Randomness

[loracs]

What motivates a writer? I’m thinking primarily of fiction writers. Does one believe they have something so unique to say, it must be recorded?

Is the motivation different when payment is involved? I’ve heard tales of the pulp writers of the last century, when paid by the word, padding, when possible, with long expository paragraphs. I’m reminded of my school days and the assignments with a required word length. Oh how I loved to put two sentences together with that wonderful little preposition “and” – it was got me one word closer to my goal. And never let the title speak for itself, always repeat it in the first sentence. My other trick when I was a little short, go back over the piece and find places where I could add a question at the beginning of a paragraph. “So exactly how did I end up in the apple tree on that hot summer day, you might ask?” That’s good for 19 MORE words.

This word count thing isn’t where my thoughts started this morning, but there you have it, my brain at work. And since I’m at work, I guess I should be working. Now, there is a unique idea. 8-)

Comments

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

For me, when I've written, it's just been that I had something in my head and I wanted to get it out. I've always been sort of creatively motivated, though. Once I get an idea for something to make, I usually want to go ahead and do so. I've had a couple of story ideas that I haven't written yet just because I don't know if I *can*, but they prod at me continually.

[loracs.livejournal.com]

Is this a same motivation for your music, i.e. it's in your head and you want to get it out? In what way do you think you might not be able to write your story ideas?

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

With the music, it depends. Sometimes the idea comes first the same way. But I'm much more apt to sit down with no idea and just wing it. Often the tools themselves inspire me with music, once I start fiddling with them. Even if I start on an idea I already had, with music I rarely stick with it.

With everything else though, it starts that way. So I guess music is unique for me in that I'll often do it for its own sake even if I have no goal or idea.

For the latter question, I just don't know if I'm a good enough writer, and I also don't know if the ideas are fleshed out enough yet, or if I have the required storytelling skills to flesh them out in a way that will turn them from neat ideas into a really interesting tale.

[loracs.livejournal.com]

Interesting how the music happens. And that the tools have a inspirational roll.

Total *nod* on the latter answer. I worry that I don't have the skills to flesh something out into a longer story or novel. I guess that's why I started looking into classes or workshops.

[epi-lj.livejournal.com]

I was tempted to take classes or workshops. However, I concluded that at this time if I were to do that I would want to focus on music. :)

The inspirational role of the tools in music seems to be pretty widely acknowledged -- it's something that manufacturers really advertise and reviewers talk about in product reviews. I'm not sure what makes it so different in that respect. I suppose it's true of sculpture as well, where it's well-known that you sometimes just start working away at the material and the material suggests the project.

[purplerabbit.livejournal.com]

The characters talk to me. Bug me. Drive me insane unless I write down what they tell me to write. Sometimes they wake me up in the night, saying that was a good dream we gave you, now write it down.

I use to think I was crazy because I heard voices in my head. Now I know that all writers are crazy.

My other two motivations have to do with a kind of kink response. Writing turns me on. I love to write. It always makes me wet and now days it can even make me come. And I am an exhibitionist about it. I get turned on by being read as well.