required that I view movies in a whole new way. (We did a similar thing in my genre fiction classes, dissecting different novels to see what methods the authors used to portray their stories and how effective they are. And when you critique as you read, it’s a lot different than just reading to enjoy the story.) Most people watch movies for entertainment, right? I always had. But when you are doing structure analysis, you have to concentrate more on how it’s put together than you do on what happens in the story. And to figure out what the theme is, you have to watch, or read in the case of screenplays, with a philosophical eye to discover what the story is really about.
Th
at’s where I had problems, especially when I was watching the actual movie, rather than reading the screenplay. I always sat down to watch a movie and immediately immersed myself in the story. Before I knew it, I would look up and realize the first five pages of script must be long past and I had failed to identify the line of dialog in which the theme was stated. It was the thing with reading screenplays. I found myself reading and re-reading those first five pages, searching desperately for the line that would tell me what the whole movie was about. I didn’t understand how I could be expected to pick out a line of dialog that stated what the movie was really about before I’d read the entire screenplay. And the sad thing is, I was no better at picking out theme in my own writing and writing a line of dialog to state it.
Here’s where I digress from Robin. You cannot decide what you want your theme to be and then write a story to fit. At least, I can’t. It won’t work. For me, theme must evolve from the story naturally, not the other way around.
When I decided to write, Bonnie, my screenplay for my thesis, I thought I was writing a story about two young kids who chose to live on the wrong side of the law in order to cope with the circumstances of living in the depression. But Bonnie is different than other renditions of the Bonnie and Clyde story, because it is told from Bonnie’s perspective, and before I had finished it, I found that what it is really about is Bonnie’s love for Clyde. Their love is my underlying theme. Just as love is the underlying theme in a story about a huge ocean liner that hit an iceberg and sank into the ocean, sending most of the passengers to their deaths. And just as it worked for James Cameron, when he wrote Titanic, I think it works for Bonnie. Love is what it is really about, the underlying theme.
The point here is, I didn’t set out to write a story about a young girl’s amazing love. That is what evolved from my story about a young couple’s choice to embark on a life of crime. Love was Bonnie’s motivation. Undying love was my theme and I didn’t even know it until I was more than halfway through writing the screenplay. This is why I say theme is the most difficult part of writing for me, whether I’m writing a novel or a screenplay.
But, I still say writing to the theme is more difficult. The theme must emerge naturally from the story, whether you’re writing for the page or the screen. If I just write the story, being true to my characters, the theme will come to the surface of its own accord. But, that’s me. Obviously, it’s different for Robin, who likes to identify her theme before she begins the story and finds ways to bring the theme out. Which comes first for you?
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“Godling and Other Paint Stories”: Contemplate the Meanings
Posted: September 23, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Stories | Tags: Book Review, Books, Creative Fiction, Fiction, Godling, Jeff Bowles 3 Comments
Godling and Other Paint Stories, by Jeff Bowles, is a collection of six short stories all thematically tied together by a very thin thread of paint, or more specifically, colors. In the ingenious mind behind these stories, it probably doesn’t seem far-fetched that paints would be self-aware, or that dogs could evolve into thinking talking animals with human-looking lips, but your average reader will take a look at these stories and say, “Wow!” But one thing these stories will make readers do, is ponder possibilities, because frankly, as an author with a God-thing going on, Bowles conceives of some really heavy concepts, the kind that really make you think.
The collection starts out with Godling, a science fiction tale of a God machine, which gave up its humanity for love, and may, or may not, be able to reunite to become whole once more. (With short stories, you really can’t have spoiler alerts, because they give away the whole thing, so you’ll have to read the story to find out what happens.)
Next is Traffic Patterns, a tale of a sentient traffic light that is granted godhood, for a time. And, Making Paint as a Means of Impermanence is filled with some truly disturbing images of how an attempt to gain immortality turns into an ever renewing ritual to maintain an impermeable existence. Wild Dogs of Buffalo is a canine Godfather, excuse me, I meant Dog Father. Anyway, I love it. It’s a truly entertaining read.
God, the Little Artist – An artist’s heaven. This is not the first time that author Bowles has killed God off in his stories. The main character is Mr. Williams. As in Robin? That’s what I kept picturing in my mind as I read this story. Robin Williams talking to the large baby God whose time is running out, as if perhaps God ages backward. When I’d finished, all I could think was Robin Williams as God. Now that’s scary. But, maybe it’s just me. (No spoiler alerts. Again read the story.)
Dr. Julianus Techt’s 5 Easy Steps to Building a Better You is an instruction manual on how to sell your soul in order to improve on God’s handiwork, which is you. Only Jeff Bowles would create such a story. As you read these stories, when you come to this last, do not… I repeat, DO NOT try this at home.
Godling and Other Paint Stories will be released on Amazon on September 25th, 2016. I highly recommend you grab a copy. Overall, this collection of short stories are all easy, enjoyable reads, which will give reader’s brains lots of food for thought. They are strange and unusual, but Jeff’s writing talent is such that it doesn’t take much to suspend your disbelief. I give Godling and Other Paint Stories five quills.
Kaye Lynne Booth does honest book reviews on Writing to be Read, and she never charges for them. Have a book you’d like reviewed? Contact Kaye at kayebooth(at)yahoo(dot)com.
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A Tribute to My Son
Posted: September 19, 2016 Filed under: Memoir, Nonfiction, Writing | Tags: Grief, Michael Daniel Lee Booth, Nonfiction, Suicide, True Story, Writing 13 Comments
Wednesday the 21st is the 8th anniversary of the death of my son, Michael Daniel Lee Booth. Since his death, September has always been a pretty difficult month for me. His birthday was the 9th. He had just turned nineteen when he took his own life. I relate well to the song by Green Day, “Wake Me Up When September Ends”, but of course, I can’t sleep the whole month away. It’s just not practical. So, instead I try and find some way to cope by honoring him in some way.
Since his death, I’ve talked a lot about how I want to write a book that will tell his story, and mine too I suppose, or at least the story of how his death affected me, and changed my life. When I first began thinking about it, I referred to it as a memoir, but it has to be more than that because there are so many others his death affected. I keep putting off writing it because I’m not sure I’m ready to dredge up all the memories that writing his story would bring. Some of them are still so painful it seems as if they only occurred yesterday.
For a long time after Mike died, it seemed that he was the only thing I could write about, and many of those writings will eventually be incorporated into the book. For now though, I’d like to make this blog post in honor of him, and share with you the eulogy I wrote. I stood up and read it at his funeral with tears streaming down my face, my heart breaking inside of me. People said it was brave of me to get up there and read it in front of all those that attended his funeral, and there were a lot. But for me, it was just something that I had to do. After all, I am a writer and he was my son.
Michael Daniel Lee Booth
When Mike Booth said, “I love you”, it was forever. And when he called you his friend, you knew you could depend on him to stand by you, no matter what. He loved to try new things, to explore and to learn. He had a love for life and for all that he held sacred. Mike strove for excellence in all that he did, and lived by a code of honor that was extremely tough to uphold. His Christian upbringing was intermixed with Hindu and Buddhist beliefs to make up the tapestry of his own personal belief system that was disciplined and unyielding. When he made mistakes, Mike was harder on himself than anyone else ever could have been.
When he got mixed up with the wrong people and things, he made some poor choices. He did not deny what he had done, but instead stood up and accepted the punishment that was given to him. He tried to make amends for his wrongs and was on his way to accomplishing that goal. He expressed great sorrow for his errors, and inflicted emotional punishment on himself over and above what the law could ever require of him.
He had a strong will and could accomplish anything that he set his mind to, including learning to speak Japanese and perform martial arts skillfully, all on his own. Mike had a love for Japanese culture and he could have lived off of green tea and sushi. His knowledge and skills were gladly shared with those who wished to learn. Mike had a love for nature and enjoyed all kinds of outdoor activities, including skiing, hunting, fishing and hiking. His imagination was endless and he created stories and drawings that reveal a talent far beyond his tender youth.
Mike was so much to so many people; a loving son, a dependable big brother, a doting little brother, a respectful grandson, a loyal friend and a devoted husband. He loved his dog, Zaar, who was a companion and loyal friend to him. Mike was sensitive, and hurt so easily and so deeply, yet he was too strong willed to ever let it show outwardly. Only through his writing, can we glimpse the love that he embraced or the pain that he felt. When he loved, he loved with all of his being. Mike was fun loving and enjoyed spending time with those that were important in his life. He had beautiful curls and the most wonderful smile that could light up my heart whenever I saw it. Mike turned 19 three weeks ago. He had a whole life ahead of him. He was much too young to be called home to God.
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“DeadPool” works on so many levels
Posted: September 16, 2016 Filed under: Film Review, Super Hero | Tags: Action, Anti-Hero, Dead Pool, Film Review, Review, Super Hero 1 Comment
This week I had the pleasure of watching the movie, Dead Pool. (Not the one with Clint Eastwood as Dirty Harry, the 2016 one about the Marvel Comic character.) This movie was so much what I expected, but also so much which I didn’t expect. In Dead Pool, Marvel has given us an anti-hero we can’t help but stand behind.
Right away, in the first scene we learn that Dead Pool, aka Wade Wilson, has an axe to grind against someone named Francis. The rest of the first half of the movie is spent giving us the backstory, so we understand the reason that axe is so sharp. Our villain, Francis, aka Ajax, not only tortures Wade in some extremely cruel and unusual ways, but in essence, he steals his life from him, forcing him to mutate in ways that make it so he can never go back. Believing that he’s lost the one thing that means the most to him, his super-sexy girlfriend, Vanessa, (and she’s not even a super hero, she’s just human), Wade takes on the identity of Dead Pool and will stop at nothing to make Francis cough up the cure.
In the movie description, Dead Pool is described as coming out of the experiment with “a ‘dark, twisted’ sense of humor, but I maintain the sense of humor was there in Wade, an ingrained part of him that even mutation couldn’t change. As we get to know Wade through flashbacks, it’s apparent that he is the perfect anti-hero, not real likeable, an ex-special forces killing machine turned mercenary. But, we also see that he has redeeming qualities through his obvious love for Vanessa and his ultimate, unselfish sacrifice, walking out of her life rather than burden her with his terminal cancer. Even though he’s not the most likeable guy, it’s hard not to empathize with him.
Okay, so his character is snarky. This may or may not be a redeeming quality. He says whatever is on his mind, prompting many chuckles from viewers, he says the things average folks might want to say, and behaves in ways which are undesirable. But the guy is honest and straight forward, in a smarmy kind of way. He makes it clear that he’s no hero and he is not out to help anyone but himself, in his quest to get Vanessa, and his life, back. You’ve got to give him credit, even if he is kind of a jerk at times. One more reason why he is the perfect anti-hero.
In fact, his character reminds me a lot of the characters Jim Carey plays, especially in the way he talks incessantly and often doesn’t think about the possible consequences before opening his mouth, or his totally outrageous behaviors. The trait certainly ticks off Francis/Ajax, creating a tension between the two adversaries, which leads to Francis/Ajax pushing harder to cause Wade’s mutation. So, in fact, Wade brings his circumstances down upon himself. In fact, that may be Wade’s fatal flaw, but he doesn’t seem to ever learn when to keep his trap shut. But then, that could be because for an immortal, a flaw really can’t be fatal.
Wade/Dead Pool may not be the most likeable character, but Francis/Ajax, the villainous character who forced the mutation on him, is even more unlikeable. In fact, it’s easy to actively dislike Francis with his super-fast reflexes and total inability to feel anything, making him a truly bad guy, and providing us with yet another reason to root for Dead Pool. No doubt that’s why Francis/Ajax is the villain. His lack of feeling also makes him the perfect adversary for Dead Pool, who heals super-fast, but feels the all pain, both physical and emotional. They balance each other out.
I’m not usually a big fan of digital imaging. I think most of it comes off looking pretty fakey. However, knowing Dead Pool came from the world of comics, I think I expected it to not be realistic and the digital imagery works for me. Comic book characters are expected to do things that seem totally unreal. They have super powers that allow them to do these outrageous things.
Which brings us to the discussion of Dead Pool’s super powers. I’m not sure exactly how his mutation has affected him or amazing feats he is able to perform beyond miraculous healing, accelerated movements and super human strength. Although they are alluded to, they are not spelled out for us. He doesn’t breathe flames or shoot webbing to swing from building on. Apparently, he puts his red tights on one leg at a time, like the rest of us, (no phone booth transformations for this guy). He uses weapons to defeat his adversaries and feels pain when he’s injured, just like a regular Joe. And he knows his limitations, too, calling on the help of Colossus and Nagasonic Teenage Warhead when the going gets tough and Vanessa’s life is on the line.
In many ways, Dead Pool was your basic super hero movie. Guys with super powers get out there and punch the crap out of one another. On the other hand, it wasn’t what I expected in a super hero at all. Dead Pool doesn’t save the world, or even his city, and his motivations are selfish. I think this movie was well written with interesting and colorful characters who are full of surprises, is filled with action, and is very entertaining. I give Dead Pool four quills. 
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Fear is a Writer’s Best Friend
Posted: September 12, 2016 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 Comment
That’s right. That’s what I said. If we’re writers, fear is our best friend. Now I’m not talking about all those personal fears we might have: fear of failure, fear of success, fear that no one will like what we write. No, those fears must be pushed to the side and we must carry on in spite of them, but whether we write books or screenplays, we must have fear to make each story work.
Every character must have a fatal flaw or something they are afraid of that must be overcome to complete their character arc. One solid rule in every story is that the character must change by the end of the story, and if the character is perfect, there is no room for change and nothing to challenge the character so he/she can prove what they are made of. Without a challenge, or conflict, there is no tension, and no story, or at least not a very good one.
Of course, there are always external challenges to be overcome, but there must also be an inner challenge, through which the character changes. Often the external challenge is the vehicle that brings about the inner challenge. If the character has a fear of heights, they might have to cross a log across a deep chasm to save a small child from a serial killer. Saving the child is the external challenge, but it requires the character to face her biggest fear in order to complete the task, and once the character faces her fear, she will forever be transformed. Thus, both the story arc and her personal character arc are completed.
Sometimes, it isn’t the external challenge of the story arc itself, but a lesson that is learned along the way that brings about the change in the character. In my western novel, Delilah, my protagonist has had experiences which make her feel that she has let down those whom she loves, making her afraid of getting too close to others. Her quest for revenge against the men who raped her and left her for dead, abducting her young ward leads her into Leadville, where she meets some very colorful characters, who teach her how to love again. In this case, the external challenge of revenge does nothing to help her overcome her fear of forming attachments, but those she meets along the way do.
One of my screenwriting professors had a nifty way of showing how the internal challenge and the external challenge and the character’s fear or flaw are always related. Before we could begin to write our screenplay, he would have us make a character triangle, where we noted three things. The first was the character’s want, which is usual an external thing that the character strives for throughout the story. Next, he’d have us note what the fear or flaw to be overcome is, and as I said, every character must have at least one. Last, he would have us note what it is that the character really needs, and this is usually an internal change or lesson the character needs to learn. Although the character may get what she thinks she wants, like Delilah, who thinks she wants revenge, achieving what she needs is what causes the internal change within and she must face her fear to do that.
So, go on. Get busy writing. What are you afraid of?
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You’d have to be crazy to want this “Dream Job”
Posted: September 9, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Fiction | Tags: Book Review, Dream Job, Janet Garber 3 Comments
Dream Job: Wacky Adventures of an HR Manager, by Janet Garber, is a quirky romance with a light rhythm which readers fall into easily, moving the story along at a mellow clip. Although at times the dialog seems a bit stilted, Garber’s characters are just peculiar enough to make it work.
Melie Khol is great at solving everyone’s problems except her own, holding others off at a distance. Her “dream job” is really more of a nightmare – dealing with disgruntled employees, investigating allegations of bad behavior in the office, and disciplining culprits of the worst offenses. Melie handles all the unlikely events that occur in her wacky workplace as if they were just a matter of course, but even the best HR Manager has her limits.
She thinks she’s looking for love, or at least companionship, or… okay, maybe just descent sex, but like most of us homo-sapiens, she’s fooling herself. Melie knows her life is lacking something, but she’s not going to find it in the man from her daily subway commute, who she calls Ponytail Man because she finds his hair attractive, and who turns out to be a slug. She thinks She thinks she might find it with Ted, the guy she spends weekends in the country with, but he says he doesn’t do relationships.
As she ponders her non-relationship with Ted, problems at work keep her hopping. Melie has a big secret that could be her undoing if revealed in the ongoing company-wide background checks, her boss is murdered and everyone is suspect, including her, her new supervisor is sexually harassing her, and demands are flying at her from every direction. It all unfolds in a final meltdown of hilarious proportions and a happily ever after worthy of any good romance novel.
Dream Job will keep you smiling and perhaps even invoke a few chuckles. A thoroughly entertaining read. I give Dream Job: Wacky Adventures of an HR Manager five quills. 
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Why Writing is a Labor of Love
Posted: September 5, 2016 Filed under: Writing | Tags: Kaye Lynne Booth, Writing, Writing Process 1 Comment
Labor Day weekend. Many people headed for the mountains or the shore to spend one last long weekend to say goodbye to summer. It’s the last weekend of tourist season. Time to get back to the serious business called life. The kids go back to school and the adults head back to the daily grind of making a living.
Of course, writer’s don’t always get three day weekends or take vacations, because for writers, everything we do is an experience which can be drawn off of and written about.
Every place we visit and everything we do can be written about in some capacity. Every activity can be used in some capacity to fuel our writing habit. It may only be an idea that serves as a seed, which grows into story with so much nurturing. It might be the foundation for a how-to article. It could even be your next travel article.
I started out with gardening how-tos on e-How.com through demand studios. Most writers simply love to write. For me, writing is a way of life, my passion, perhaps even my obsession. When I can’t write, I feel lost, as if I no longer know who I am. This lesson was recently driven home to me when my computer crashed. I was out of a computer for about three weeks before I could get a new one, and in the interim, although I could not get it into a file, I went back to writing long hand. The ideas don’t stop coming just because I have no means to prepare them for publication.
For writers like myself, although life tries to make it about the money when the bills come due, it never really is. For me, writing is a labor of love and I can’t think of a better way to labor right through Labor Day. Can you?
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“Victorian”: A Ghostly Story Packed Full of Secrets
Posted: September 2, 2016 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult | Tags: Book Review, Books, Fiction, Ghosts, Jordan Elizabeth, Review, Secrets, Victorian, Young Adult 1 Comment
Victorian, by Jordan Elizabeth, is a truly unique YA story featuring not one, but two young girls, Celeste and Weronica, who each have a dark secret hidden in the past that keeps them closed off to others. When they both get jobs at a historical fair in a strange old village which harbors secrets of its own, things turn interesting, as each one learns to trust again with the help of the fair’s colorful cast of characters and the ghosts of the past.
Elizabeth’s characters are realistic and believable. Weronica acts as if she’s self assured, but worries more about what others think of her than she lets on. She shares only enough to keep curiosity at bay, keeping her ghosts close and the secrets they hold even closer. Celeste really just wants to belong, but fear that her secret will be revealed causes her to hold others at bay. Her ghosts are really those of the historic village, but they hold the key to unlocking her secrets, as well as unraveling the mysterious past of the village.
This well-crafted story builds just the right amount of suspense to keep the pages turning, as it alternates between the two co-protagonist’s points of view. The story line is easy to follow, the village setting becoming a character in and of itself. Victorian is well worth the read.
I give Victorian four quills. 
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“A Shot in the Dark” is a Wild Ride
Posted: August 26, 2016 Filed under: Action/Adventure, Book Review, Books, Fantasy | Tags: A Shot in the Dark, Action, Book Review, Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Jesse James Dawson, K. A. Stewart, Review 1 Comment
It’s not every day we have a demon hunter for a friend. Not unless you are a friend of Jesse James Dawson, that is. In A Shot in the Dark, by K. A. Stewart, an annual weekend camping trip turns into a fight for survival for Jesse and his friends. Jesse must wager everything, including his soul as he faces off with an old adversary, full of new and improved deadly surprises in the remote Colorado mountain retreat.
A Shot in the Dark is an action filled story dealing in matters, not only of life and death, but of heaven and hell. In dealing with questions of good and evil, the answers aren’t always black and white, but often lie somewhere in the gray. Now the only question is, will Jesse’s friends still be his friends if they live through this supernatural wilderness adventure.
Stewart’s likable characters and unusual villains make settling in for this demon hunting tale quite enjoyable. Antagonist Jesse James Dawson and his friends pull out all the stops, combining traditional weaponry, magic and religion to battle the minions of the underworld, but can he bring all his friends home safely?
As the second book in Stewart’s Jesse James Dawson series, I give A Shot in the Dark three quills.
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Writing the Way that Works for You
Posted: August 22, 2016 Filed under: Writing | Tags: Writing, Writing to be Read 7 Comments
There are many ways to write story. In his book, On Writing, author Stephen King claims he started out as a kid, printing out stories on a drum printer in his basement, using grape jelly for ink. Some of us older generation writers remember hammering out our stories on manual or electric typewriters, whiting out the errors and going back to manually making corrections.
With the dawn of the technological revolution the way we write changed for most of us. At the 2012 Writing the Rockies Conference, author Kevin J. Anderson told how he wrote while hiking through the hills surrounding the Gunnison Valley by using a hand held digital recorder to dictate his story, then having his assistant transcribe it and type it up on the computer for him. I tried his method, but found I needed to see the words on the page, or screen in front of me.
No one way is right. Different methods work for different writers. When I first started writing I wrote everything long hand, then typed it out on an electric typewriter. The advantage to this methods was that by the time I typed it up, it was like a second draft and I could edit and make changes as I went. The downside was the enormous amount of White Out I went through, because I’m a lousy typist and the incredible amount of time it took to produce a piece of work worthy of submission. It was so bad, I actually gave up on writing for several years, until I discovered the world of computers in 2008. Computers allowed me to edit as I write, and although I’ve been cautioned against it by many of my college professors, I still do it. It works for me and produces first drafts that require minimal amount of editing.
Unfortunately, my computer recently crashed. My son, who is also my techie, has been unable to fix it. He thinks I fried my mother board. Bottom line – I need a new computer, and I’m forced to go back to writing everything long hand once more, at least until I can get a new one. But, what I’m finding, is that writing long hand requires a different mind set for me than writing on the computer. Robin touched on this, as well, in last week’s Weekly Writing Memo on Overcoming the Blank Page.
On the computer, I can multi-task, switching to online research or other activities when I get held up for words. Writing long hand, if I get held up, I find myself staring off into space to gather my thoughts. It also seems more difficult to me, but that may be because I have to transfer my words from page to screen whenever I can get access to public computers at the library.
All of this got me thinking about the different ways there are to write and what works for others. How do you like to write? Are you an old school writer who still writes long hand? Do you use more than one method, writing different stories in different ways as Robin suggested? Leave a comment and let me know. If nothing else it will be interesting.
