One of the most important things with passionate writing is capturing the immediacy of the feelings inside. Thoughts are like lightning; sudden, powerful, and crackling with electricity. At one moment we can easily spill a sea’s worth of thoughts, then in the next we find our palms are raw from trying to rinse blood from a stone.
Ideas are magic, but most so when first born.
Writers start with nothing and then turn it into something by way of an alchemy that no one truly understands and everyone does at least a little different. Snowflakes might have more in common.
I’ve spent way too much time stashing ideas for later, but this is silly. My mental map will keep adding land as long as I’m willing to build. Not every thought must be organized into bookends and neat rows. Sometimes it’s okay to simply capture a passing thought.
You can always add shape and color later, but you can never recapture the urgency of sudden insight.
Writer Dad
I’ve entered a contest where the winner gets a six month gig blogging about happiness. I would LOVE to land this gig. Voting takes less than five seconds and you can vote once per day. Click here to cast your vote. THANKS!
About Sean Platt
Very beautifully said!
.-= Tracy´s last blog ..11 Reasons I sometimes but not always dislike doing list posts =-.
Thanks, Tracy. I need to work on a list post to prove my point though!
Very beautifully said!
.-= Tracy´s last blog ..11 Reasons I sometimes but not always dislike doing list posts =-.
Thanks, Tracy. I need to work on a list post to prove my point though!
Beautifully expressed, Sean, and very useful. Couldn’t agree more. All of my best pieces have been born from the spontaneous overflowing of captured moments, feelings so strong that living them once wasn’t enough. They longed to be re-created and re-lived, to find echoes in someone else’s soul.
.-= janice´s last blog ..Sea Breezes, Books and Minerals =-.
True – that’s been a lot of the fun in my writing lately – going back and pulling threads that deserved to be longer, or even pulling the most important thought from something else that may have been unnecessarily long winded. I’m glad I’m feeling energized at least to capture thought as it comes rather than trying to force it into shape.
Beautifully expressed, Sean, and very useful. Couldn’t agree more. All of my best pieces have been born from the spontaneous overflowing of captured moments, feelings so strong that living them once wasn’t enough. They longed to be re-created and re-lived, to find echoes in someone else’s soul.
.-= janice´s last blog ..Sea Breezes, Books and Minerals =-.
True – that’s been a lot of the fun in my writing lately – going back and pulling threads that deserved to be longer, or even pulling the most important thought from something else that may have been unnecessarily long winded. I’m glad I’m feeling energized at least to capture thought as it comes rather than trying to force it into shape.
“Sometimes it’s okay to simply capture a passing thought.” — These are like seeds that grow in the background once they are recognized and recorded.
.-= Lori Hoeck´s last blog ..How to deal with the bully and bullying — a senior karate instructor’s view, part one =-.
True that! My thing is getting better at returning to old soil – it’s something I don’t do nearly enough.
“Sometimes it’s okay to simply capture a passing thought.” — These are like seeds that grow in the background once they are recognized and recorded.
.-= Lori Hoeck´s last blog ..How to deal with the bully and bullying — a senior karate instructor’s view, part one =-.
True that! My thing is getting better at returning to old soil – it’s something I don’t do nearly enough.
I understand what you’re saying perfectly. So much has been lost by trying to mentally store feelings and I can only hope it makes another rotation on the pie carousal that is my brain. It’s like painting a live subject vs. painting a photo of the same thing – the end product for both can be good, but the photo version lacks an element of life.
I’m pulling for you on the gig. You’d be perfect for it.
.-= Clark Kent’s Lunchbox´s last blog ..Why I "Hate" Mattel Toys’ CEO, Robert Eckert =-.
Thanks Ron. It is such a truth in writing. Capturing feeling when it’s fluid is essential to getting our best work. When we decide to return to something later we are also deciding to return to it, possibly, with less mental energy or excitement. Sometimes this can be a good thing, allowing us to be more measured, but often it dims our voice.
Thank you too for the support on the Good Mood gig. I want it all kinds of bad.
I understand what you’re saying perfectly. So much has been lost by trying to mentally store feelings and I can only hope it makes another rotation on the pie carousal that is my brain. It’s like painting a live subject vs. painting a photo of the same thing – the end product for both can be good, but the photo version lacks an element of life.
I’m pulling for you on the gig. You’d be perfect for it.
.-= Clark Kent’s Lunchbox´s last blog ..Why I "Hate" Mattel Toys’ CEO, Robert Eckert =-.
Thanks Ron. It is such a truth in writing. Capturing feeling when it’s fluid is essential to getting our best work. When we decide to return to something later we are also deciding to return to it, possibly, with less mental energy or excitement. Sometimes this can be a good thing, allowing us to be more measured, but often it dims our voice.
Thank you too for the support on the Good Mood gig. I want it all kinds of bad.
Stashing ideas almost never works for me. I go back and I’m all “meh” no matter how good the idea is.
.-= Hayden Tompkins´s last blog ..How to Sabotage Your Income =-.
Yup, the only way stashing ideas works is if it’s more than just a single sentence. If I actually take the time to elaborate on the idea, maybe stretch it to a hundred words or so, I can always go back and fill in the blanks later, but if I try to recapture my thought after just a sentence or two it’s mostly a fruitless endeavor.
Stashing ideas almost never works for me. I go back and I’m all “meh” no matter how good the idea is.
.-= Hayden Tompkins´s last blog ..How to Sabotage Your Income =-.
Yup, the only way stashing ideas works is if it’s more than just a single sentence. If I actually take the time to elaborate on the idea, maybe stretch it to a hundred words or so, I can always go back and fill in the blanks later, but if I try to recapture my thought after just a sentence or two it’s mostly a fruitless endeavor.
I totally agree about stashing ideas. But there’s another point of working a good idea too much. So many times when I ruminate over an idea, it really gets overdone. There’s a point when the knife that you’re sharpening is long since sharpened and by continuing to work on it, you’re just shaving off the metal, losing part of the knife.
It’s the same when I’m creating something visual. I’ll get an idea and start working then keep adding and adding, trying to get to that “something special” and realize that when I think I’m done, I’ve actually done too much. I should have stopped long ago.
I love the imagery you create with your “blood from a stone” analogy. Awesome.
.-= Kool Aid´s last blog ..Hanauma Bay =-.
Love, LOVE LOVE this analogy. I think it deserves a post of it’s very own. Actually, I hadn’t thought of it when I first emailed you and suggested merely lifting your wonderful metaphor for myself, but would you like to write on it further and post it here?
duh….. really?!?!? A guest post for Writer Dad?? You can’t possibly imagine how flattered I am. I’d love to!
.-= Kool Aid´s last blog ..Hanauma Bay =-.
I totally agree about stashing ideas. But there’s another point of working a good idea too much. So many times when I ruminate over an idea, it really gets overdone. There’s a point when the knife that you’re sharpening is long since sharpened and by continuing to work on it, you’re just shaving off the metal, losing part of the knife.
It’s the same when I’m creating something visual. I’ll get an idea and start working then keep adding and adding, trying to get to that “something special” and realize that when I think I’m done, I’ve actually done too much. I should have stopped long ago.
I love the imagery you create with your “blood from a stone” analogy. Awesome.
.-= Kool Aid´s last blog ..Hanauma Bay =-.
Love, LOVE LOVE this analogy. I think it deserves a post of it’s very own. Actually, I hadn’t thought of it when I first emailed you and suggested merely lifting your wonderful metaphor for myself, but would you like to write on it further and post it here?
duh….. really?!?!? A guest post for Writer Dad?? You can’t possibly imagine how flattered I am. I’d love to!
.-= Kool Aid´s last blog ..Hanauma Bay =-.
You are very right. It’s important to just get the ideas down on paper. Fill in the details later. I find myself thinking of stuff all day long, but I tell myself I’ll write it down later. Then later comes around and I forgot what I’d thought. A total waste.
.-= Keith Wilcox´s last blog ..Friday’s Story #13 =-.
Total waste is right. It’s actually sorta sad that it took me a full year to figure out something so elemental. Hopefully, I’m doing a better job now and the move to five days on Writer Dad will help me to actualize what I know is the right direction.
You are very right. It’s important to just get the ideas down on paper. Fill in the details later. I find myself thinking of stuff all day long, but I tell myself I’ll write it down later. Then later comes around and I forgot what I’d thought. A total waste.
.-= Keith Wilcox´s last blog ..Friday’s Story #13 =-.
Total waste is right. It’s actually sorta sad that it took me a full year to figure out something so elemental. Hopefully, I’m doing a better job now and the move to five days on Writer Dad will help me to actualize what I know is the right direction.
Hi Sean, I totally agree. I stash an idea that is exciting at the time, and then later on I can’t get excited about it. There’s nothing wrong with being real and writing what you feel at the time. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
.-= Stephen – Rat Race Trap´s last blog ..Top 10 Ways To Clear Your Mind Clutter =-.
LOL, I’ve so been there. I will think I have the greatest idea ever! only to return to it later with no ability to find my previous enthusiasm. It isn’t that the idea is no longer worthy, it’s just that I don’t have the honest excitement in my fingers, and that can make ALL the difference in your writing.
Hi Sean, I totally agree. I stash an idea that is exciting at the time, and then later on I can’t get excited about it. There’s nothing wrong with being real and writing what you feel at the time. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
.-= Stephen – Rat Race Trap´s last blog ..Top 10 Ways To Clear Your Mind Clutter =-.
LOL, I’ve so been there. I will think I have the greatest idea ever! only to return to it later with no ability to find my previous enthusiasm. It isn’t that the idea is no longer worthy, it’s just that I don’t have the honest excitement in my fingers, and that can make ALL the difference in your writing.
Hi Sean…I totally get happiness. I believe that we are masters of our own mental landscape. Sure, we all have crap in our lives, but you can either live under a dung heap or use it as a compost pile to build a beautiful and productive garden! I find happiness everywhere I choose to look. I have been accused of indulging myself, but we all know what makes us tick. I can get in my car cruise down the coast to see a beautiful sunset while listening to my best kick-ass cd and my mood is enhanced 100%. Treating myself to a soft-serve chocolate dipped cone on a bad day does more for me than any bottle of prescription pills could. This weekend I volulteered my time and did all the centerpieces for a charity event. It was a lot of work with no pay, but the emotional dividends were fantastic! We won’t even go into what twenty bucks in a thrift shop will do for me! There are tiny mood enhancers everywhere you look. As I have gotten older and seen people all around me, bitter and unhappy with their lives I have noticed the correlation between emotional health and physical health. I have seen friends who have battled disease, mental breakdowns , alcoholism and cancer right after some stressful event in their lives. (been there, done that, after the divorce and my emergency hernia operation,remember?) Anyway, knock on wood, these days I just laugh alot, hang with friends, share my art through teaching and stay happy and have not been to a doctor in about 15 years. My mom always said “God helps those that help themselves” and I believe this is so applicable to happiness. You have to create your own happiness, no matter what crapstorm is in the air! Love you, mom
WOMAN, you’re on the wrong post! : > )
Hi Sean…I totally get happiness. I believe that we are masters of our own mental landscape. Sure, we all have crap in our lives, but you can either live under a dung heap or use it as a compost pile to build a beautiful and productive garden! I find happiness everywhere I choose to look. I have been accused of indulging myself, but we all know what makes us tick. I can get in my car cruise down the coast to see a beautiful sunset while listening to my best kick-ass cd and my mood is enhanced 100%. Treating myself to a soft-serve chocolate dipped cone on a bad day does more for me than any bottle of prescription pills could. This weekend I volulteered my time and did all the centerpieces for a charity event. It was a lot of work with no pay, but the emotional dividends were fantastic! We won’t even go into what twenty bucks in a thrift shop will do for me! There are tiny mood enhancers everywhere you look. As I have gotten older and seen people all around me, bitter and unhappy with their lives I have noticed the correlation between emotional health and physical health. I have seen friends who have battled disease, mental breakdowns , alcoholism and cancer right after some stressful event in their lives. (been there, done that, after the divorce and my emergency hernia operation,remember?) Anyway, knock on wood, these days I just laugh alot, hang with friends, share my art through teaching and stay happy and have not been to a doctor in about 15 years. My mom always said “God helps those that help themselves” and I believe this is so applicable to happiness. You have to create your own happiness, no matter what crapstorm is in the air! Love you, mom
WOMAN, you’re on the wrong post! : > )