Comments for Get Me Writing

Comment on Specificity by Matt Roberts

Matt Roberts — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:07:00 +0000

I’ve got nothing against singers using their own experiences in their song lyrics. I just wish they’d do a good job of it.

Comment on Specificity by Craig

Craig — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:58:00 +0000

Ugh! What terrible lyrics. Your pain is painful? Really? See, as you highlight, this is one of those songs by ‘female artists of a specific age’ where you don’t know if its based on experience or not. Christina has a few songs of that nature too. There is, I feel, a certain triteness (yes, I can make up words too) to singers using their own lives as inspiration for their music. Or maybe its just because I’ve never been that interested in biographies. Why should famous people be the only ones to get them? Thats why I’ve been writing my life off and on for the past ten years.

On the note of specificity, as given in your second example, yes, it is a very powerful tool. But like most powerful tools, you have to be careful as to how you use it. If not, you can end up loppingt your arm off, then theres blood and screaming and a trip to A&E. Like the sentence prior to this one, you have to be careful lest you mangle a metaphor. Yes, in the example you give, the environment is used as a metaphor for the hopelessness of his search, but in a lesser writers hands this can become tortured and DEAR GOD HELP US NO!!! Melodramatic.

Something with which I (and by extension you, since you’ve read a lot of my work) am overly familiar with.

Comment on Death and New Beginnings by Craig

Craig — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:11:00 +0000

It all depends. I don’t treat death lightly in my writing (as we shouldn’t) and in some of my other work I’ve gone to great lengths to make sure ‘character maiming’ has serious repercussions.

This is from my most recent project though, which I’m allowing to evolve much more fluidly (as you well know, having read some rough drafts). Introducing the main character led to the creation of another character which has led the story in new directions. As I’ve gone through it, its opened up more doors to develop the overall project. This idea of killing a character off happened as part of that process, and I’m still in two minds about it.

I should write another post about this process, I feel i have a lot to say…

Comment on Death and New Beginnings by Matt Roberts

Matt Roberts — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 17:17:00 +0000

True indeed! And that brings up an interesting point – Craig, I know you’re a “seat-of-your-pants” kind of writer. Is the death of a character one of the few things you think in depth about beforehand and plan, or does it just happen as you go and you deal with the consequences later?

Comment on Death and New Beginnings by Rob James

Rob James — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:45:00 +0000

You never know – that death could have untold ramifications later…

Comment on Don’t be Afraid to Tweak by Matt Roberts

Matt Roberts — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:42:00 +0000

Thanks Lynda! Glad you liked it!

Yes, I’d say be flexible, as long as you know you’re still getting the work done, or even better, getting more work done. “Flexibility” can be used as an excuse to have an extended break I guess, which of course would be BAD!

Comment on Don’t be Afraid to Tweak by Lynda R. Young

Lynda R. Young — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:35:00 +0000

Flexibility is key. Life changes, you change, so goals and methods will also change. Great post.

Comment on Just Write by Matt Roberts

Matt Roberts — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:54:00 +0000

Write

Comment on Review Often. Or, How I Don’t Follow my Own Advice by Matt Roberts

Matt Roberts — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:53:00 +0000

It’s a good motivator. But it helps if you take a good look at it now and again, otherwise you don’t really know how well you’re doing.

If on the other hand, you take a good look at the numbers one day and see, “cool, I’m that close to beating my monthly record!” it gives you that extra boost.

Comment on Review Often. Or, How I Don’t Follow my Own Advice by Craig

Craig — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 20:50:00 +0000

So would you say that overall, keeping this target list is a positive helpful thing? I’ve never really had a target sheet of this kind (I know, I’m lazy, I don’t keep a journal either) and my writing has pretty much flatlined. I was hoping to get a fresh start this year but y’know, distractions (Assassin’s Creed, Work, this fever I cant seem to shake…)