[now to test if the moving image moves in a blog…]
The woman above is moving both directions. If she’s not spinning, you may have to use your imagination, but the point is, it depends which side of your brain is being used. Now I am a very left brained woman. I do statistics for a living and she inevitably moves clockwise for me. But there are times, out of the corner of my eye, or when I am performing certain tasks, that she will do a reverse and go counter-clockwise. I suspect she’d go counter-clockwise when I am in the bath writing. I have triggers and tricks that allow me to use the other side of my brain.
Sure, my writing will still be more about relational and structural elements than beautiful language, but there is some creativity to tap.
My problem? In this shortening process… eliminating words… eliminating almost 10,000 to date and probably 60,000 to go… one third of my novel GONE… this is a left brained process… can this go? If I take that out, how do I plant the information needed for that? Can this dialog be turned into a one paragraph summary? It is turning out I am not BAD at the task—that is my stronger portion of my brain after all. But I am finding myself completely unable to get out more than a page of new material a night after my editing task. I am used to shooting for five to ten pages but it just isn’t in me.
I would LOVE feedback on whether others feel like the editing and cutting process is as hard on creativity, or if this is a wacky phenomenon of my own madness…
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Creative (Un)writing?
Eh… not so much. So I am currently doing my best Zombie impression and picking apart brains. The whole right brain/left brain thing is well known, sure, and creativity is tied to that…
[now to test if the moving image moves in a blog…]
The woman above is moving both directions. If she’s not spinning, you may have to use your imagination, but the point is, it depends which side of your brain is being used. Now I am a very left brained woman. I do statistics for a living and she inevitably moves clockwise for me. But there are times, out of the corner of my eye, or when I am performing certain tasks, that she will do a reverse and go counter-clockwise. I suspect she’d go counter-clockwise when I am in the bath writing. I have triggers and tricks that allow me to use the other side of my brain.
Sure, my writing will still be more about relational and structural elements than beautiful language, but there is some creativity to tap.
My problem? In this shortening process… eliminating words… eliminating almost 10,000 to date and probably 60,000 to go… one third of my novel GONE… this is a left brained process… can this go? If I take that out, how do I plant the information needed for that? Can this dialog be turned into a one paragraph summary? It is turning out I am not BAD at the task—that is my stronger portion of my brain after all. But I am finding myself completely unable to get out more than a page of new material a night after my editing task. I am used to shooting for five to ten pages but it just isn’t in me.
I would LOVE feedback on whether others feel like the editing and cutting process is as hard on creativity, or if this is a wacky phenomenon of my own madness…
[now to test if the moving image moves in a blog…]
The woman above is moving both directions. If she’s not spinning, you may have to use your imagination, but the point is, it depends which side of your brain is being used. Now I am a very left brained woman. I do statistics for a living and she inevitably moves clockwise for me. But there are times, out of the corner of my eye, or when I am performing certain tasks, that she will do a reverse and go counter-clockwise. I suspect she’d go counter-clockwise when I am in the bath writing. I have triggers and tricks that allow me to use the other side of my brain.
Sure, my writing will still be more about relational and structural elements than beautiful language, but there is some creativity to tap.
My problem? In this shortening process… eliminating words… eliminating almost 10,000 to date and probably 60,000 to go… one third of my novel GONE… this is a left brained process… can this go? If I take that out, how do I plant the information needed for that? Can this dialog be turned into a one paragraph summary? It is turning out I am not BAD at the task—that is my stronger portion of my brain after all. But I am finding myself completely unable to get out more than a page of new material a night after my editing task. I am used to shooting for five to ten pages but it just isn’t in me.
I would LOVE feedback on whether others feel like the editing and cutting process is as hard on creativity, or if this is a wacky phenomenon of my own madness…
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4 comments:
Hm, I don't know, good question :)
First of all, the Naked Chick intially moves counter-clockwise for me, so that would make me right-brained creative, right? :)
On the other hand, it was always my Economy and History, and to a lesser extent, Maths notebooks that were covered in drawings and sketches, so it's an intriguing question ;)
I am a left brained person - she always goes clockwise for me - but editing is hard for me. Very very hard. I use words sparingly, but when I have used them, I hate letting go too many of them.
I don't mind editing other people's work (most are so loquatious, it is almost a pleasure) but after I have done that, I always need to look at a spreadsheet for a bit before I can do anything creative.
Does that sort of answer your question, Your Tarty Highness?
I am now riveted by both your current blogs, but have only stamina to respond to this tonight (it's late) & hope to go into the other (3 days later - wow prolific - but blogs come from the same hemisphere as editing & chopping :)), maybe tomorrow. Thank you for the sweet double-turning lady graphic which works beautifully. Am hugely motivated to 'steal' her if I could get her to work for me.
But it was what you said about tricks & quirks which you use to switch brain processes. I, too am hugely interested in the ability to switch hemispheres (she initially turns clockwise for me until I deliberately switch tracks & she acquiesces & turns counterclockwise). I have recently been boning up on all available 'easy' techniques for creating one's own reality, 'attractor factor', Abraham-Hicks, Eckhard Tolle, and find most of them use the 3 'consciousnesses': lower self/feelings (= subconscious = right brain), middle/thinking [= intellect = left brain), upper/higher self (spirit = superconscious /higher consciousness = awareness = melding both hemispheres. some of the new age websites actually advocate the combining of all three to 'create' a more powerful awareness of our capabilities as humans. [Holy Trinity notwithstanding]
This could possibly be my way of avoiding the dire deed you are in process of tackling - more power to you - because I so need to do something similar to my 235,000-er which just got rejected again. Half of me believes I can change the world to receive my pearls (by being aware of my consciousness); the other half - left brain, categorically - is egging me on to open the old doc & start shredding it. Left-brain is itching to do that. But right brain is hanging on, believing, expecting & loving the new freedom which comes with indulging the creative side.
Yes I love/hate my logical side, but half of my life is run on it. And, yes, it DOES massacre the creative - but only temporarily.
If you do have tricks you can pull, I'd say, keep on doing it. Because it is stretching our mental/spiritual capacity and it's wot human beings are supposed to be able to do.
IMHO
oh yes, p.s. in US Choline (in GB Lecithin) is good for stimulating synapses of both varieties.
sidereal--thanks so much for comments! (Joris and Carnimire too, of course) I love the idea of creativity requiring both sides plus the synthesis, if you will. As for your 235K book--I LOVE books that long, but a published writer recently explained in no uncertain terms that it is impossible for someone unpublished--an agent won't even look to SEE if it's any good because no publisher will take it, so the options are to shorten or to publish something shorter FIRST and when successful, THEN maybe they will think about the longer one.
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