Q: "As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?" ~Clay, from Memphis3/29/2017 Hmm. Well, first off I’m a fan of lions and coyotes as symbols: lions because they’re kings of the jungle and coyotes because of Native American trickster tales. But my mascot as writer would have to be an animal that creates. I would say the spider because of the intricate webs they spin and Anansi the Spider being a storyteller in African folklore. Unfortunately I’m afraid of spiders so that won’t do. I feel like a bird building a nest to live in, picking up twigs from here and there, is very similar to telling a story so I’d pick a bird. Probably an owl because of their ability to see in the dark and believe the best writers can see things about life and humanity others can’t. I’m not sure if any owls build nests but I’ll say that my spirit animal would be a nest-building owl.
0 Comments
Most of my research is random. When it comes to knowledge I’m kind of a hoarder. I’ll pick up interesting facts here and there and writing it down thinking, “Hmm, one day I may need this to put into a story.” Other than that, since 99% of what I write is fiction, I don’t have to do that much research for accuracy sake. I will do research for inspiration, however. For example, if I’m writing a story about snow I won’t necessarily research the science behind snow or historical blizzards but I will research all the different names eskimos have for snow or mythological snow deities.
I would say that the most difficult thing is finding the balance between similarities and the differences between women and men. Bad writers use stereotypes portray the opposite sex, with male writers writing every woman as a damsel in distress or a beautiful temptress and female writers writing every man as a prince charming or rude rebel. Better writers don’t use stereotypes but they still fall into another trap. All too often male writers will write women characters in exactly the same way that they write their men characters, making the women tougher. And many female writers will write men characters in exactly the same way that they write their women characters, making the men more sensitive. Now it is true that there are many tough women and sensitive men in the world. The mistake that these writers make is not realizing that women are tough in different ways than men and that men are sensitive in different ways than women.
Thank you! Well, most of the time I perform what I write so they're pretty much part of the same whole. If I had to answer your question though, I'd say that performing is easier simply because I've already internalized the feelings I express when writing them so by the time I perform it reflex. Plus I feed off of audiences. The hardest part of writing is wondering if anyone will care what you wrote. By performing you see that they do.
Of course you can, Sonny! As long as you have an imagination and the determination to work hard. Also you have to be able to write without getting distracted every two minutes, but don't worry, even I haven't completely mastered that part yet. :-)
That's a good idea. As a matter of fact, that idea is so good I think you should write that story yourself! :-)
My favorite part of any story to write has to be the middle. To me storytelling is like playing a board game: in the beginning you have to put all the pieces on the board and explain the rules; in the end you have to put all the pieces back where they belong and announce who won or lost. But the middle of the story is where the game is played.
Thanks for the question, Maya. I get my ideas from watching the world around me and listening to people. We're all surrounded by ideas; I simply pick them up off the ground or pluck them from the sky and turn them over in my head longer than other people.
|
Archives
March 2017
Categories |