Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia. ~E.L. Doctorow
The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, which helps us regain our equilibrium.
~Norbet Platt
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I have been trying to just write and not think. But I'm not very good at it. Especially the not thinking part. And really, don't have you to think at least a little to make the writing any good? (that's the rationalizing part of my brain talking)
So I'm writing this scene today, and I'm trying to get across that the MC (main character) is feeling both her own emotions as well as her friend's emotions. But then I get thinking, would she be able to seperate her emotions from those that are not hers? Which would be scarier--if she could or if she couldn't? (Either way, she'd probably think she was going nuts.) And if she doesn't know that some of the feelings are not hers, then how is the reader supposed to know that?--since I am writing in 1st person. So then I get thinking about whether or not I should really be writing in 3rd person limited. Maybe that would help get across to the reader what is going on even though the MC doesn't know--yet.
I had been trying to get around this issue by describing the physical, bodily reactions that occur when the MC experiences these different emotions. But that made me think about what is emotion? Just the physical feelings in the body? And do emotions and/or physical reactions--increase heartrate or whatever--come directly from an event or from what a person thinks about an event? And don't even get me started on color, hue, saturation, tone..... It makes my head spin.
So, needless to say, my writing slowed to a crawl and then stalled out completely. How do you write without thinking? How do you think enough to make it good writing but not stall out completely? How do you......?
I've got to stop thinking!
6 comments:
Sarah:
Don't know if this helps, but at least you can view this as support.
This week I've been reading Richard Russo's latest book. About 200 pages in what I've noticed several times is how much it doesn't seem that I'm reading him as I'm actually hearing him talking. Certainly some/much of that's style, but interestingly, I also notice when he stops "talking" and starts getting cute or crafting his words. It's almost as if when he starts thinking he loses what he's trying to say. And as audacious as it is to take a shot at an author as good as he is, his latest is uneven-- much really good, but some too thoughtful.
Maybe it's not so much about the thinking-thoughtfulness; it's about the authenticity of the character. Like real people, some exude thought and some not so much (at least based upon observed driving habits around GR). So maybe that applies to the characters' author as well; some times thinking makes sense, sometimes less thought is more authentic.
Just a thought!
Patrick
"So maybe that applies to the characters' author as well; some times thinking makes sense, sometimes less thought is more authentic."
I like that. The only problem is, I'm still left trying to figure out when thinking makes sense, and when less is more!
But if I hear what you are saying, it sounds like maybe what I'm struggling with (and evidently Richard Russo as well!) is getting the voice right--and consistant. I've never thought much about voice, just figuring if I concentrate on telling the story to the best of my ability, voice will come.
Thanks. Gives me a new way to look at it. (And technically something else to think/worry over! :) )
Sarah,
Two thoughts:
One - your process of trying to figure this out seems a lot like your character's process. Maybe if you allow yourself to 'think on paper' (when I'm doing therapy I sometimes ask permission to 'think out loud') you might get something useful - like you have just by blogging.
Two - When I wrote some of the dream sequences in my novel, and sometimes when I'm writing poetry, I try to go into a kind of trance like state and just start writing, whatever, it doesn't have to make any sense at all. I can always go over it later, but take a dive in the deep water and see how long you can hold your breath.
Mike
"your process of trying to figure this out seems a lot like your character's process."
Oh! I like that! I think you might be right. If I'm struggling with it, why not have it be her struggling with it? Genius!
"I try to go into a kind of trance like state and just start writing, whatever, it doesn't have to make any sense at all."
Oooo, scary, oh so scary! And hard. I always say I'm just going to write without stopping, without thinking, and I so can't do it. I'll try again. Maybe in a journal instead of on the computer. That works better for me for some reason.
Thanks for the ideas!
Sarah;
Journaling always worked better for me too. In one of my classes, I got 105% for my journaling--is that a word?
I do think you can think too much, but you also have to think about what you're writing. Things like, would they have used that item, or thought that, etc. It's one of the benefits of writing in that we learn new things. I remember my grandmother grinding horseradish root--it makes your eyes water, I think. I plan to try it some day just so I'll know.
Larry,
I have to admit, I do some things just to see what it would be like so that I can then write about it. But the problem with what I'm writing right now is that it is Science Fiction. Not possible for me to re-create. And because my narrator doesn't know what is going on right now (she's very confused, poor girl!) it is hard to make it make sense for the readers.
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