Writing the Wave: Lists
"Writing the Wave" is a creative writing book written by Elizabeth Ayres. She offers guidance and exercises to help the creative process, and in essence, to help writers write.
I've done a few of the exercises in the book so far. The first exercise is called "Lists".
Lists: Monsters Beware
P14: List three times in your life when "wasting time" turned out to be fruitful.
1. Cooking
2. Blogging (weblog)
3. Driving around (found new ideas and places)
P14: List three kinds of activities where "rushing into things" is a bad idea.
1. Job searching
2. Putting together user manuals
3. Driving
P16: List three "real" writers and for each, a reason why you do and why you don't want to be like him or her.
1. Paul Theroux:
Do: He's brave and a fantastic observer who allows people to speak through him.
Don't: Suffers from knowing everything about travelling.
2. Raymond Carver
Do: Real, stark, uncluttered writing.
Don't: Sadness in his writing.
3. Douglas Coopland
Do: funny and excellent at expressing an idea or situation.
Don't: Inconsistent writing at times.
P18: List three times you've tried "discipline" with a capital "D" in your life. What were the results?
1. Learned to juggle -- result was success.
2. Stopped biting nails --- result is i have nails instead of stubs.
3. Left bad scene -- result is I have my life!
P19: List three natural phenomena that embody stages of creative development (i.e caterpillar to butterfly).
1. waves 2. seasons 3. sunrise
P21: List five sentence that begin with "My writing is no good because..." (now cross out every one with thick black ink or pretty colored pens.)
Note: I will skip the "crossing out" part so you are able to read the sentences!
1. My writing is no good because I can't always be honest.
2. My writing is no good because I can't follow through on my thoughts.
3. My writing is no good because my vocabulary has dwindled.
4. My writing is no good because I am stuck in the past.
5. My writing is no good because I don't have patience.
P22: List ten ways you procrastinate about writing. Now for each item, list a reason why writing is a more pleasurable and life-enhancing activity. (I have skipped part two because I think it's silly)
1. E-mail
2. Website :)
3. Chores/cleaning
4. Cooking dinner
5. Working on photos
6. Taking care of the puppy
7. Crafts
8. Red wine
9. Work
10. Surfing the Internet
P24: List five really terrible things that might happen once Something Else takes over your writing.
Note: Something Else is defined as "whatever you name your inspiration or the source of your ideas.
1. Personal becomes public (saying too much)
2. Open myself to criticism.
3. Hurt people's feelings with my honesty
4. Not as good as others
5. Might discover I am not/will never be a professional writer
Continued: Now list five really great things that might happen once Something Else takes over your writing.
1. I might write something good.
2. I might realize things about myself.
3. I might let the past go.
4. I might feel good and accomplished.
5. I might get published. (!!)
