quiet life
It's hard to describe the writing process as I'm now practicing it. There is a feeling of tunneling in, digging into the ideas and characters that I've got, searching for a nucleus, for the linkages.
Research is continuous. In some ways I feel that a work of fiction or drama is as much a matter of research as any work of nonfiction, or even of science. And, in many ways, the more fanciful your story, the more its underlying network of consistent relationships, of rules, needs to be solid and worked out. Somewhere in the mysterious chemistry of fact and fancy emerges the special cocktail of familiarity and strangeness that is a story. A good story, anyway.
Summer heat is upon us. Right now (7:26 a.m.) the green central area between our building and the buildings next door is still in shade. The sun strikes the lane beyond the low canyon between our buildings, and the sky is clear blue over the gray expanse of the long roof across the lane. It is quiet except for the whir of two fans in my computer.
I wanted a quiet life in which to think and write, and, outwardly, I've got it.
Research is continuous. In some ways I feel that a work of fiction or drama is as much a matter of research as any work of nonfiction, or even of science. And, in many ways, the more fanciful your story, the more its underlying network of consistent relationships, of rules, needs to be solid and worked out. Somewhere in the mysterious chemistry of fact and fancy emerges the special cocktail of familiarity and strangeness that is a story. A good story, anyway.
Summer heat is upon us. Right now (7:26 a.m.) the green central area between our building and the buildings next door is still in shade. The sun strikes the lane beyond the low canyon between our buildings, and the sky is clear blue over the gray expanse of the long roof across the lane. It is quiet except for the whir of two fans in my computer.
I wanted a quiet life in which to think and write, and, outwardly, I've got it.
Labels: everyday life, literary theory, the writing process
posted by paulv at
7:17 AM
2 Comments:
Is there ever any end to the research?
These cooler evenings are a respite from the hot days we've had when the apartment can get stifling. I'm trying to shift my writing schedule around -- been pretty distracted these past weeks.
By
Wynn Bexton, at July 24, 2008 12:16 AM
Hello Wynn--thanks for stopping by.
There's probably not an end to research. James L. Brooks said that he considers that he has done "enough" research when he can talk intelligently with experts in the field.
Happy writing...
By
paulv, at July 26, 2008 8:46 AM
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