Coragem
Believer in flawed heroes
On a radio programme a while back I heard a quote that said something like "the best writers find writing hard".
I've mentioned that here before because it helps keeps me going as someone who struggles as a writer, and as a true master when it comes to finding fault with my work … and as someone who recognises that as one of my biggest strengths.
Anyway, my confidence dropped a little lately. Although I'm really happy with my recent work I was going back over some earlier stuff and it wasn't as good as I remembered it. Yes, it didn't seem so good because I've improved so much, but it still left me deflated, conscious that I'm still very much a "student" of writing and a long way off fulfilling my potential.
The following cheered me up immeasurably! A case of misery loves company, maybe, but it's good to know that even the very best writers have to struggle and strive, and write and re-write and re-write again, and that they feel anxiety (i.e., wherein we maybe don't "know" that those flashes of inspiration are going to keep on coming).
It's taken from an interview with Guy Gavriel Kay (see http://www.brightweavings.com/ggkswords/nyrsf_halasz.htm).
Coragem.
PH: Reading your work, the punctilious choice of word and image, I assume that you must do major rewriting.
GGK: A tremendous amount. It "layers up". My writing method, to use a metaphor, is a painterly one. I "layer up" the story, because I'm discovering where the scene is going; the first time through is essentially to write the scene. Then I'll stop and take a deep breath, and the next morning or that afternoon, I'll look at the written scene and ask myself: "How do I flesh this out?". "What details do I need?" Details are critical. "What nuances will make this work?" And it's layered up, sometimes ten or fifteen times for a scene. It's that thing of a brush stroke on top of a brush stroke, sometimes even removing brush strokes.... I think some of the reason for the successful realisation of secondary characters is this layering. Because, in the process, I find ways to add detail and dimension to the supporting cast.
PH: What aspect of the writing process do you enjoy most?
GGK: I hate writing. The actual writing process is not pleasurable, it's stressful, anxiety-provoking, draining and intense. And, the sense of responsibility to myself, to the story, to my readers grows with each book.
At least I no longer go through what I did at the beginning of my career which was feeling every morning when I sat down that I'd never again write a coherent paragraph. That would be a daily occurence early in my career, feeling that I had written the last good paragraph of my life. It doesn't happen any more. By now, I'd have to be pretty insecure and pretty masochistic for that to still be the case. But I do have an underlying anxiety that sharpens me.
I've mentioned that here before because it helps keeps me going as someone who struggles as a writer, and as a true master when it comes to finding fault with my work … and as someone who recognises that as one of my biggest strengths.
Anyway, my confidence dropped a little lately. Although I'm really happy with my recent work I was going back over some earlier stuff and it wasn't as good as I remembered it. Yes, it didn't seem so good because I've improved so much, but it still left me deflated, conscious that I'm still very much a "student" of writing and a long way off fulfilling my potential.
The following cheered me up immeasurably! A case of misery loves company, maybe, but it's good to know that even the very best writers have to struggle and strive, and write and re-write and re-write again, and that they feel anxiety (i.e., wherein we maybe don't "know" that those flashes of inspiration are going to keep on coming).
It's taken from an interview with Guy Gavriel Kay (see http://www.brightweavings.com/ggkswords/nyrsf_halasz.htm).
Coragem.
PH: Reading your work, the punctilious choice of word and image, I assume that you must do major rewriting.
GGK: A tremendous amount. It "layers up". My writing method, to use a metaphor, is a painterly one. I "layer up" the story, because I'm discovering where the scene is going; the first time through is essentially to write the scene. Then I'll stop and take a deep breath, and the next morning or that afternoon, I'll look at the written scene and ask myself: "How do I flesh this out?". "What details do I need?" Details are critical. "What nuances will make this work?" And it's layered up, sometimes ten or fifteen times for a scene. It's that thing of a brush stroke on top of a brush stroke, sometimes even removing brush strokes.... I think some of the reason for the successful realisation of secondary characters is this layering. Because, in the process, I find ways to add detail and dimension to the supporting cast.
PH: What aspect of the writing process do you enjoy most?
GGK: I hate writing. The actual writing process is not pleasurable, it's stressful, anxiety-provoking, draining and intense. And, the sense of responsibility to myself, to the story, to my readers grows with each book.
At least I no longer go through what I did at the beginning of my career which was feeling every morning when I sat down that I'd never again write a coherent paragraph. That would be a daily occurence early in my career, feeling that I had written the last good paragraph of my life. It doesn't happen any more. By now, I'd have to be pretty insecure and pretty masochistic for that to still be the case. But I do have an underlying anxiety that sharpens me.
