October 6th, 2010%
Immediacy versus memory. The ways in which we capture thoughts and situations with words adapts to Social Media’s constraints.
I don’t live my life as a character looking for a story, but I do find myself in some interesting situations. Social media provides an interesting contextual continuum which challenges me to succinctly capture the thought or situation. The deadlines are negotiable. Gratification is instant.
- Twitter is a fun way to share the defined thoughts or realizations that tend to weigh down my narrative experiments. These are the sentences I edit several times and delete. I feel like I’m giving them a good home rather than false hopes of becoming part of a story.
- Facebook posts tend to be a little more personal (200+ of my closest friends & family). I’ve actually stolen some of my status posts and put them into story dialogue or descriptions. I feel dirty, but I have no issues editing them.
- Textingwith friends always generates new ways of looking at a situation and sometimes reminds me of ways to use language more effectively. I’ve edited or started writing after texting, but I’ve never liposuctioned a text and injected it into a story.
Hunter S. Thompson and George Orwell found ways to elicit the truth by distilling their experiences into something worth reading. Social media can be a helpful intermediary to structure our thoughts and sentences. Then, we can apply our knowledge of writing craft to use them in creative non-fiction.
September 23rd, 2010%
Flash Fiction, short story, novella, novel. A relationship to fiction writing can take many forms.
You write a little and do a gut check–slash and burn. I mean, maybe you edit before you get everything written. Not nerves, but realism. Suddenly, the words on the page become a map of ideas. A game of Risk?
You’ve read things. You’ve seen examples of healthy genre relationships. You’re willing to work at it. Maybe you’re not ready for Infinite Jest, but you’re open to commitment.
Commitment and expectation argue with each other. The amount of time spent writing and editing is not proportional to the result–written pages. Maybe you get side-tracked into a “goals” conversation or philosophize about what is really important to you. It’s about you. It always is.
There is a sense of expectation after finishing a few pieces. This idea needs this much space. This feels like a this or a that.
September 17th, 2010%
Relevance is that moment when art either hits reality in the face, smiles, or mumbles a few words and walks away.
Since relevance is subjective, art gets multiple reactions which aren’t really the concern of the artist. Oscar Wilde puts it this way:
Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree the artist is in accord with himself.
Criticism examining the skillful execution of art is the concern of the artist. This is where things get interesting.
Skillful execution also has relevance, especially when criticized by other artists. The critic’s relevance to the art affects their focus and analysis of skillful execution.
Questions of execution veer in and out of relevance:
- Where did the idea come from?
- How skillfull was the execution?
- How does the new work compare to the old work?
- Who may have influenced this work?
- What were the artists real intentions?
- How well was the art received?
- How culturally significant is the art?
A variety of criticism breathes life into art. Critical intention doesn’t always acknowledge relevance. This can stifle or ignite the conversation which is now focused on the critic, not the art.
September 14th, 2010%
Fiction isn’t a lie, but it can act like one when it’s a draft.
Lies are constantly stealing information to prove their point. They gain momentum. Any details that might be valuable or useful to the goal of the lie is gathered and stored until the lie is over. And the lie never ends when and how you want or expect or plan or whatever.
Maybe short stories are similar to lies, but drafts are the worst form of liars known to writers. Okay, so I had this draft once . . .
When drafts start stealing from each other, it leaves you in an awkward position. What are you supposed to think? Which one should you edit? Are you going to allow it? Maybe you didn’t bother to set appropriate boundaries between the various realities you’re simultaneously working to create. It happens.
The cannibalistic draft begins to thrive on your previously edited sentences and paragraphs. Characters, who should not have met, come to life and talk to each other. They go where they please.
Lying becomes a form of freedom. You think, take whatever you want from those other drafts, but don’t lose momentum. Don’t die without some killer last words.
August 21st, 2010%
During my last pilgrimage to Washington, DC, I stopped at the National Gallery to see Allen Ginsberg’s photos.
Beat photography makes you wonder why you were where you were and when was that and who are your friends and what would your pictures look like if you were a Beat.
My brother, who is a photographer, had me reading Black Spring by Henry Miller and Cities of the Red Night by William S. Burroughs between high school and college. I went on to read Naked Lunch and On the Road in college. What did I get out of it?
1. You can grab your life and drag it around and set-up shop pretty much anywhere with the right friend(s).
2. Guys are a little obsessed with everything about themselves in a way that I’m not.
Back to the point: Ginsberg reminded me how photography can create and capture thoughts.
I’ve asked some photographer friends to send me two pictures and say a bit about what they were thinking when they took them. I’ll be posting them on Saturdays.
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