ROW80-3 - check in 08/11 - enjoying the journey
August 12, 2013
I read somewhere a description of how to read critically, and the questions to ask:
- what is the author saying? The surface layer.
- why are they saying it? The underlying story.
- how are they saying it? The techniques used, the tricks of the trade. There are many ways to get to the same end, but how did THIS author get there?
It's the last one that I am especially looking at lately, when I read as a writer. I used to be a fast reader, skimming through a book so fast people could hear my eyeballs click, picking out the key points, whizzing past any slow bits, racing to finish and find out 'who done it'. It was all about the destination. Now I also enjoy the journey too.
As in life. I don't believe in an after-life, in a reward that will somehow compensate and/or punish me for any problems and issues I may encounter. I believe we are here to enjoy life, to learn and contribute to it, to make a positive contribution. There are many ways to get there, but none are wrong, it's never a life wasted, it's just a life lived.
And now, back from the philosophical to the more immediate, my status update for ROW80:
Objective -Publishing
- Promotion - author web page. Done with it but still waiting for updated text. My publisher sent it out to a copy editor.
- Short stories - Still working on one that was for last Friday, theme was somethingpunk. Started as just technology, then added a coming of age slant. Blending the two into a Flash or maybe longer story.
- ROW80 check in's - this one.
- Reading - Finished Life of Pi for a book club. Meeting was cancelled - people busy and/or lazy - but II finished it anyway. Started a little slowly for me, but I'm glad I kept on, as I enjoyed the journey. Now, I have to plow through Room With a View.
Objective - Other parts of my life
- Exercise - still walking. Sometimes with a destination, sometimes just to enjoy the journey.
- Writerly blogs - several days behind again. Need to put in as part of my regular daily schedule - along with everything else in my life.
- TV, etc. Finished Continuum online via Showcase. Note - had a comment asking why watching TV was an objective. I consider it a part of the balance in my life, but want to capture it to ensure I am aware of how much I watch. I don't have cable, just rabbit ears, so rarely turn on the set. I do have a few series that I follow online, because I like the writing. I do NOT watch 'reality' TV.
Thank you for including that writerly advice about reading. I'm dabbling with several books just now. If the book doesn't teach me something about story fairly quickly, I'm more likely NOT to read on. So that brings me back to my own writing with a critical eye. Will my writing pass that first-blush test of a potential reader? Sounds like a good week for you.
Posted by: Beth Camp | August 13, 2013 at 02:10 AM