Forgive me this is going to be a brief post. It’s been a
struggle. I am feeling positively discombobulated. I am currently overwhelmed
by marking but also last night’s ‘statement’ seemed to throw the world off-kilter
as we know it. I am not going into the politics of it as this is not the place
but it seems to have created a lot of confusion and upset today.
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| Feeling Discombobulated |
The glorious author Kathryn Evans posed the question the
other day ‘Is thinking part of writing?’
It made me stop and think (excuse the pun). I had literally
just finished writing the first draft of a novel, so had been emersed in the
process. It seemed an ideal time to consider her question.
I realised how much
thinking I do when writing.
When I am developing an idea, I make notes and I mull over
the concept for quite a while before I start putting pen to narrative.
While I am in the process of writing, I am constantly
thinking about it. Even when I am not writing. In the shower, doing the ironing,
going for a walk. I will be contemplating the scenes I am currently writing or
the chapter I am about to start. It is often during these moments that I will
get inspiration for an exciting new element or it will be as simple as I will
realise that if I add something into an earlier scene it’ll make the next chapter
even more exciting or just make more sense.
Now I have finished that first draft, I am thinking again.
Thinking about the areas I know I need to develop. I have set the manuscript aside
while I finish the marking, but it is still there at the back of my mind.
Niggling away.
Imogen Cooper always calls it latent processing. And it
never stops.
So in answer to your question my dear friend Kathy, thinking
is definitely part of writing. I agree.
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| Candy Gourlay, Kathy Evans and me! Happy Times |
Do you all do lots of thinking too when writing?
Dr Vanessa Harbour
@VanessaHarbour
6 comments:
It’s interesting too how much guilt surrounds thinking time - we do other things because we learn that doing nothing is lazy, but thinking isn’t nothing!
You are so right Kathy, thinking is definitely not nothing. We are not being lazy when we are thinking.
Agree, Vanessa and all.
Time and space for deep thinking is so, so important.
Commented one too-easily distracted person.)
The thinking never stops :)
Even when I should be thinking about other things I'll find my mind wandering back to some issue or scene or character that needs a bit of work.
I agree though it's hard to make the time to just think.
Years and years ago, my brother once saw me sitting at my desk, staring at the wall as I mulled a story over. He suggested that as I was 'obviously doing nothing' we could go outside and fix the shed as our mum had asked.
Thinking/reflection integral to a life of any depth.concepts chasing in the mind x
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