That’s so interesting re: having more of a gardening approach early on in the process—when everything is more fluid/open. And about how you’re increasingly resistant to the working becoming ‘too fixed’. I wonder if writer’s go through life and stages—like caterpillars or silkworms—rather than having a tendency that stays constant throughout our writing lives?
I feel as though my approach to writing is evolving and the metaphor of a caterpillar or silkworm could both be applied on the micro level of a single project and the macro level of a writer's creative life and stages. I've noticed that some authors whom I've admired for a long time describe their writing process today (during interviews) in the same way they did five or ten years ago. Others writers have commented on how their approach has shifted due to work or lifestyle changes...but I'm sure changes are the result of time and constant engagement with and reflection on our practice.
In your article, I especially liked the idea that we have a range of tools and that you might use a tool for a practical reason or switch to a different tool to mix things up. Lately, I feel that the main tool I am relying on is patience, which is also applicable to gardening. It can take several hours to weed our small backyard after heavy rain, and this task can be both enjoyable or laborsome depending on the day! After all that hard work though, you have an aesthetically pleasing space. I'm currently in draft three of a new manuscript. Right now, writing is both fun and laborsome because some aspects of the story are known while others require further development, but I'm writing towards my aesthetic vision for the work!
Hi. I love the notion that writers are gardeners architects. As a writer of fiction I plant and grow my thoughts and ideas in a magical garden filled with dreams and visions every time I write. I am also creating new landscapes with structures that are rich and diverse in their shapes, forms, textures and colors. So we're painters and sculptors, too. And, of course, we're explorers of new worlds populated by all kinds of characters that manifest our feelings and beliefs.
Hello, D. C.! It's lovely to have you here. That's a wonderful idea, that we could also think of ourselves as sculptors, painters, and explorers. One of my childhood fantasies was to become an explorer, but by the time I was grown it felt as if there wasn't much of the so-called real world left to discover.
The way you describe the multi-faceted nature of writing makes it sound as if we're Renaissance folk: skilled in a range of approaches or skills. Thanks for adding your perspective!
Another fantastically rich essay that has introduced me to new writers/artist and their works. As always, a pleasure to read! I'm more of a garden appreciator than gardener, but I find it fascinating how we can draw connections between creative practice and other areas of our lives; I've often thought there were main similarities between cooking and writing, writing and exercise. In terms of this example, I *tend* to take a gardeners approach during the early **thinking/feeling/imaging** stages of a creative work. The type of work you do before you even begin a zero/first draft--though that too is loose and exploratory. The further along I get in a work, the more of an architect I become, though I am finding, lately, a resistance to allowing the work to become to fixed too fast.
That’s so interesting re: having more of a gardening approach early on in the process—when everything is more fluid/open. And about how you’re increasingly resistant to the working becoming ‘too fixed’. I wonder if writer’s go through life and stages—like caterpillars or silkworms—rather than having a tendency that stays constant throughout our writing lives?
I feel as though my approach to writing is evolving and the metaphor of a caterpillar or silkworm could both be applied on the micro level of a single project and the macro level of a writer's creative life and stages. I've noticed that some authors whom I've admired for a long time describe their writing process today (during interviews) in the same way they did five or ten years ago. Others writers have commented on how their approach has shifted due to work or lifestyle changes...but I'm sure changes are the result of time and constant engagement with and reflection on our practice.
In your article, I especially liked the idea that we have a range of tools and that you might use a tool for a practical reason or switch to a different tool to mix things up. Lately, I feel that the main tool I am relying on is patience, which is also applicable to gardening. It can take several hours to weed our small backyard after heavy rain, and this task can be both enjoyable or laborsome depending on the day! After all that hard work though, you have an aesthetically pleasing space. I'm currently in draft three of a new manuscript. Right now, writing is both fun and laborsome because some aspects of the story are known while others require further development, but I'm writing towards my aesthetic vision for the work!
Hi. I love the notion that writers are gardeners architects. As a writer of fiction I plant and grow my thoughts and ideas in a magical garden filled with dreams and visions every time I write. I am also creating new landscapes with structures that are rich and diverse in their shapes, forms, textures and colors. So we're painters and sculptors, too. And, of course, we're explorers of new worlds populated by all kinds of characters that manifest our feelings and beliefs.
Hello, D. C.! It's lovely to have you here. That's a wonderful idea, that we could also think of ourselves as sculptors, painters, and explorers. One of my childhood fantasies was to become an explorer, but by the time I was grown it felt as if there wasn't much of the so-called real world left to discover.
The way you describe the multi-faceted nature of writing makes it sound as if we're Renaissance folk: skilled in a range of approaches or skills. Thanks for adding your perspective!
Another fantastically rich essay that has introduced me to new writers/artist and their works. As always, a pleasure to read! I'm more of a garden appreciator than gardener, but I find it fascinating how we can draw connections between creative practice and other areas of our lives; I've often thought there were main similarities between cooking and writing, writing and exercise. In terms of this example, I *tend* to take a gardeners approach during the early **thinking/feeling/imaging** stages of a creative work. The type of work you do before you even begin a zero/first draft--though that too is loose and exploratory. The further along I get in a work, the more of an architect I become, though I am finding, lately, a resistance to allowing the work to become to fixed too fast.