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Messages - Aen Elderberry

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31
Writing Group / Re: Writing Attachment and Seperation
« on: April 26, 2007, 04:46:01 PM »
Anyhow, I have a hard time believing that ANYONE can put something like this together (painting/song/story) without  the result being some part of them.

(imho)

The more of we put into our artistic creations the better they are.  I think this can be unconscious.  You might not even be aware of how much of your writing is a reflection of yourself.   And sometimes doing it in a rush is better than being slow and thoughtful.  You can rush right past all those inhibitions and get the words on the page.

I hope that there are a lot of really cool things in my imagination.  When I write I try to open a conduit that moves those images to a written form.  The success of my writing, the opening of the conduit, depends on my skill as a writer not on what I have to say.  I'd like to be a skilled but the 'me' that is on  in the writing is the source, not my skill at putting it on paper.

My worst writing comes when I'm trying too hard to impress or trying to hard to be a great writer.  When my writing fails it's because the conduit gets fouled up with a bunch of junk.  But it's my lack of writing skill, not the source, that is flawed.

Looking at it this way makes it a little easier to handle criticism of my work.  I try to think of it as criticism of my writing skill, not criticism of 'me.'   In that way I do feel a bit detached from my work.  But I still get frustrated at not being able to express myself the way I'd like to.

Also, at his writing workshop Tracy Hickman said that it helps to hold up your manuscript and say "This is my book."  Then point to yourself, "This is me."  Make the distinction and then it's easier to listen to feedback on the manuscript because it's not criticism of you.  It seems like you want to be strongly attached while writing and editing but you need some distance when getting feedback.

McFish, do you ever do sequels?  (ie. a "roommate" that you've had a break from and now you're ready to spend some more time in the same world with the same characters?)

32
Writing Group / Re: BYU Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers
« on: April 25, 2007, 11:37:37 PM »
I did go last year.  It was great.

It does count as a tuition benefit for fulltime BYU employees (with some restrictions).  Call Continuing Education to find out the details.  I think you might have to take it as a credit course to get the benefit, but I'm not sure.

33
Brandon Sanderson / Re: PC or Mac?
« on: April 25, 2007, 11:23:10 PM »
The funny thing about this thread is Macs are PCs, a PC isn't just something that runs Windows it's any Personal Computer.  I get a kick out of those apple ads since they're trying to say they're not something they are.

Do people still use the term WinTel?   (as in MS Windows running on a computer using an Intel processor)

Or is there some other more accurate distinction?

34
Rants and Stuff / Re: Happy Things 2006:Generation X [part deux]
« on: April 25, 2007, 10:02:34 PM »
#331 out of what, a billion?

Hey, you're almost a third of a millionth of the way there.  Keep it up!

35
Writing Group / Re: The Talent Myth
« on: April 13, 2007, 05:14:10 PM »
. . . putting myself completely into it (the way EUOL has done, first by committing to write at his job every moment he could and now by doing it full time. Just the fact that he wrote novel after novel before he had written something good enough to publish I think shows his commitment).

I think of EUOL in this case as well.  He has talent but the real reason he's published is his commitment.

And I love the Marianne Williamson quote.  Seems like I heard that years ago attributed to Nelson Mandella.  Mandella probably just quoted it in his inaugural address.   

42 makes good points as well.  Perhaps we can modify Edison's formula  "Genius is one per cent inspiration, ninety-nine per cent perspiration."   Something like "Getting published is 1% talent and 99% keeping your butt in the chair."

Another relevant quote by Calvin Coolidge:  "Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'Press On' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race. "

I think there are other factors like humility - willingness to learn from feedback and recognize your weakness -- and faith -- believing that you can over come those weaknesses and succeed.  But the main requirement seems to be hard work.   And that stinks 'cause I can be so awfully lazy.

36
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Alcatraz audiobook
« on: April 11, 2007, 04:45:38 PM »

Nulla auctor nulla ac mauris. In at magna. . . . molestie imperdiet. Nam elit. Donec turpis arcu, pulvinar eu, varius in, nonummy sed, nibh. Quisque eget quam.


Are you going to give us a translation?

37
Writing Group / The Talent Myth
« on: April 11, 2007, 03:38:44 PM »
My brother told me about Gym Jones.  They were responsible for getting the cast of 300 in top physical condition.  I read this article on their site and thought it applied to writing.  Tell me what you think.

(from http://www.gymjones.com/knowledge.php?id=26)

TALENT

The Talent Myth

BY SCOTT SEMPLE

"My mother said to me, 'If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.' Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso."

A friend and training mentor once told me, "The secret of the pros is that they train in secret." For a while that made sense. It seemed that where performance is highly optimized -- and where optimization is highly coveted -- it would make sense that methodology would be closely guarded.

But secret methodology is the province of world-class athletes; not of participants; nor of enthusiasts. Most people -- if sufficiently motivated, and if unencumbered by lame excuses that they assign to genetics -- want to know the secret that distinguishes the pros from themselves. The real "secret" of the fit, the fast and the "talented" is no secret at all; it's a much harder pill (than genetics) to swallow. And no one will accept it because of what it demands: real commitment in the form of regular, consistent, indefinite practice. And real practice demands devotion.

THE PROS TRAIN. And they train consistently and indefinitely. In other words, they commit.

People love to say that they don't train (or practice or study...) They think it makes their mediocre performance more impressive. Or they use a hero as an example, saying he or she doesn't practice either. But the truth is that anyone who becomes really world-class good at anything has devoted a large part of their lives to that thing -- often to the exclusion of all else. They may not call it "training" or "practice;" the actual labels are irrelevant. It's the time spent that counts.

"Practice" and "training" are not timelines and diet plans -- although those are effective parts of it. Real training means committing to the process: showing up at the keyboard or behind the lens or in the ring or on the rope, and doing it religiously, even when you're tired, even when you've got nothing to say, even when it's too cold, too hot, too hard.

People wish they had talent. They see it as a practice-free ticket to crowd-stunning skill. But talent doesn't exist. "Talent" doesn't get results; practice and devotion do.

Was Picasso gifted from birth with the talent to become an artistic genius? Or was he gifted with the tenacity to become a genius at anything? As he wobbled down the street on his first bicycle, did his mother see her son's uncommon ability, or his uncommon focus and determination? What led her to predict that he would be great? Was he out-of-the-womb a brilliant finger-painter? Or was he just stubborn?

38
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Alcatraz audiobook
« on: April 09, 2007, 04:29:37 PM »
Hey! I just saw this on Amazon. What's the difference between the normal edition and the library edition? Is it unabridged?

Libraries aren't supposed to censor or change materials but the librarians that Brandon deals with are evil.

So he had to create a library edition with librarians that are better looking and more fashionable.  And I think Brandon had to add a scene vilifying people who damage library materials and re-shelf books (since they invariably put things back in the wrong place).   Did I forget anything?

39
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Okay, I'm hooked.
« on: April 03, 2007, 12:30:23 AM »
Ha!  My 'take pity on the poor author' face worked!  Excellent...

Can you give us lessons?

Does it only work on readers?   Or can it also affect editors and agents?

40
Brandon Sanderson / Re: MB2 release party?
« on: March 22, 2007, 11:08:39 PM »
Waldenbooks
(801) 852-0015

I just called and got on the list.  They are also taking "reservations" for Alcatraz!

41
Writing Group / Re: A Few Lessons Learned from Publishing in America
« on: March 22, 2007, 10:57:02 PM »
This made me laugh.  (From "Podcast: A Small Publisher Bucks the System, Part 2" with Olga Gardner Galvin.)  Quoted a bit out of context --

7:21 into podcast
 
Paula:
Quote
Why is it that books that seem so distasteful to the average person end up being called literature?

Olga:
Quote
That's a good question.  In my experience in big publishing novels are called literary --now that's the word "literary" not so much "literature"-- literary to give them an excuse to have no discernible plot for stories, which is compensated for by unreadable, pompous style.

(Comments about it being hard to edit a literary book because it will be unreadable and the author will fight about every word.)

Quote
When an author has a story to tell it's easier to edit his style and to point out to him where a style may be getting in the way of the story, or may not be doing the story or the character justice, because he has higher goals than this word or this comma [being] just so.  He has a story and a character which are more important.  In a literary novel frequently there are no characters and no plots to fight over so -- [mimicking the literary author arguing with the editor]"Oh, no, I meant this word here, even  it doesn't mean what the dictionary says it means.  No, I'm using this word in a different meaning . . ."

Literary critics put a lot of intellectual stock into being literary.  It's really a very silly distinction and mostly it is propagated by intellectually insecure people who like to be perceived as readers of "literature" rather than of just plain fiction.

42
Writing Group / A Few Lessons Learned from Publishing in America
« on: March 22, 2007, 03:59:01 PM »
Came across this in the show notes for a podcast I listen to.

A Few Lessons Learned from Publishing in America By Olga Gardner Galvin
http://writingshow.com/?page_id=45

Some things I found interesting, such as "Any author owes it to himself to try every route available to get his book published by one of the big players. Only after he has exhausted all the avenues into the big presses, should he consider alternative publishing."

But overall her view seems rather bleak for authors.

43
Movies and TV / Re: Avatar Movie by Shyamalan
« on: March 20, 2007, 05:31:46 AM »
Do you mean children's shows you can watch with your kids and enjoy yourself?

Yes.

Thanks for the other recommendations!

44
Everything Else / Re: Best Quote Lately Reincarnated
« on: March 15, 2007, 04:21:20 PM »
My 3 year old, Luke, got a hair cut yesterday.  (Imagine a three year old sitting on a booster seat with just his little head sticking out of the plastic tarp.)

At home he showed my wife a plastic Batman action figure.  Luke turned Batman's cape around so that it covered the front of the figure.   "Batman's getting a haircut."

45
Brandon Sanderson / Re: Deseret News Article
« on: March 12, 2007, 04:57:24 PM »
Freakiest photo of Brandon ever.

I mean, seriously. Doesn't it just look like he's going to bend down and eat your head?

Is this photo taken from a child's perspective?   "Mr. Sanderson, would you sign my book?"  It looks like Brandon signed the book but just  said, "I'm not giving it back until you promise to obey your mom?"

Or perhaps the photographer used his magical "Camera of Reveal Abilities" to capture Brandon's true stature as an Author.

I'm sure this forum could come up with great captions for the picture.  Someone should make a poll.

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