Massimo Marino's Blog: The Ramblings and the Rumblings - Posts Tagged "writing"
The Right Words
"The difference between the right word and the almost-right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug." - Mark Twain
How to find the right word every time, in every sentence, in every scene. How to make the reader jolt with pleasure at your word combinations.
It is a struggle...
"... my guts were wrenched as if one hand had forced its way down my throat and quenched them, taking pleasure in giving me spasms." -- Daimones
Sometimes it feels that way while writing.
How to find the right word every time, in every sentence, in every scene. How to make the reader jolt with pleasure at your word combinations.
It is a struggle...
"... my guts were wrenched as if one hand had forced its way down my throat and quenched them, taking pleasure in giving me spasms." -- Daimones
Sometimes it feels that way while writing.
Truth of Writing
The truth of the matter is that the creative act doesn’t fulfill the ego but changes its nature. As you write you are less the person you ordinarily are—the situation confers strength.
You learn to trust what comes to you unbidden. You learn to trust the act of writing itself. An idea, an image, a voice, comes to you as a discovery, and you don’t possess what you write any more than the mountain climber possesses the mountain.
Writers write by trying to find out what it is they’re writing.
-- E. L. Doctorow
Aren't these such revealing words... In the process of writing Daimones, and even more while writing the sequel "Once Humans", things happens in the mind of those who are writing, and the work surge to its own life.
One becomes truly a narrator, reporting images, voices, events discovered while they are being written. The writer becomes the first reader of the story and very true, you don't possess the story, the story is already there, you're just another reader...
You learn to trust what comes to you unbidden. You learn to trust the act of writing itself. An idea, an image, a voice, comes to you as a discovery, and you don’t possess what you write any more than the mountain climber possesses the mountain.
Writers write by trying to find out what it is they’re writing.
-- E. L. Doctorow
Aren't these such revealing words... In the process of writing Daimones, and even more while writing the sequel "Once Humans", things happens in the mind of those who are writing, and the work surge to its own life.
One becomes truly a narrator, reporting images, voices, events discovered while they are being written. The writer becomes the first reader of the story and very true, you don't possess the story, the story is already there, you're just another reader...
Today I'm blessed
Today I'm blessed again.
Isn't these words the reasons a writer goes on, "opened his veins and bled until words came out" ?
"In the tale, in the telling, we are all one blood. Take the tale in your teeth, then, and bite till the blood runs, hoping it's not poison; and we will all come to the end together, and even to the beginning: living, as we do, in the middle."
- Ursula K. Le Guin
Today I'm blessed again, as I read these words from a reader and my guts scream out "share, share the love with everyone."
Blessed be.
"Mo, I'm [...] from the [...] Amazon thread. I don’t usually write and semi lurk but was blessed this morning and felt I needed to contact you regarding your book Daimones. My gut screams out “Tell MO DON’T STOP WRITING” . My husband bought me a book from my wish list for mothers day, and it happened to be yours. While waiting for my father this morning I started it and have been compelled to read/re-read then contemplate and read parts again. No I have not finished and am actually taking my time getting through it, which is unusual for me. You had captured me within the first 10 minutes of reading! Rarely do I not speed read through a book, but I do not want to miss anything and have been going back and rereading and stopping to absorb what I have read – to consider the future story line! I LOVE IT!
Please don’t stop writing, your gift is too precious.
Thank you for sharing your gift with us! I look forward to completing this book and anticipating future offerings!
Excitedly,
[...] "
Daimones
Isn't these words the reasons a writer goes on, "opened his veins and bled until words came out" ?
"In the tale, in the telling, we are all one blood. Take the tale in your teeth, then, and bite till the blood runs, hoping it's not poison; and we will all come to the end together, and even to the beginning: living, as we do, in the middle."
- Ursula K. Le Guin
Today I'm blessed again, as I read these words from a reader and my guts scream out "share, share the love with everyone."
Blessed be.
"Mo, I'm [...] from the [...] Amazon thread. I don’t usually write and semi lurk but was blessed this morning and felt I needed to contact you regarding your book Daimones. My gut screams out “Tell MO DON’T STOP WRITING” . My husband bought me a book from my wish list for mothers day, and it happened to be yours. While waiting for my father this morning I started it and have been compelled to read/re-read then contemplate and read parts again. No I have not finished and am actually taking my time getting through it, which is unusual for me. You had captured me within the first 10 minutes of reading! Rarely do I not speed read through a book, but I do not want to miss anything and have been going back and rereading and stopping to absorb what I have read – to consider the future story line! I LOVE IT!
Please don’t stop writing, your gift is too precious.
Thank you for sharing your gift with us! I look forward to completing this book and anticipating future offerings!
Excitedly,
[...] "
Daimones
Desperately seeking for Time
It's a common thing to hear from non-writers: I would write a book, but I simply have no time to write. Usually they also give you "the look" as in "you have too much free time for yourself. Jobless? No family? No kids?"
This is where you have to be honest with yourself. A day has 24 hours. We have enough time in our lives to do whatever we like to do with it. If we choose NOT to write, we have to acknowledge that it is a choice we have made, and time has little to do with it.
Are we after so much money that we have to slave extra jobs to support it? People are quite content (and *truly* happy) earning far less than what we believe is the threshold to happiness.
Have you chosen to take on extra volunteer jobs, or to take a job that is far from home? Yes, it's great to feel productive and it's great to have numerous hobbies, but again, we have that 24 hours allotted time with each day and if we feel the urge to write it needs to have a slot in there. We may choose to do other things instead, then those other items will have priority, but time is not an issue.
Many famous writers had full time jobs, had families and parents to care for. They sat down, looked at their schedule for the week, and set aside time for their writing. It was important to them - to ease their urge.
In airplanes they say to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others, right? Your own mental state needs care just as much as other things do. If you become overly stressed and worn down, you can't help others properly. Every hour you spend is less effective. To be fully helpful to others, you must meet your own needs, too. Also as a writer.
So sit down and go through your schedule. Look at all the things you've chosen to do. Fit in an hour for writing. And then DO it. Put up a "do not disturb" sign. This is your time. The more you make this an important part of your normal schedule, the more others will respect your efforts, support you, and your dreams will become a reality.
This is where you have to be honest with yourself. A day has 24 hours. We have enough time in our lives to do whatever we like to do with it. If we choose NOT to write, we have to acknowledge that it is a choice we have made, and time has little to do with it.
Are we after so much money that we have to slave extra jobs to support it? People are quite content (and *truly* happy) earning far less than what we believe is the threshold to happiness.
Have you chosen to take on extra volunteer jobs, or to take a job that is far from home? Yes, it's great to feel productive and it's great to have numerous hobbies, but again, we have that 24 hours allotted time with each day and if we feel the urge to write it needs to have a slot in there. We may choose to do other things instead, then those other items will have priority, but time is not an issue.
Many famous writers had full time jobs, had families and parents to care for. They sat down, looked at their schedule for the week, and set aside time for their writing. It was important to them - to ease their urge.
In airplanes they say to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others, right? Your own mental state needs care just as much as other things do. If you become overly stressed and worn down, you can't help others properly. Every hour you spend is less effective. To be fully helpful to others, you must meet your own needs, too. Also as a writer.
So sit down and go through your schedule. Look at all the things you've chosen to do. Fit in an hour for writing. And then DO it. Put up a "do not disturb" sign. This is your time. The more you make this an important part of your normal schedule, the more others will respect your efforts, support you, and your dreams will become a reality.
