Write Stuff

Time

Time is such a complex subject. It is difficult to understand and quite impossible to grasp. There is a theory that time is an illusion with purpose. I think that Edgar Cayce, a 20th century psychic, stated this.

In a way, technology works to show us how time can be an illusion. You are most likely reading this with the assumption that it was written on May 7, 2008 but it wasn’t. I’m writing some posts ahead of schedule because I am expecting a baby.

What’s the difference if I write this post on May 1st or May 7th? There may be none. I originally wanted to post that each of the postdated entries would be very different from the ones that I would have written on a weekly basis.

But I have no way of really knowing that. Do I?

I guess that it depends on how you look at writing. Can a work differ greatly if written a week ahead of schedule? What if you wait a few days–or years–to complete a project? Can your thoughts significantly change your writing from moment to moment?

Bright Stuff #452

Write about getting lost in time.

Un-Comfort Zone

It’s easy to become comfortable. And the older I get, the easier it seems. In some areas of life this isn’t a bad thing. For instance when juggling the extra-curricular activities of a family of six, I have no problem steering some kids into activities I’m familiar with—especially if it means fewer destinations for my own chauffeur service.

But in writing this comfort zone can be a very bad thing. While all readers, at one time or another, look for the familiar, writing that stands out is writing that is fresh and original. Comfortable is one thing, complacency is something completely different.

So how do we as writers stop ourselves from becoming complacent on our own writing?

The easiest way is to vary your reading. Sci-fi is my favorite genre, and I could easily slip into reading only that. But more I make a point to read from as many other genres as I can.

However, the best way is to keep trying new things with your own writing. Experiment. Art, at it’s very nature is experimental. If you love to write in the 3rd person, write a few stories—or even scenes—in the first person. Try a genre you sometimes read, but never write. Try a dialogue only story.

I routinely find that if I’m stuck on one story, shaking things up by writing something new—something I never intend to polish and pursue—can get me unstuck in a hurry.

So that’s your assignment for this week. Write something in your Un-Comfort Zone.

Bright Stuff #451

Spark word: Addiction

Connected Lives (Part Six)

LOL.

ROFL.

POS.

TTYL.

TTFN.

Do you recognize each of those abbreviations? If not, they stand for:

Laughing on line.

Rolling on floor laughing.

Parents over shoulder.

Talk to you later.

Ta ta for now.

I wonder how many times each day, those and other shortcuts like them are transmitted via text or instant message, or email. I think it would be even more interesting to know the age breakdown of the folks using those abbreviations. Are they the vernacular of teenagers? Twenty-somethings? Or Baby Boomers?

Actually, they are used by all age groups.

Does all the text messaging, emailing, commenting on blogs, and other forms of shortcutting impact the quality of our writing such that tomorrow’s adults will be less competent writers?

The results of a recent survey might surprise you, as they did me.

I never hand-write documents other than checks, a note for the cleaning lady or the occasional Hallmark card. I began typing all of my work in high school and continued right through law school (I typed every law school exam, and even took a back-up typewriter with me to the Bar Examination, lest my well-used Brother conk out in the middle of an essay question).

However, a new survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project revealed that two-thirds of American high school students complete their assignments by hand, rather than using the computer. In fact, for personal writing outside school, longhand is even more popular. It is the preferred form for nearly three-quarters of teens. Not as surprisingly, teenagers who blog are more likely to engage in personal writing and tend to believe that writing will prove crucial to their eventual success in life.

Their parents were found more likely than teens to believe that Internet-based writing such as e-mail and instant messaging affects writing overall, though both groups are split on whether the electronic communications help or hurt. Nonetheless, 73 percent of teens and 40 percent of parents believe Internet writing makes no difference either way.

However, two-thirds of the students who responded to the survey admitted that abbreviations such as those listed above and emoticons like have slipped into their school assignments and other formal writing. In fact, not surprisingly, they are more likely to find their way into the work of students who blog or use sites such as Facebook or MySpace.

Parents and teenagers disagree on the question of whether such informal writing impacts young people’s development of formal writing skills. 73 percent of the teens believe that internet writing techniques make no difference and do not effect their ability to write well in other settings, but only 40 percent of the parents who answered the survey questions felt the same way.

What do you think? Have you caught an occasional “LOL” or “TTYL” slipping into your business correspondence or formal writing? Or did it happen without you noticing so that it was brought to your attention by the recipient of the communication? Is “internet writing” having any impact upon your real world skills? Leave a comment!

Bright Stuff #450

Try yoga.

The good, the popular

Over the past week Jodi and I have been having a long discussion about book lists:

The first list was compiled out of books that people bought because they feel they ought to read them, but never got round to it. We compared how many of these books we owned ourselves, how many we had read, and how many we wanted to.

The existence of this list poses the question why do you read a book? Are there books you read because you feel you ought to, rather than because you want to? Have you ever been guilty of purchasing a “vanity” book, one that sits on a shelf, unread, and is there to create an impression on others? These books are considered of such great merit, that to have read them is taken to reflect well on the reader. Whether or not the reputation of these books is deserved is another matter, one which for some of them I dispute.

Take a look at the list, and see for yourself which books you’ve read.

The second list is, in many ways, more interesting. It is the Waterstones bookstore’s Books of the Century - a year-by-year list of the most popular book that year. What intrigues me most about this list is how many of these books I simply haven’t heard of, and how many more famous books are notable by their absence.

The problem with any “best of” list is that, regardless of your criteria, they are necessarily subjective. Even in a list such as the Waterstones list, which tries to be neutral by examining popularity on a year by year basis, it ignores books that have a lasting appeal, in favour of books that were instantly (and sometimes only briefly) popular. A list based on popularity purely will ignore books with perhaps more literary merit (for example, celebrity “autobiographies” are frequently bestsellers), but a list based purely on literary merit risks being obscure, and of course is necessarily subjective. Who defines “literary merit”? What is “literary merit” anyway?

Take a few minutes to have a look at the lists, and think about what you read, why you read, and consider what makes a good book, and a popular book.

Leave a comment here, or take part in the discussions already going on.

Bright Stuff #449

A superhero is usually someone with an extraordinary skill. Think of a skill for a superhero.