|
|
Post by DE Sinclair on Mar 29, 2020 11:36:16 GMT -5
Warning: grumpy old man alert! Apparently, the theme in today’s Sunday paper was “things will never be the same after this epidemic and as a society we will all become better because of it”. While I appreciate and even envy the optimism that prompts people to think so, I call b#####t on the sentiment. Because of what history tells us. After WWII, we said “never again”. And we continued killing each other over territorial, ideological, ethnic or economic issues, even risking nuclear armageddon on a few occasions. After the Holocaust, we said “never again”. And we witnessed more genocides against the Tutsis in Rwanda, the Yazidis in the Middle-East, or anyone whom the Khmers rouges felt like killing in Cambodia. To name but a few. After the financial collapse in 2009, brought about by unchecked greed and deregulation, we said “never again”... again. And in less than a decade, we had hamstrung most of the measures implemented to prevent a new crisis, because they interfered with greed. We will absolutely reach the end of the tunnel, and the covid-19 crisis will be remembered as an unpleasant period, yes. But I bet twenty bucks that we’ll go back to doing exactly what we were doing before, with no particularly enhanced sense of community. The “before and after” eras, as far as the coronavirus goes, will be as significant as the before and after eras of New Coke, Mullets, Superman Blue/Superman Red or the election of the first black president: we will not observe a whole lot of change. The positive aspects I do see are that in a time of crisis, we get to see what people are really about. Leaders who rise to the challenge with grace and competence will be recognized. Selfless people helping their neighbours in a time of need will have a chance to shine. And as societies, we will have had a dry run for the next crisis, which might be much worse; I am pleasantly surprised by the discipline shown by most everyone. That’s all for the good. But a true paradigm change as far as society goes? Not a chance. Too much inertia in human behaviour. Real change happens in little increments, not with any kind if sudden wake-up call. [/grumpyoldman] <Jumping on the grumpy old man train> We saw the same sort of thing here in the states after 911. "We're all in this together" in short order turned back to division and politics as usual. |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2020 11:50:57 GMT -5
One thing I'm noticing while getting back into writing is how much anxiety I feel. Like am I doing a good enough job telling the story as it should be told? Because when I'm in that sort of "out of body experience" state, I write at a heightened emotional level and I guess that comes from penning mushy romance stories on Deviant art. IDK, it's just kind of embarrassing One of the hardest things to learn as a writer is not to worry about if it's good enough, especially when you are doing an initial draft. A lot of the ability to do this stems form accepting that the first draft will not be the final draft, and getting it down on paper the first time is just the start of the process, not the end. A lot of the pressure/anxiety comes from the fallacy that writing is a one-step process and what you write that first time is what the final product is going to look like. It's why I eventually went back to doing my first drafts with pen and paper so I knew there was at least going to be another step to get it into final form (more like 10 or 12 steps), but internalizing the idea that the first draft is not the final draft comes hard to a lot of people. A lot of it stems from the the reality one of my editors pointed out to me when I was freelancing-there's a lot of people out there who want to have written, but very few out there willing to put in the work beyond the first draft to actually be writers. So go ahead and do that initial draft in a heightened emotional level, just accept that you will then have to go back in a more coldly clinical state of mind to edit and revise later. Get your draft down, then go back and make the determination which parts are good enough and which are not and then focus on making what you put down work the way it should. The ideas are already on paper then, but the craft of writing is shaping those ideas into their final form. No one's first draft is good enough. There are no exceptions to that. Repeating for emphasis-there are no exceptions to this! Accepting that is one of the biggest obstacles to becoming a writer and separates writers from dilettantes in many cases. -M On that subject, from this morning's Orbital Operations, Warren Ellis' weekly newsletter, on the subject of writing and drafts... -M |
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Mar 29, 2020 11:55:18 GMT -5
^^ A teacher I know used to say to students who were so paralyzed by the thought of writing, "The first draft? Just puke everything onto the paper. Get it all out. Don't worry about punctuation, spelling, word choice, and all that good stuff. That's for the next few drafts."
|
|
|
|
Post by Calidore on Mar 29, 2020 12:08:45 GMT -5
I think it was Robert Graves who said, "There is no good writing, only good rewriting."
|
|
|
|
Post by Batflunkie on Mar 29, 2020 12:43:51 GMT -5
^^ A teacher I know used to say to students who were so paralyzed by the thought of writing, "The first draft? Just puke everything onto the paper. Get it all out. Don't worry about punctuation, spelling, word choice, and all that good stuff. That's for the next few drafts." Literary vomit? I like that! |
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Mar 29, 2020 12:50:55 GMT -5
I think it was Robert Graves who said, "There is no good writing, only good rewriting." A corollary from another teacher I know: "There are no bad writers. There are only bad re-writers." |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 29, 2020 14:43:45 GMT -5
I think it was Robert Graves who said, "There is no good writing, only good rewriting." A corollary from another teacher I know: "There are no bad writers. There are only bad re-writers." Or more to the point, bad writers are those who think they don't have to rewrite because their first draft is golden and good enough, and no one can tell them different. -M |
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Mar 29, 2020 14:45:54 GMT -5
A corollary from another teacher I know: "There are no bad writers. There are only bad re-writers." Or more to the point, bad writers are those who think they don't have to rewrite because their first draft is golden and good enough, and no one can tell them different. -M Hmmm, isn't that what the Writer/editors in Marvel back in the 70's thought? |
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Mar 29, 2020 15:18:23 GMT -5
A corollary from another teacher I know: "There are no bad writers. There are only bad re-writers." Or more to the point, bad writers are those who think they don't have to rewrite because their first draft is golden and good enough, and no one can tell them different. -M Yes indeed. I think the teacher was using her line as a way to encourage young writers, but it certainly applies to the arrogant bastids of the world. |
|
|
|
Post by Duragizer on Mar 31, 2020 19:28:03 GMT -5
Yesterday, it looked like my mother might've been able to come home in a day. But this morning she called us to say she'd had a poor night, that her oxygen intake had gone down and she was still retaining water, so she won't be coming home yet. I don't know when she'll be coming home, and I'm worried her condition will worsen again.
Almost all my cheque — $1000 — has gone on car payments, including my sister's jeep which was totalled in February. My sister hasn't had any work in over a month. My sister's roommate physically assaulted her last Sunday, so he's gone, and his rent payments with him. There's no money to pay bills, and $20 at most for food.
Usually the local food bank would be open Tuesdays-Thursdays for bread and vegetables, which is how we've been able to stave off hungry without much money. But thanks to COVID-19, the food bank's locked up tight; we'll have to wait 'til the 14th, our official hamper date, to get anything. Most of the food we have on-hand is heavily salted canned soup, which my grandmother shouldn't eat.
I'm sad, I'm angry, and I'm tired.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2020 21:11:39 GMT -5
^ so sorry to hear.. you'll make it thru, I know things seem really hard, but you'll make it thru.
|
|
|
|
Post by impulse on Mar 31, 2020 21:33:11 GMT -5
Yesterday, it looked like my mother might've been able to come home in a day. But this morning she called us to say she'd had a poor night, that her oxygen intake had gone down and she was still retaining water, so she won't be coming home yet. I don't know when she'll be coming home, and I'm worried her condition will worsen again. Almost all my cheque — $1000 — has gone on car payments, including my sister's jeep which was totalled in February. My sister hasn't had any work in over a month. My sister's roommate physically assaulted her last Sunday, so he's gone, and his rent payments with him. There's no money to pay bills, and $20 at most for food. Usually the local food bank would be open Tuesdays-Thursdays for bread and vegetables, which is how we've been able to stave off hungry without much money. But thanks to COVID-19, the food bank's locked up tight; we'll have to wait 'til the 14th, our official hamper date, to get anything. Most of the food we have on-hand is heavily salted canned soup, which my grandmother shouldn't eat. I'm sad, I'm angry, and I'm tired. So sorry man. Hang in there. This COVID19 thing is a bitch all over. |
|
|
|
Post by brutalis on Apr 1, 2020 7:20:59 GMT -5
So sorry to hear of your troubles Duragizer. Keep the faith, hang tough and all that stuff just doesn't seem to say enough. Hopes and prayers for you and your loved ones during these chaotic days... |
|
|
|
Post by Calidore on Apr 1, 2020 10:35:31 GMT -5
Very sorry things are so tough, Duragizer. To paraphrase Dean Wormer, sad, angry, and tired is no way to go through life. I hope that your mom has only hit a small bump on her road to a full recovery, that COVID-19 spares you all, and that you yourself find the help and strength you need to break out of this bad situation. |
|
|
|
Post by Slam_Bradley on Apr 1, 2020 17:30:16 GMT -5
Potential crisis averted as a shipment of coffee arrived today. Have not been able to get to Costco. Yovo (the cat) was concerned about a lack of java.  |
|
