Inspiration In Ten Seconds...give or take

“A story is told that Whistler once painted a tiny picture of a spray of roses. The artistry involved in the picture was magnificent. Never before, it seemed, had the art of man been able to execute quite so deftly a reproduction of the art of nature. The picture was the envy of the artists who saw it, the despair of the collectors who yearned to buy it. But Whistler refused steadfastly to sell it. 'For,' he said, 'whenever I feel that my hand has lost its cunning, whenever I doubt my ability, I look at the little picture of the spray of roses, and say to myself, Whistler, you painted that. Your hand drew it. Your imagination conceived the colors. Your skill put the roses on the canvas. Then, said he, 'I know that what I have done, I can do again'”
~Sterling W. Sill


Happy writing!
~ Sheena

Book Review: The War of Art

Every once in a while, a book shows up just when you need it most. Maybe at some other time in your life, its impact would be just so-so. But in that moment, it really speaks to your soul. Right now, The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield is that kind of book.

My husband has both a voracious appetite for books and a wide range of interests (Just how did I luck out and get him? I don't know, but I thank my lucky stars every day). Not too long ago, he plunked down the War of Art in front of me and said, "You should read this." Now, I'm not nearly as much of a non-fiction reader as he is (especially self-improvement books - all I usually take away is a big dose of guilt), but I remembered Sheena's excellent post about The Art of War and acquiesced.

The War of Art (subtitle: Break Through Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles) turns out to be a fascinating book. The premise is best summed up in the prologue:

Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.

~ Stephen Pressfield, The War of Art

Everyone has something inside that they dream of doing, whether it's art, singing, running, or for us here at the Prosers, writing. In Pressfield's vocabulary, Resistance is the thing that keeps us from writing the words we want, from sticking to (or even starting) that diet or exercise plan, from accomplishing all those good intentions that sit warm and cozy in the back of our mind and never get done. We might think it's external things that hold us back, but most of the Resistance is really found within ourselves.

Mr. Pressfield is a Marine turned writer of military fiction. As you can imagine from his background and the title of his book, he sees the struggle with Resistance as a true battle, and the imagery is prevalent throughout. 

The book is divided into roughly three sections.

1. Resistance: Defining the Enemy
2. Combating Resistance: Turning Pro
3. Beyond Resistance: The Higher Realm

In many ways, the first section is set up like a series of proverbs - short pieces, less than a page long, that help define each aspect of Resistance and how it affects our ability to do the work. The second section discusses the mindset needed to overcome Resistance - an idea that I find quite compelling. The last section covers the things that keep you going.

I've found myself going slowly over the book and contemplating how it relates, not only to writing, but to other things I've always 'wished' I could do, but never seem to accomplish. I will also admit here, that in savoring it, I'm giving this review prematurely - I haven't finished the book yet, so I hope there aren't any surprises at the end!

If you find yourself at war with your dreams, if you find yourself struggling to get up and work toward your goal, this book may give you some insight and encouragement to keep moving forward. This one will definitely go in my reread pile.

~Susan

On Art and Science

A few weeks ago, in those odd unplanned theme weeks we occasionally have, we went back and forth on thought and magic and art. I joked to Melanie that even my subconscious is a scientist. She laughed and advised me to make it work. And I do make it work – when I can remember to stop worrying and actually write.

Jokes about subconscious aside, I actually have a very disorganized brain. For a short time, I’m happiest letting my thoughts wander in no particular direction. But that (as is typical of my personality type) leads to chaos and disorganization, and feelings of dissatisfaction.

Contrary to my disorganized mind, my brain produces results most effectively in lists and numbers. For example, I’m a better baker than a cook. Baking is all about precise measurements, the perfect ratio of flour and salt and water. A triumph in baking to me always seems a triumph in measurements, in proportions. Not in talent, like those cooks (my stepfather, my brother, Lawyer Friend), who can throw together any random set of ingredients and make magic. If I try cooking without a recipe, I can’t hold the process and the flavors together in my mind, and the dish falls apart.

But even when my structure is imposed, and the rules are in place, there is room for so much more. Take bread baking. The measurements are very precise, because otherwise the dough will rise too little or too much. And yet, some things are not exact, like the way the dough changes in your hands during kneading. There is art between the measurements, and the bread is better for it. As is writing, and any truly innovative scientific project.

Art made possible through science: Hubble Telescope Image of the Orion Nebula. Courtesy of NASA.

Perhaps I have to prepare my over-thinking scientific brain that we’re still safely surrounded by numbers and facts. There is an organizational pattern there to avoid too much distraction. And then, once those rules are in place, creativity really flows, without anxiety, and without limits. I can take the step back and feel the story change in my hands, until it feels light, until it reaches a place beyond numbers.

It’s more easily said than done, and all too easy to lose sight of. That’s where the scientific brain lets me down, and why I have to occasionally write blog posts to remind myself of why the method works. But that feeling of pure, effective creativity is what I aspire to in writing--even more than getting published.

How do you find your magic – by imposing rules and structure, despite them, or ignoring them altogether?

Art project

First of all, guess what? It's my birthday! There are a lot of people out there who don't like to advertise the day, but I've been an attention hog since I was five (there is video proof of this, but thankfully it hasn't been digitized).

Sometimes, I write my posts, I have the desire to draw a diagram, of all the parts of writing you need to make an amazing story. I have about zero ability with visual art, but I envision this diagram as some sort of nebulous atom with electrons, or maybe a fractal. Like so, with tiny parts repeating to make a whole:

Or so:

(from http://singingblackbird.deviantart.com/)

Or maybe one of those cellular diagrams that they show you in upper division biology class. The nucleus is the heart of the story, the DNA is the theme, the RNA is the plot (you know, developing of the theme…)… and um, the characters are…. Well, that's about how much I can recall of cellular structure.

Maybe a fractal is most appropriate. I envision the larger diagram as the story, and as you zoom in, you see plot, character, pacing… and then once you zoom in on those, you see different aspects of character, like physical attributes, character growth, strengths and weaknesses. And so on. Each skill is necessary, though strengths can be used to compensate for weaknesses. The diagram would be opaque, of course, because at the center of any good story is heart, and soul, and no amount of tutorial can teach you that, as it's the most individual aspect of writing.

Once this diagram was complete, there could be a graphic of it, where it zooms in on the section a blog post would be talking about. The selected spot could light up, or sparkle, or do the hokey pokey, or something.

What would you envision as a master story diagram?