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writersloungeVery cool to see so many new people in the comm! I’m stealing Callainlove’s meme, I thought it was a great way to introduce herself and her interests, and I hope others will choose to do it, too.
I’m going to put this under a cut, since I tend to ramble.
1) Why Do You Write?
Because I can’t not write. I’ve been writing since I learned how to form the letters. I joke that I’m SSL – speech is my second language, and it’s kind of true. I’m not great at verbal communication but in writing, I have a much easier time expressing myself in the way I mean to. Not always – sometimes my verbal madness creeps in, which I find pretty interesting. My fingers have no filter. I also am constantly forming stories in my head, and I need somewhere to put them.
2) What Sort Of Things Inspire You?
The greatest inspirations have been other writers – Truman Capote, Henry Miller, Edith Wharton, Jean Paul Sartre have all been especially influential: Jean Paul in what he says and Truman, Edith and Henry in how they say it. Music, movies, the mountains (especially this time of year), situations, circumstance…. And I’ve been known to think up and write crazy, wild things under the influence of too much wine, which oddly enough mostly turn out to be viable in the harsh light of day. Not that I’m recommending or condoning this, but there’s a reason why writers appreciate a tipple. Which reminds me, here are 20 distinguished writers and their drink of choice.
3) When/Where Do You Write Best?
I really don’t have a specific where and when. No, I’m wrong – usually it’s at 2 in the morning when it’s pitch black and I have nothing to write on. Which is why I take my computer to bed with me. I used to try to write in notebooks in the dark, but the next day I could never decipher all the lines crossing one over the other. And I always want to write when I have other obligations. So basically I write best when I’m in circumstances that make it challenging if not impossible to do so.
4) What Concepts Are You Constantly Trying To Communicate?
The concept that love, sex and identity are not things to be compartmentalized into categories; that magic is not mystical; that semicolons are perfectly useful pieces of punctuation; that taking a moment to decipher a complex sentence can actually increase the enjoyability and the possibility that it will resonate; that making up words like enjoyability is fun and should not be avoided; that art is play, even when we’re playing with difficult or challenging subjects.
5) Do You Find There Are Any Recurring Thematic Elements In Your Work?
Well I’m working on a series right now, so yes. I think that most artists take a theme and shake it to death until they wring from it everything they can express. It’s sort of a motivational factor of human nature to go at something over and over again in order to fully understand or purge or find validation or receive the assurance that we’re being heard. And then we move on to the next obsession.
I’m going to put this under a cut, since I tend to ramble.
1) Why Do You Write?
Because I can’t not write. I’ve been writing since I learned how to form the letters. I joke that I’m SSL – speech is my second language, and it’s kind of true. I’m not great at verbal communication but in writing, I have a much easier time expressing myself in the way I mean to. Not always – sometimes my verbal madness creeps in, which I find pretty interesting. My fingers have no filter. I also am constantly forming stories in my head, and I need somewhere to put them.
2) What Sort Of Things Inspire You?
The greatest inspirations have been other writers – Truman Capote, Henry Miller, Edith Wharton, Jean Paul Sartre have all been especially influential: Jean Paul in what he says and Truman, Edith and Henry in how they say it. Music, movies, the mountains (especially this time of year), situations, circumstance…. And I’ve been known to think up and write crazy, wild things under the influence of too much wine, which oddly enough mostly turn out to be viable in the harsh light of day. Not that I’m recommending or condoning this, but there’s a reason why writers appreciate a tipple. Which reminds me, here are 20 distinguished writers and their drink of choice.
3) When/Where Do You Write Best?
I really don’t have a specific where and when. No, I’m wrong – usually it’s at 2 in the morning when it’s pitch black and I have nothing to write on. Which is why I take my computer to bed with me. I used to try to write in notebooks in the dark, but the next day I could never decipher all the lines crossing one over the other. And I always want to write when I have other obligations. So basically I write best when I’m in circumstances that make it challenging if not impossible to do so.
4) What Concepts Are You Constantly Trying To Communicate?
The concept that love, sex and identity are not things to be compartmentalized into categories; that magic is not mystical; that semicolons are perfectly useful pieces of punctuation; that taking a moment to decipher a complex sentence can actually increase the enjoyability and the possibility that it will resonate; that making up words like enjoyability is fun and should not be avoided; that art is play, even when we’re playing with difficult or challenging subjects.
5) Do You Find There Are Any Recurring Thematic Elements In Your Work?
Well I’m working on a series right now, so yes. I think that most artists take a theme and shake it to death until they wring from it everything they can express. It’s sort of a motivational factor of human nature to go at something over and over again in order to fully understand or purge or find validation or receive the assurance that we’re being heard. And then we move on to the next obsession.
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Date: 2011-10-20 08:44 pm (UTC)Amen to that.
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Date: 2011-10-20 09:54 pm (UTC)I'm completely astonished that one of my favorites, Edgar A. Poe, isn't on that list of writers/their favorite drinks.
And writing when you're not supposed to? Totally with you on that. The best way to get me to write is to tell me that I can't.
Why, yes, I DO write during class and at work and while I'm supposed to be having conversations with other people...Semi-colon love! ♥
And you're definitely right about making up words. ALL words are made up esstentially. Language is simply an agreed upon medium with which to form a commonality of thought with other beings.
Great answers!
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Date: 2011-10-20 10:09 pm (UTC)You are a rebel! I love rebels, literary and otherwise!
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Date: 2011-10-20 10:37 pm (UTC)Others I known by heart are Robert Frost's 'Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening' and William Blake's 'Tiger'. Love those!
I have never been called a rebel, but I think I like it. XD
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Date: 2011-10-20 10:47 pm (UTC)Oh, I like those poems, too! Surprisingly I know them (though not by memory). I'm not very well versed, har har!
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Date: 2011-10-20 11:06 pm (UTC)I'm loving all the awesome folk in this comm. I wonder would you care to do the friending thing (or the DW equivalent of)?
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