tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3982837118358902227.post8098279748778744787..comments2023-07-14T06:17:49.677-04:00Comments on The Daring Novelist: Art, Rewriting, and Layers Of WorkThe Daring Novelisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01676188266569869059noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3982837118358902227.post-25709242376091103092011-08-23T22:27:39.956-04:002011-08-23T22:27:39.956-04:00We need to know there's a lot of variety -- an...<i>We need to know there's a lot of variety -- and we need to know that if something isn't working for us, there are multiple options.</i><br /><br />Absolutely. [nod] I've read a lot of books and articles on writing, and taken some classes, and too often the author/teacher is trying to convince everyone that their method is the best, the only, that anyone who doesn't do it their way isn't a Real Writer, or is just a hack.<br /><br />I know enough to eyeroll and walk away now, but when I was a newbie I was more likely to listen. It annoys me to think how many newbies get caught up in this same crap now.<br /><br /><i>to walk around the room telling each other students "You've got talent. You don't. You do. You do. You don't. You don't. You don't..."</i><br /><br />Oh, good grief. :( Someone needed a good smack, and it wasn't any of the students.<br /><br />AngieAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920578701763415331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3982837118358902227.post-69514728930768476502011-08-23T12:39:13.525-04:002011-08-23T12:39:13.525-04:00Art teachers tend to be a bit nutty. I remember i...Art teachers tend to be a bit nutty. I remember in my first studio art class, the instructor's method of teaching was to walk around the room telling each other students "You've got talent. You don't. You do. You do. You don't. You don't. You don't..."<br /><br />As for outlining, I don't do an outline, but I write the story entirely out of order. This is not something I recommend, it's just what I do.<br /><br />I'll talk more about it over the coming weeks. I think it's good to hear from different people on different methods of working. We need to know there's a lot of variety -- and we need to know that if something isn't working for us, there are multiple options.The Daring Novelisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01676188266569869059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3982837118358902227.post-63191411964766443542011-08-23T11:27:41.017-04:002011-08-23T11:27:41.017-04:00I'll be the first to admit that my drawing tea...I'll be the first to admit that my drawing teacher might well have been a bit of a nut -- there are one or two things about how he taught that I definitely didn't care for, although the center-out approach hit me like the proverbial lightbulb going off. And I'm not an artist by any stretch; I only took two art classes in college (three if you count art history) and the other one was 2D design, which was pretty generic. I don't have enough experience to say whether this guy was a particularly good teacher or whether they should've fired him; I only know what did and didn't work for me. [nod]<br /><br />And yeah, by the time I get to the end of a story, it's pretty much ready to go. I'll give it a final going over with sandpaper, looking for typos and such, but if I need to send it in right away (which I have a couple of times, when I squeaked in right under a deadline) I don't get noticeably more edits than I do with other stories I've given that final going-over.<br /><br />The one time I tried outlining, though, I completely lost the novel. I did a detailed outline, worked out what was going to happen and when and in what order, made sure everything fit and linked up properly, then... couldn't actually <i>write</i> the darned thing. :( It's like all my writing energy was used up on the outline or whatever, and the actual text wouldn't come. Scared me out of ever trying to outline again. [laugh/flail]<br /><br />I've seen other writers talking about doing their outline and then writing scenes in whatever order they feel like. I can't imagine being able to do that. O_O<br /><br />AngieAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920578701763415331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3982837118358902227.post-28833844082196300982011-08-23T11:19:30.615-04:002011-08-23T11:19:30.615-04:00Oh, and as for your writing process --
That sound...Oh, and as for your writing process --<br /><br />That sounds similar to mine, in that you are continuing to "work the canvas" on getting Chapter 1 done while you work on Chapter 10.<br /><br />It sounds like we both work in the way that when the first draft is done, the story is done. No second draft, just proofreading.<br /><br />Is that what you mean?The Daring Novelisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01676188266569869059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3982837118358902227.post-7785949072700818792011-08-23T11:16:52.233-04:002011-08-23T11:16:52.233-04:00Wow, Angie. I've been to a number of different...Wow, Angie. I've been to a number of different art schools (and I work in an art school), and I've never heard of any teacher teaching that way.<br /><br />I've seen individual artists develop their own techniques like that -- but when something is so proscriptive like that, it's very individual. Not something to teach a group. It's hard to get a student to a higher level with something like that.<br /><br />In the end, though, you go with what works. And if that works for you, it works for you.The Daring Novelisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01676188266569869059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3982837118358902227.post-66483959405420107032011-08-23T10:24:46.771-04:002011-08-23T10:24:46.771-04:00Just as a data point, your drawing teacher clearly...Just as a data point, your drawing teacher clearly went to a very different school from mine. I was taught to draw exactly that way -- starting in the middle and working out. I used to have a partial drawing I never finished of an owl; it was a gorgeous (IMO) rendering of the eyes and beak, with a bit of feathering outward, but I never went any farther. What's there looks really good, though, and not sketchy at all.<br /><br />I was taught to start drawing a face in the center, with the curve of brow down to the nose, then fill in details of the eyes, finish the nose, then move on to brow and temples and cheeks, down to the mouth and chin, out to the ears, then the hair, the neck, however far. My teacher sneered at the idea of starting out to draw a person's head by drawing an egg shape or whatever and working in.<br /><br />I write the same way, although I've never thought about it this way before. Not from the center out, but one piece at a time, getting each bit done or nearly done before moving on. By the time I'm on Chapter 10, Chapter 1 is pretty much as it's going to be published, maybe a couple of comma fiddles or a misspelling fixed or whatever.<br /><br />I work from beginning to end -- the thought of going out of order makes me itch, LOL! -- and each bit attaches to the previous bit. Faces don't have a beginning or end, but I pick a spot (I was taught to use the middle) to begin with, and then everything attaches from there.<br /><br />It's been a while since I did any drawing and it'd probably take me quite a bit of practicing to get back up to a point where I'd be willing to show my pictures to anyone. If I did get back to it, though, I'd work the same way I did before. Both methods can work, obviously, just like both outlining and pantsing can work. I think it's just a matter of how you were taught and/or what you've found works best for you.<br /><br />AngieAngiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920578701763415331noreply@blogger.com