If one thing is vital to a writer's day, it is the morning pages. It helps absolutely. Whether you call it Morning Pages, or Novel Diary, it jump starts a writer's day. In the morning when you haven't primed yourself up yet, and you are groggy from sleep, you need this.
I've been practicing writing the Morning Pages, and it has worked wonders. I get more easily and quickly attuned to a writer's mindset. I get focused in what I need to do during the day. I can make a link with the previous day's work, and then continue from there.
Just as a journal can be useful to any person, these pages are useful to a writer. I am a living proof. They are even more needed after a weekend, when I don't write, to go back to the working mode. I forget my work during the weekend, which I devote to my family. So, getting back to work on Monday is a bit tough.
I have to orient myself to the stream of thought. I have to pick up from where I'd left. The novel's complexity comes back when I delve deep into myself, and that I can do when I write my pages.
Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
Monday, February 15, 2016
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Regularity: Sticking to it all the way
Over the years, I've realized that if you have the talent to write, if you know how to compose a piece of work, whether prose or poetry, short story or novel, the next important thing is carrying power.
How long can you persevere at it? Writing is not for those with a faint heart. It demands total dedication and long hours of work. Merely writing words on paper (or the computer) isn't called writing. It has to be readable and comprehensible. Someone should be able to read and understand it.
Even basic types of writing like diary keeping has one condition attached to it. That's called regularity. One has to be regularly writing to accomplish one's goal. Keeping a diary is not as complicated as writing a book, which needs more dedication, because one has to figure out the content, as well as shape that content into a coherent whole spanning several hundred pages.
When I talk about a few hundred pages, immediately it feels as if I am talking of a daunting task. To fill pages and pages with interesting and readable material is not for the flimsy or flaky minded. One has to apply one's various faculties to and stand one's ground, for long hours, weeks and months, even years.
There are also some who are adept at making great starting. There is a lot of enthusiasm in the beginning, until they get stuck in a rut, for various reasons, which has one name in the writer's dictionary. Block. I don't believe in the kind of writer's block that I hear people talking about. There cannot be a block when one write's regularly and approaches writing as serious work, like any other day job.
The general belief is to think of writing as a hobby or a lighter activity. Our society doesn't give that importance or legitimacy to someone's work unless it is an award winner or a blockbuster, earning loads of money. But writing is not any whimsical activity that one can pick up and drop off any time. One a writer, always a writer. As they say, You are a writer before as well after publishing.
Many people would find it difficult to believe that it requires months, and sometimes years of work, to get that book in hand ready in print. And now, with the surfeit of information because of the internet in our lives, that little, or big volume, requires a writer to be more dedicated to her work. She has to keep all distractions at bay and write every day, even if it is less than what she set as her daily goal.
Being able to sit at one's desk and producing those words that would eventually become your book, and doing it regularly, is the secret to a writer's success. By success, I mean getting a good quality book in print and ready for the reader.
How long can you persevere at it? Writing is not for those with a faint heart. It demands total dedication and long hours of work. Merely writing words on paper (or the computer) isn't called writing. It has to be readable and comprehensible. Someone should be able to read and understand it.
Even basic types of writing like diary keeping has one condition attached to it. That's called regularity. One has to be regularly writing to accomplish one's goal. Keeping a diary is not as complicated as writing a book, which needs more dedication, because one has to figure out the content, as well as shape that content into a coherent whole spanning several hundred pages.
When I talk about a few hundred pages, immediately it feels as if I am talking of a daunting task. To fill pages and pages with interesting and readable material is not for the flimsy or flaky minded. One has to apply one's various faculties to and stand one's ground, for long hours, weeks and months, even years.
There are also some who are adept at making great starting. There is a lot of enthusiasm in the beginning, until they get stuck in a rut, for various reasons, which has one name in the writer's dictionary. Block. I don't believe in the kind of writer's block that I hear people talking about. There cannot be a block when one write's regularly and approaches writing as serious work, like any other day job.
The general belief is to think of writing as a hobby or a lighter activity. Our society doesn't give that importance or legitimacy to someone's work unless it is an award winner or a blockbuster, earning loads of money. But writing is not any whimsical activity that one can pick up and drop off any time. One a writer, always a writer. As they say, You are a writer before as well after publishing.
Many people would find it difficult to believe that it requires months, and sometimes years of work, to get that book in hand ready in print. And now, with the surfeit of information because of the internet in our lives, that little, or big volume, requires a writer to be more dedicated to her work. She has to keep all distractions at bay and write every day, even if it is less than what she set as her daily goal.
Being able to sit at one's desk and producing those words that would eventually become your book, and doing it regularly, is the secret to a writer's success. By success, I mean getting a good quality book in print and ready for the reader.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Finished reading Anne Lamott's book
I'd been browsing, then reading off and on this novel by Anne Lamott, titled "Rosie", for quite a long time now. Finally i was able to finish it. And it felt good.
The book, about Rosie, whose mother Elizabeth, drinks and drinks, and does not take care of her own life and her kid properly. The story began slowly, the tempo of the text was slow.
I was almost on the verge of putting it down after too much repetition of drinking episodes. But then, the story picked up.
Her language kept me reading. more than the story, her style, and the use of words is fascinating.
This isn't a newly published book. But reading a long published book doesn't take the joy out of it.
The book, about Rosie, whose mother Elizabeth, drinks and drinks, and does not take care of her own life and her kid properly. The story began slowly, the tempo of the text was slow.
I was almost on the verge of putting it down after too much repetition of drinking episodes. But then, the story picked up.
Her language kept me reading. more than the story, her style, and the use of words is fascinating.
This isn't a newly published book. But reading a long published book doesn't take the joy out of it.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Color in Fiction
Earlier, I had read the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and had been bowled over by its clarity and directness in depicting racism. And now I am reading a more recent novel, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd, and it is still a de ja vu when it comes to the question of color.
The interface with color is a theme that tends to transcend color and rise to a human emotional level. There is understanding and empathy. The parallel in both the books is unmistakeable. And the overarching feeling while reading them is the power of the author, who describes scenes with such humanity that one can't but get into the skin of the characters, and once and for all forget about various prejudices that still invade so many relationships.
With their pointed focus on individual stories, the authors of both these books with their different story lines through their eyes, have laid open the idea of a world that is close to the ideal. They have written at a time when the ideal was too far away, and their work was a step towards it.
This is the way, through individual effort, the world changes. It is a slow process, but for changes to take place, these efforts are invaluable.
The interface with color is a theme that tends to transcend color and rise to a human emotional level. There is understanding and empathy. The parallel in both the books is unmistakeable. And the overarching feeling while reading them is the power of the author, who describes scenes with such humanity that one can't but get into the skin of the characters, and once and for all forget about various prejudices that still invade so many relationships.
With their pointed focus on individual stories, the authors of both these books with their different story lines through their eyes, have laid open the idea of a world that is close to the ideal. They have written at a time when the ideal was too far away, and their work was a step towards it.
This is the way, through individual effort, the world changes. It is a slow process, but for changes to take place, these efforts are invaluable.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Rapture
The short novel Rapture by Susan Minot didn't take me too long to finish. And since it was a mood novel, it caught hold of my attention, and made me turn the pages fast.
A novel about only a few minutes during one day, when two lovers meet and get sexual, and to weave an entire novel around those few minutes, is a literary feat. The past of the two lovers, and theire other lovers are flash forwarded, and the movement is back and forth constantly, from the present into the past and back.
There is alternation of point of view, with the two lovers getting equal time and page space. And the variety of characters and details in that space is amazing. The whole picture emerges as one reads the book. One gets to know about the man's fiancee Vanessa and her father, about the woman's past, the man's past, their characters, especially the selfishness of the man, and the large heartedness of the woman.
Kind of monologue goes on as they are engaged in sex, and that reveals the entire story.
A novel about only a few minutes during one day, when two lovers meet and get sexual, and to weave an entire novel around those few minutes, is a literary feat. The past of the two lovers, and theire other lovers are flash forwarded, and the movement is back and forth constantly, from the present into the past and back.
There is alternation of point of view, with the two lovers getting equal time and page space. And the variety of characters and details in that space is amazing. The whole picture emerges as one reads the book. One gets to know about the man's fiancee Vanessa and her father, about the woman's past, the man's past, their characters, especially the selfishness of the man, and the large heartedness of the woman.
Kind of monologue goes on as they are engaged in sex, and that reveals the entire story.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Chinese noodles
I started reading the novel The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones three weeks ago. As usual, I read it slowly, savouring every scene, page, word. I have this habit if going deep into the setting, feeling the environment that the author describes.
These last few weeks, it was as if I was living in China. From Los Angeles I travelled with Maggie the protagonist to write a food article in China. Maggie's personal reason which was why she had made this trip to China, resoled as the story of food progressed. Rather than her personal story, it was the story of the Chinese cuisine that held centrestage, which was the main aim of the writer.
The foods that were described were so evocative, the preparation, the ingredients. This is the first time I had a close look at Chinese food, separate from what is available outside of China. It was a surprise to know that the Chinese noodles and soups that we find in countries like India and the US, is not the real Chinese food. The actual Chinese cuisine is far more refined, gourmet, deeper than the flash in the pan kind of Chinese food that we outsiders get to eat at Chinese restaurants.
It was a great experience reading this book, as it brought me insights into Chinese culture, food, the way food holds centrestage in their culture. Food in hina is never served individually, but to the group. Food holds its importance from sharing, not by itself.
I have always held Chinese culture fearfully until now. As if they were more militaristic and strict about everything. But they have a culture that is so different from that had been known after Tiannanmen Square and the government atrocities. The people's culture is far different from the picture that the government portrays.
These last few weeks, it was as if I was living in China. From Los Angeles I travelled with Maggie the protagonist to write a food article in China. Maggie's personal reason which was why she had made this trip to China, resoled as the story of food progressed. Rather than her personal story, it was the story of the Chinese cuisine that held centrestage, which was the main aim of the writer.
The foods that were described were so evocative, the preparation, the ingredients. This is the first time I had a close look at Chinese food, separate from what is available outside of China. It was a surprise to know that the Chinese noodles and soups that we find in countries like India and the US, is not the real Chinese food. The actual Chinese cuisine is far more refined, gourmet, deeper than the flash in the pan kind of Chinese food that we outsiders get to eat at Chinese restaurants.
It was a great experience reading this book, as it brought me insights into Chinese culture, food, the way food holds centrestage in their culture. Food in hina is never served individually, but to the group. Food holds its importance from sharing, not by itself.
I have always held Chinese culture fearfully until now. As if they were more militaristic and strict about everything. But they have a culture that is so different from that had been known after Tiannanmen Square and the government atrocities. The people's culture is far different from the picture that the government portrays.
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