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My “Co_Author”, Sena Quaren
Notes from An Alien
Reading, Writing, and Publishing
Writing Styles, Work Patterns, & Lack of Guilt
Posted by on July 1, 2011
First, a few “definitions”:
Writing Styles = the various methods employed to get the words on the page and properly ordered; including but not limited to meticulous outlining, character charts and maps, location dossiers, stacks of various sizes of paper notes (or more loosely scattered groupings), moderately expensive notebooks, computer files in various formats, sophisticated computer programs, and working-it-all-out-in-the-mind-then-letting-it-spill-out-like-blood.
Work Patterns = the various and sundry patterns of behavior that different writers use to accomplish their writing goals; including but not limited to word-counts/unit time, something written every day, whenever the mood is right, and whenever-I-damn-well-please-thank-you-very-much.
Lack of Guilt = absence of indictability, pauperization of impeachability, and shortage of self-reproof.
Now the Game :-)
1. Choose the Writing Style and Work Pattern that matches your own (if you’re not a writer you may find benefit in pretending you are. Many writers are good at pretending.)
2. If your Writing Style and Work Pattern are not in the definitions please consider letting us know what they are in this post’s comments.
3. Use any old method of analysis you have handy to assess how well you achieve Lack of Guilt by applying your Writing Style and Work Pattern to the Goal of Producing Written Works–including but not limited to any-genre (or, non-genre)-you-can-imagine…
This Exercise Was Brought To You By
The Writing Bloggers Who Wake Up And Decide They’ve Been A Bit Too Serious Lately Association
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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)
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I have great admiration for the bloggers of too serious writing association as I feel I may have to join it myself one day. I thoroughly enjoyed the last few entries but was too intimidated to make a comment. However, talking of writing methods, apart from the tried and true one of spending the morning in your pyjamas with a pair of headphones on listening to music (which does tend to frighten the neighbours when they visit and find one not yet dressed – is there a kind of law about this? Are writers like this considered to be anti-social?) a friend just gave me a gift of a very attractive retro looking kitchen timer and directed me to the Pomodoro site to help me keep at the blank page. This is a form of time management for creatives & others and can be found at: http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/
Thanks, Jane !! I downloaded the Pomodoro Technique free e-book and noted with fascination their motto: Eliminate The Anxiety of Time :-)
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Folks, Jane is a superb author from Australia who wrote the utterly entrancing book, Hindustan Contessa, and is the Manager of Book Island in that wonderful virtual world I keep talking about (click the tag, Second Life, in the Top Tags widget in the right side-bar).
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Jane, it’s very heartening to see you here in the comments and, if you become overwhelmed with the need to join the Association, I wish you well in the arduous task of actually locating a local chapter…
“spending the morning in your pyjamas with a pair of headphones on listening to music” is a method I haven’t yet tried; but then, I sleep in my clothes…
There is a law against writers “spending the morning in your pyjamas with a pair of headphones on listening to music” but it’s never enforced and is not considered anti-social as long as you rise from a seated position once per hour and dance with your imaginary friend :-)
It’s always refreshing when you lighten up, Alex. Tho I enjoy your serious posts! When it comes to styles and patterns, I sometimes compare writers to racehorses, draft horses, mules and burros. My comparison is way too complicated to fully lay out in a comment. But there are writers who like the mule are stubborn and serious, yet effective. I’m more like the little burro. I goofily follow the predictable, work-focused horses around for a while and eventually put my mind to bearing a load down some rocky terrain with heartfilled determination.
Very apt and ultra-cool analogy, Simone :-)
I guess I’m a draft horse when I’m researching, a burro while I’m integrating what my Muse hands me with my jealous little ego mind, and a race horse when I’m ready to produce the words…
‘Course, that’s followed by the mule who’s dizzy from circling around the manuscript countless times looking for improvements :-)