Writing versus Written

I came across this excellent quote today in my reading:

“I don't like to write, but I love to have written. Michael Kanin”

Excerpt From: Weaver, Steve. “Poetry in Flesh.” Steve Weaver. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=513479149

The quote was in the book referenced above which is Free at the iBookstore on iTunes. I like Weavers visceral and raw poetry.

As a poet I often don't want to write but when I do seeing the written gives me a great lift.

Check out my poetry blog at http://mbspoet.blogspot.com

IPad for Writers

I am finding my iPad to be a very useful writing tool. Not so much for composition but for taking notes and photographs of people and scenes that I may want to use later. Of course with Blogger on board it is great for writing blogs on the go.

It is a more up to date tool than a notebook and adds immediacy. I am taking a whole new approach to my writing now.

The Secret to Writing well - Reading

 It is an undeniable fact that great writers are usually good readers. If you read the autobiographies of writers you will see a number of references to reading. A good example of this phenomenon is found in the Diaries of Virginia Woolf, the famed 20th century modernist writer. The Diaries are littered with reference to an eclectic group of authors and books, ancient and modern. She appreciated the great writing of others though there was only one writer she wished she could write like and that was Katherine Mansfield.

Reading allows us to brush shoulders with writers from throughout the centuries. This reading exposure then has an effect on our own writing styles. Some writers in their formative years have tried to write in the style of others. This derivative writing then develops into the writers own individual style.

So prospective writers become avid and adventurous readers.

DK
DK's Top Traffic Exchanges

Virginia Woolf's Work Ethic

For most of her writing life, Woolf dedicated three hours of her morning to writing. She was very focused over this time and this concentrated effort fuelled her high quality literary output. Many of us bemoan the fact that we don't have enough time in the day to get things down, but our problem is usually lack of focus.

I am applying the 3 hour focus to my working life and it is great. I suspect that may people do less than 3 hours of productive work in an 8 hour day due to the distractions of the workplace.

I visited the shed that Woolf wrote in at Monks House and it was secluded and quiet. Ideal for the mind work involved with writing.

Frank Sargeson, a well known New Zealand writer, had a quiet bedroom, very plain where he loved to write. He said it always amazed him the characters, sounds and sights he could conjure up while staring at a plain Pinex wall.

Be disciplined and see what you can achieve!!


DK
DK's Top Traffic Exchanges

Diary Writing...

"It is not a bad idea to get in the habit of writing down one's thoughts. It saves one having to bother anyone else with them" Isabel Colgate The same could be said of many blogs including this one!! Dr Kelp Recommends

Advice for Writers

"If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write." Stephen King There you go, a bit of advice from a very famous writer. Keep well DK

Reading Quote Four

A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way, a counselor, a multitude of counselors.

Charles Baudelaire

Writing Quote One

There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are

W. Somerset Maugham

So there you go, make up your own rules and stop procrastinating...