As I’ve mentioned in a gathering or two, I find the writing style and chosen topics of Wil Wheaton (formerly of Stand By Me and ST:TNG, now of this, this, and this) to be particularly evocative and enjoyable. Â I also appreciate that he frequently writes about the challenges and joys of the writing process. Â No, I’ve still not produced the long promised work, but I haven’t given up yet either. Â I thought the opening paras of Wil’s LAWeekly column this week to be interesting on the subject of inspiration, and encouraging on the issue of choosing topics. Â The full story is here, but the first para in particular is the bit that really caught my eye:
“Being a writer means I have to open myself to as much sensory input as possible, as often as possible. It’s like I have this giant sticky drift net that’s always open around me, trapping sights, smells, feelings, and sounds which will jar loose some long – forgotten memory, or find their way into some future work of fiction.
My son is home from college, visiting briefly before he goes back for his summer session, so I’ve been making a concerted effort to cram as much writing as I can into limited working hours each day, so my evenings are free to spend with him and the rest of our family. This weekend, my wife and I took him out to dinner, where I found myself in front of a Centipede arcade machine, drawn there by the unmistakable sound of the player earning an extra guy.”
Back when I was churning out screenplays as a young lad, I found this site particularly helpful and engaging:
http://www.wordplayer.com/wp-intro.html
I’m amazed it’s still around, because that seems like FOREVER ago.
Of course, none of my screenplays sold, so whatever.
From today’s Writer’s Almanac:
This was Pushkin, and he died when he was 37. We need to add him to the List of Those Who Clearly Do Not Understand the Principles of Lichtenbergianism, along with Mozart.
Does this mean we are keeping a role of dishonorary members? (queue marc)
Or I guess that should have been “cue”
or Q?
All three seem appropriate somehow.
Come on, somebody post something. Not every visitor will be enraptured over a salutary post about Wil Weaton. Sorry, Turff, but it’s true. I know, he’s my best friend, too. I was so proud when he received his officer’s commission.
Are you wearing a red shirt, marc?
The reason I found the posted excerpt interesting was that he took something so mundane as inspiration, and bloomed it into something more than it might have been. I talked in one of our firesides about the fear/concern of having so much to say and failing, as a result, to say anything at all. I took from his comments some validation to stop seeking some grand, awe-inspiring, world changing thing, and to instead allow the everyday to inspire in small ways. Sometimes, this may lead to something more, but if not, they world might be better for having shared a simpler thought.
Turff, I’m just flying my geek, freak, and cheek flags. Actually, our friendships with Ensign Crusher could be one of our discussion topics. I’m older, so I see him more as a younger brother rather than a semblant, of course, but I can put my two cents in.
It’s all good. Comment #8 was meant to serve the same purpose. The second comment was intended to be an answer to your challenge to amp it up a bit, as was the new post. I was getting tired of checking the blog several times a day to no avail as well.
Hey, I’ve had no Internet for 36 hours now! Cut me some slack.
As for the topic at hand, see my most recent post at my blog.
Old news. We’ve already commented and everything.