What It Takes to Write?
...not all that much really. As mentioned above, 5 fingers, pen and paper are a great place to start.
Of course a PC simplifies the process. It's a godsend when you're trying to sort all those thoughts into some kind of order.
But if your brain isn't working, observing your world, processing your thoughts and your feelings, neither the most exquisite fountain pen nor the most expensive PC will be able help you. In fact, the most indispensable tool for your writing is your fantasy. Short writing exercises can help you get your imagination cooking, will help you fight your way out of the box that restrains you.
On the next two pages are some samples of finger exercises I've done. Some of them are the products of assignments written at the monthly Sunday writing group I belong to. We only have 20-30 minutes to take a given subject, an opening sentence, an emotion or a situation and let our imaginations run loose with it. Some really fun and funny stories have been born from this approach. Then again, they aren't always tales to laugh about. Of course, those pieces were originally written in German, so I've translated them for you.
The process of translation is really an additional step in revising, for when I try to express existing thoughts in another language, I have to dismantle my words and my sentences to fit different semantics. It helps me see errors in the expressions or even in the thought progression. Often in the English version, completely new ideas or details pop up that I incorporate in the story. The skeleton born in the course of a 20-minute exercise has a chance to grow flesh. In the end, translating is quite a useful exercise.
Many times a creative spark comes leaping at you seemingly from nowhere with no obvious connection, no course assignment. All you can do is run for the nearest pad and pen and let the right side of your brain spill onto the page. Of course, that's just the beginning of the process.
As always: writing is re-writing.
Of course a PC simplifies the process. It's a godsend when you're trying to sort all those thoughts into some kind of order.
But if your brain isn't working, observing your world, processing your thoughts and your feelings, neither the most exquisite fountain pen nor the most expensive PC will be able help you. In fact, the most indispensable tool for your writing is your fantasy. Short writing exercises can help you get your imagination cooking, will help you fight your way out of the box that restrains you.
On the next two pages are some samples of finger exercises I've done. Some of them are the products of assignments written at the monthly Sunday writing group I belong to. We only have 20-30 minutes to take a given subject, an opening sentence, an emotion or a situation and let our imaginations run loose with it. Some really fun and funny stories have been born from this approach. Then again, they aren't always tales to laugh about. Of course, those pieces were originally written in German, so I've translated them for you.
The process of translation is really an additional step in revising, for when I try to express existing thoughts in another language, I have to dismantle my words and my sentences to fit different semantics. It helps me see errors in the expressions or even in the thought progression. Often in the English version, completely new ideas or details pop up that I incorporate in the story. The skeleton born in the course of a 20-minute exercise has a chance to grow flesh. In the end, translating is quite a useful exercise.
Many times a creative spark comes leaping at you seemingly from nowhere with no obvious connection, no course assignment. All you can do is run for the nearest pad and pen and let the right side of your brain spill onto the page. Of course, that's just the beginning of the process.
As always: writing is re-writing.