Wild Mind Living the Writer's Life
1 journaler for this copy...
Wild Mind had a great deal of helpful tips for writing. It made me see writing in a new way and it made me realize that I should be writing.
Here are some favorite/most helpful parts:
"He learned from the inside out. Dreamers go by an inward vision. Often they have to figure it out themselves." (22)
"What I learned from it is that there is a quiet place in us below our hip personality that is connected to our breath, our words and our death." (28)
"... this quiet place exists as we exist, here on the earth. It just is. THat is where the best writing comes from and what we must connect with in order to write well." (28)
"[Writing practice] knows we are not our thoughts, but lets the thoughts, visions, emotions run through us and puts them on the page. (40)
"... tricks to get you down to a body level and out of your monkey mind... Real writing comes from the whole body. You want to get in there and live from there, not in some idea of your future vacation in Hawaii." (51)
"In writing practice, sometimes you just go along writing, boring yourself, treading water, not really saying anything. You know it but you don't know how to break through. A helpful technique: right in the middle of saying nothing... put a dash and write, "what I really want to say is..." and go on writing." (73)
"Robert said his mother, a painter, had to create an emergency situation or a tragedy in order to concentrate. Often she threatened divorce from their father, which pushed her to an emotional edge, and with this she was able to paint another picture." (76)
"If you find yourself... cornering a first flash into a windowless room--just give it up." (84)
"Just keep your hand moving and let whatever is about to happen unfold. Let writing do writing. Don't manipulate it with your ideas about what you think should happen." (84)
"... a reminder to get less logical. Home does not equal 921 Dupont Street. Food does not equal mashed potatoes and meat loaf... We have to break ourselves open. ... See your home as your home and understand at the same time it won't always be your home, even if you live in that house all your life. We all die; everything changes. Write about home with this knowledge." (91)
"I took writing outside writing. I took my life outside life. I wanted to throw it way ahead of me, thinking it would cure something way behind me." (172)
"That month was one of the best times I ever had in my life. I was alive in all the contradictions. I didn't try to put things in neat categories and patterns. I just was alive." (178)
"The reader steps away and says she is pretty. The writer just stays with the eyes, the lips, the chin and makes no judgments." (204)
"Having seen [the detail] once in the restaurant you were eating in, it is yours. You can do what you want with it, and it has a ring of authenticity." (204)
"[Writers] are actually great warriors facing the barriers to truth. We are digesting experience for society." (218)
"All writers have a natural bent toward laziness. That is good. Utilize it." (229)
Here are some favorite/most helpful parts:
"He learned from the inside out. Dreamers go by an inward vision. Often they have to figure it out themselves." (22)
"What I learned from it is that there is a quiet place in us below our hip personality that is connected to our breath, our words and our death." (28)
"... this quiet place exists as we exist, here on the earth. It just is. THat is where the best writing comes from and what we must connect with in order to write well." (28)
"[Writing practice] knows we are not our thoughts, but lets the thoughts, visions, emotions run through us and puts them on the page. (40)
"... tricks to get you down to a body level and out of your monkey mind... Real writing comes from the whole body. You want to get in there and live from there, not in some idea of your future vacation in Hawaii." (51)
"In writing practice, sometimes you just go along writing, boring yourself, treading water, not really saying anything. You know it but you don't know how to break through. A helpful technique: right in the middle of saying nothing... put a dash and write, "what I really want to say is..." and go on writing." (73)
"Robert said his mother, a painter, had to create an emergency situation or a tragedy in order to concentrate. Often she threatened divorce from their father, which pushed her to an emotional edge, and with this she was able to paint another picture." (76)
"If you find yourself... cornering a first flash into a windowless room--just give it up." (84)
"Just keep your hand moving and let whatever is about to happen unfold. Let writing do writing. Don't manipulate it with your ideas about what you think should happen." (84)
"... a reminder to get less logical. Home does not equal 921 Dupont Street. Food does not equal mashed potatoes and meat loaf... We have to break ourselves open. ... See your home as your home and understand at the same time it won't always be your home, even if you live in that house all your life. We all die; everything changes. Write about home with this knowledge." (91)
"I took writing outside writing. I took my life outside life. I wanted to throw it way ahead of me, thinking it would cure something way behind me." (172)
"That month was one of the best times I ever had in my life. I was alive in all the contradictions. I didn't try to put things in neat categories and patterns. I just was alive." (178)
"The reader steps away and says she is pretty. The writer just stays with the eyes, the lips, the chin and makes no judgments." (204)
"Having seen [the detail] once in the restaurant you were eating in, it is yours. You can do what you want with it, and it has a ring of authenticity." (204)
"[Writers] are actually great warriors facing the barriers to truth. We are digesting experience for society." (218)
"All writers have a natural bent toward laziness. That is good. Utilize it." (229)
