The Writing Instinct

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Happy New 2011

Wishing everyone a peaceful and productive year ahead.

Speaking of productive times, I am writing. Actually writing. This is thanks to many writing websites and novels I have read during the recent holiday period. Mostly though it is the result of having access to a guide called "The Nighttime Novelist - Finish Your Novel in Your Spare Time" by Joseph Bates. Although I don't know anyone who has 'spare time', for anyone who is hopeful of writing a book, I thoroughly recommend it.

This spiral bound book has come in handy for details on how to help prompt an idea, how to massage that idea into plots and characters and among other pointers, how to plan your novel. As I have enjoyed perusing through this book I have gained motivation to keep at 'it'.

In keeping my story idea alive and asking myself more questions about it, I have inadvertently dedicated some time each day (even as little as 5 minutes, sometimes) to my novel. And, I have also accepted (contrary to earlier self-convincing) that I need to write, literally, with pen and paper first, for a long time, before I can step up to the keyboard (you may notice that my word counter will stay the same for the time being even though the words are a-coming). And, in being motivated, I have 'created' spare time (it might be at 7:30 am, 11pm or 3am). And I am making progress.

Discalimer: I have not been asked to review this book and I am certainly not advertising it. This is a genuine recommendation from someone who has purchased the book and found it very helpful.

Wishing you wonderfully creative times ahead.

Friday, November 5, 2010

My Brains and Bitch-hour

My main concern when signing up for NaNoWriMo (and NaNoWriMo-Lame-oh) was quarterly tax time which has to be finalised in the next two weeks. So, I am in the midst of getting dozens and dozens of receipts (ranging from those tiny shreds of curled, faded paper eagerly-torn from an original roll, to A3 size) in chronological order. The receipts also have to be sorted and then manually entered into an accounting program.

While my poor, numbed-with-boredom left (analytical) brain is churning through each and every bit of paper laboriously, my right (creative) brain is resting. It is taking it easy, stretching out on a hammock, and sipping a chai-latte. Hours later (usually when I am home and tearing myself between my 8 year-old's homework and cooking dinner) left brain snatches the latte-glass out of right brain's hand and bumps him out of the hammock. Bad luck, year 2 maths!

Right brain is then in full gear. You see, I write best when I am standing at my laptop, between chopping vegetables, checking on the boiling pasta and supervising said homework. I call this bitch-hour. Also, by depriving myself of the joy of writing for a large chunk of the day, my sub-conscience somehow builds up the main parts of the story that I want to tell. These 'main parts' are what I hungrily type up in bits and pieces during bitch-hour. And then in the evening, when life has quietened substantially, I can then immerse myself and write between the lines, adding the cushioning, if you will. This is how I roll with my writing.

Now, you are probably thinking how presumptuous of her, thinking she has two brains? Well, scientifically, and anatomically, I do. In fact, we all have two brains, the left and right hemispheres, that are joined only by a bundle of nerves (the corpus callosum). For thought processes our two brains can function independently of each other. And, as you may be aware, we are usually functionally dominant in one or the other.

Ever wondered which of your brain hemispheres is the dominant one? Well, here's your chance to check. If you see the dancer below moving clockwise then your left brain is dominant and you are more analytical in your approach to thought processes. If you see the dancer moving anti-clockwise then you tend to see 'the bigger picture', you are more philosophical in your thoughts and can present multiple possibilities to a situation.