Very apt analogy. I have been doing puzzles all my life, and quickly started doing the small ones picture side down. God forbid I should ever look at the box (or virtual picture.. I've switched to the computer versions). For me, everything is connected to everything else, just as it should be in the universe.
Thanks for your encouragement to all the writers, and Happy Birthday in advance!!
Thanks, Chuck. I needed this. I started the morning with an exploded water heater flooding my basement, and it had me discombobulated. I’m just gonna roll with it. Stay dry!
Jake, that sucks man! For six months I’ve been rebuilding my entire basement due to water damage so I feel for you. Tying this back into Chuck’s post, though, now I’ve learned how all these layers fit together. The sump and drainage, the footers, the framing and electric, the insulation and Sheetrock, it was a contractors 101 intro lol.
Anyway, I’m happy it’s almost over. Best of luck to you!
Thanks, Chris. It could have been much worse, but I heard it pop and immediately killed the power to the well pump, so the flooding was minimalized. Just trying to get someone out here to fix it. Porn has given me unrealistic expectations of how easy it is to get a plumber to your house.
Thanks to torrential downpours for weeks, I had water in the basement for the first time in 13 years, which has prompted a massive basement clean out. Couple this with learning that my boyfriend from college died. I’ve been in the muck reading my journals from 1994 and living in the pre-internet past.
Fuck the basement. I may never go down there again. Who’s gonna make me?
Thank you, Chuck. Needed this. I’m so far behind but today I needed a jumpstart.
No, in the land of dreams known as New Jersey. But I did get a plumber in the house (that porn/plumber comment is the funniest thing I’ve read in a while lol) and he said half the houses in town have two inches of water in the basements.
I'm all for starting to write without knowing exactly where the story's going, but long experience has taught me that to run out of steam when you've written, say, 30,000 words is so dispiriting, I now try and draft a rough outline, even if I ignore, destroy, or refashion it as I go along.
Its thrilling to just keep trying various ideas, and then find that some of them fit together perfectly. Literally just happened to me via two nose related items. Looking forward to when I can vet these ideas better instead of having so many cuts. But that may never happen.
When I was thinking about my little Christmas essay, I kept turning it and turning it in my head until the lightening struck. I was unfortunately at work when everything came together at once. I was desperate to take my break and really upset that only had 10 minutes. As I was writing down my little Christmas story in the breakroom the power for the entire block shut down and it was so bad and Lil' Cheapy and peers got to go home. I was able to finish the story that day. Satanic Christmas miracles do happen. Hail Satan.
I've started a notebook of sentences. I'm collecting them from all sources, but mostly I'm discovering them through the cut-up technique made popular by William Burroughs. Occasionally I'll re-read them and think this one might go with that one and I start to see the crystals forming. I like writing this way, it's slow, but its fun. It's like I'm surprising myself, finding sentences I couldn't have made up consciously. I'm not a planner, planning takes all the mojo out of me. I'll get fed up before I've even begun and quit. I figure starting from the basic building blocks of story is a good place to start, the sentence. It's like you said, pieces of a puzzle, eventually you'll get that picture if you keep at it. I came to this conclusion organically, so it's nice to hear its a legit practice by a bona-fide writer, you know, a writer who gets paid to write and actually finishes stuff.
Up here in the great white north (well, actually we're in the pacific northwest, so more like the great green north) we write off a small portion of our pet expenses at tax time because our dogs, a goofy old golden retriever named Buddy McTavish, has an intimidating bark, and our equally ancient shih tzu Taz, who's almost blind, can still hear a leaf blow across the lawn and so he alerts us to anyone in the yard. It's only about 10% of the tab covering their food/vet bills/ flea meds and grooming, but last year it was just over a thousand dollars we got back for 'home security' (which buys a lot of their favourite treats :) Love your 'stack, btw, thanks for the inspiration!
This approach seems particularly useful for those of us without long chunks of time to dedicate to writing.
If I’ve only got an hour or so of spare time, I’d rather spend it on actually producing content, as opposed to worrying about plot/character details that will likely change in the next draft anyways.
I've always done this puzzle method when writing articles or short stories, but up until recently didn't give myself permission to do this with a novel. Here's why: In a smaller piece of work, it's "acceptable" to my brain to be confused or in intellectual limbo for a shorter period of time. With short pieces, you can get to the smart stuff quicker. You're a chicken with your head cut off, sure. But you know that VERY soon, the head'll grow back and you'll be smart again. You'll feel validated with your completed piece. With your profound EPIPHANY. You don't have to stay in that dummy mind-space that you don't like for more than an hour. Maybe a day or two. Tops.
But with a novel, turns out you have to be an idiot for who knows how long! You're helpless. Possibly decapitated forever. You don't know if you're ever gonna find the smart stuff with this honkin' block of text.
This book I'm writing, Chuck? It's ego death. It's a swift cut to my long, swan neck. It's a sharp lesson that to be a smart novelist, you first have to be a fuckin' frickin' fool. It's everything I've never liked.
But for some reason, I love it. And I'm doing it anyway.
Great post. Always love reminders not to create stories in such a linear fashion. I reckon it's going to take me some time to break free from that mindset also.
Happy to see you posting more frequently. I'm super excited for any hypnosis pieces you share. I'd love my work to have the effect of hypnotic music.
Very apt analogy. I have been doing puzzles all my life, and quickly started doing the small ones picture side down. God forbid I should ever look at the box (or virtual picture.. I've switched to the computer versions). For me, everything is connected to everything else, just as it should be in the universe.
Thanks for your encouragement to all the writers, and Happy Birthday in advance!!
Thanks, Chuck. I needed this. I started the morning with an exploded water heater flooding my basement, and it had me discombobulated. I’m just gonna roll with it. Stay dry!
Jake, that sucks man! For six months I’ve been rebuilding my entire basement due to water damage so I feel for you. Tying this back into Chuck’s post, though, now I’ve learned how all these layers fit together. The sump and drainage, the footers, the framing and electric, the insulation and Sheetrock, it was a contractors 101 intro lol.
Anyway, I’m happy it’s almost over. Best of luck to you!
Thanks, Chris. It could have been much worse, but I heard it pop and immediately killed the power to the well pump, so the flooding was minimalized. Just trying to get someone out here to fix it. Porn has given me unrealistic expectations of how easy it is to get a plumber to your house.
Thanks to torrential downpours for weeks, I had water in the basement for the first time in 13 years, which has prompted a massive basement clean out. Couple this with learning that my boyfriend from college died. I’ve been in the muck reading my journals from 1994 and living in the pre-internet past.
Fuck the basement. I may never go down there again. Who’s gonna make me?
Thank you, Chuck. Needed this. I’m so far behind but today I needed a jumpstart.
You must out on the west coast, huh?
No, in the land of dreams known as New Jersey. But I did get a plumber in the house (that porn/plumber comment is the funniest thing I’ve read in a while lol) and he said half the houses in town have two inches of water in the basements.
Yikes. I thought it was just Chuck getting all the rain.
Their availability will only be the first of several letdowns, I think haha.
I'm all for starting to write without knowing exactly where the story's going, but long experience has taught me that to run out of steam when you've written, say, 30,000 words is so dispiriting, I now try and draft a rough outline, even if I ignore, destroy, or refashion it as I go along.
Its thrilling to just keep trying various ideas, and then find that some of them fit together perfectly. Literally just happened to me via two nose related items. Looking forward to when I can vet these ideas better instead of having so many cuts. But that may never happen.
When I was thinking about my little Christmas essay, I kept turning it and turning it in my head until the lightening struck. I was unfortunately at work when everything came together at once. I was desperate to take my break and really upset that only had 10 minutes. As I was writing down my little Christmas story in the breakroom the power for the entire block shut down and it was so bad and Lil' Cheapy and peers got to go home. I was able to finish the story that day. Satanic Christmas miracles do happen. Hail Satan.
I've started a notebook of sentences. I'm collecting them from all sources, but mostly I'm discovering them through the cut-up technique made popular by William Burroughs. Occasionally I'll re-read them and think this one might go with that one and I start to see the crystals forming. I like writing this way, it's slow, but its fun. It's like I'm surprising myself, finding sentences I couldn't have made up consciously. I'm not a planner, planning takes all the mojo out of me. I'll get fed up before I've even begun and quit. I figure starting from the basic building blocks of story is a good place to start, the sentence. It's like you said, pieces of a puzzle, eventually you'll get that picture if you keep at it. I came to this conclusion organically, so it's nice to hear its a legit practice by a bona-fide writer, you know, a writer who gets paid to write and actually finishes stuff.
Yes, easterisings of words like jellybeans of straightpins to chew before the seam sewn ending!
“Ouch” said the puzzled writer.
Up here in the great white north (well, actually we're in the pacific northwest, so more like the great green north) we write off a small portion of our pet expenses at tax time because our dogs, a goofy old golden retriever named Buddy McTavish, has an intimidating bark, and our equally ancient shih tzu Taz, who's almost blind, can still hear a leaf blow across the lawn and so he alerts us to anyone in the yard. It's only about 10% of the tab covering their food/vet bills/ flea meds and grooming, but last year it was just over a thousand dollars we got back for 'home security' (which buys a lot of their favourite treats :) Love your 'stack, btw, thanks for the inspiration!
Hmm I’m going to write an ending as a prompt and see if I like it.
This approach seems particularly useful for those of us without long chunks of time to dedicate to writing.
If I’ve only got an hour or so of spare time, I’d rather spend it on actually producing content, as opposed to worrying about plot/character details that will likely change in the next draft anyways.
Definitely something I wanted to hear as inertia and depression are biting hard.
Also- thanks for the tip-off on Campfires Of The Dead And The Living. Asked for it as a Christmas gift and finally reading it. Just incredible stuff.
I've always done this puzzle method when writing articles or short stories, but up until recently didn't give myself permission to do this with a novel. Here's why: In a smaller piece of work, it's "acceptable" to my brain to be confused or in intellectual limbo for a shorter period of time. With short pieces, you can get to the smart stuff quicker. You're a chicken with your head cut off, sure. But you know that VERY soon, the head'll grow back and you'll be smart again. You'll feel validated with your completed piece. With your profound EPIPHANY. You don't have to stay in that dummy mind-space that you don't like for more than an hour. Maybe a day or two. Tops.
But with a novel, turns out you have to be an idiot for who knows how long! You're helpless. Possibly decapitated forever. You don't know if you're ever gonna find the smart stuff with this honkin' block of text.
This book I'm writing, Chuck? It's ego death. It's a swift cut to my long, swan neck. It's a sharp lesson that to be a smart novelist, you first have to be a fuckin' frickin' fool. It's everything I've never liked.
But for some reason, I love it. And I'm doing it anyway.
The way your mind works is a marvel lol
The first 3 words.
Beginning, middle, end.
Defeat the binary conspiracy with a 3 act analog play for the ages.
The puzzle building is a great analogy for nonlinear writing. I’ve tried the outline thing and find myself deviating wildly.
The next time my brain gives me shit about writing out of order, I'll tell it "hush up, Chuck said it's fine!"
Great post. Always love reminders not to create stories in such a linear fashion. I reckon it's going to take me some time to break free from that mindset also.
Happy to see you posting more frequently. I'm super excited for any hypnosis pieces you share. I'd love my work to have the effect of hypnotic music.