Monday, March 12, 2012

Thoughts on my writing process

My process for writing is pretty non existent. If there is a start it is with a couple of words that link together in my mind or I hear a song that has a gives me a meter. From there it's as thought something turns on and takes over and I have written. It feels like I a conduit for something else, I can sort of steer it or edit what was created after the fact but it goes madly and out of control.

You can feel it coming from time to time and I just do my best to get in a place to accept it. I am not saying writing is supernatural or that you must be born to it. The more I write the more I stay in the receptive place. The more I force myself through inactive periods the more active periods I have. In short the more I ask of myself the more I can give.

I am a different writer than I was in the past. I don't think that means better. I have read old stuff I have written and said wow I did that, it's almost like I have no recollection. But I understand now I have a better picture of what I want to do be doing. Not in terms of focus for individual pieces but rather style.

For me its about alliteration, my desire is to be seen as a modern skald writing prose Edda. My rhyming is week almost comical which is fine, I want that alliteration as my forte and the rest can be foible. Though lets be honest my true foil is meter I am weak there. That is why I use music when writing I am trying to feel a song and use that beat for my words.

Time neutral is a phrase I think of for my writing. I long ago decided I am trying for some nebulous time affectation in my writing. I want to use words that could be of today or a hundred years ago. I don't want to be pinned down, even if I have a specific date in mind I don't to be held fast by the reader.

My imagery is Eliot, Burnt Norton is almost what I would call my perfect bundle of pictures. But for my eyes its more American more Western, black and white. Maybe with a broken down Ford. I try to be expressionistic but fail to impressions.

I'm sure you can see music also makes it's way into titles and even the body of my works. I don't know about that at times, its goofy and amateurish. But that's a pretty good description of this whole site.

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