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It's all good (for your writing )

Aug 21,2012
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File 10523Quick post today because my battery is dying.

Writers are cannibals in a way. We take in our surroundings, our experiences, all those little things that we somehow absorb without consciously taking note of them and we ingest them and they become a part of us. Later, after rumination, filtration and the simple act of dreaming, these ideas, experiences and tiny subconscious thingies are transmogrified and make their way into the words we write. It's hard being young. Heck, it's hard being human. Stuff happens that makes no sense, like bullying, peer group weirdness, being struck by the love bullet. Not that I am advocating libel or slander in any form, but everything that happens can be used in an emotional, world building, character building sense. Just tuck it all away - and guaranteed one day your life experiences and observations will come in handy.

Aug 23,2012
Yeah! How could you not?! But seriously, it's the act of distillation that's so important. When things are happening it's often confusing and there's no distance. But once you can get clarity, just having a "wardrobe" of available emotions / personality types / experiences is invaluable to the writing process.
Aug 21,2012
I do it all the time. And although I too am not advocating for slander: “When someone is mean to me, I just make them a victim in my next book.” ― Mary Higgins Clark

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