We have been telling stories to each other for thousands of years. In primary school you must have heard of the three literary genres: lyric, drama and epic. The Iliad will be familiar to you. As a writer, I deal with epic poetry. I write novels. How did it start? Like everyone else. I continued with my favourite story, The Frog King. Then later, the last full-page drawing of a comic book based on a science fiction novel lit the furnace in my writer's workshop, with the protagonist holding the heroine in his arms. The fire of creation was kindled, the desire to create, and my first artistic self, the writer, emerged.
It is important that the writer is a reader first! I learnt to read at the age of seven and read one book a week until I was thirty, or about 1,000 volumes in twenty-three years. Reading is surprisingly rewarding. One of its positive benefits is that it has enabled me to speak fluently and continuously, which requires that I can think coherently! This is also due to reading. My good advice, please take it, read!
A mixture of reading, classics and popular fiction.
Please ignore the social networking apps, they're bad for you. They distract you, they exhaust your brain, they steal your life time, which you could spend creating if you were born to be an artist.
The writer uses his brain. Writing is continuous thinking. It is extremely demanding! It requires an incredible amount of concentration. For your own sake, you need to spare your brain the useless information that would be a waste of your skills to interpret. You are capable of much more - you are capable of much more! Writing, that is, thinking in a continuous, focused way, is one of the highest human achievements! If you can do that, you can praise yourself.
Your brain, your body are your most valuable personal possessions. Cherish them both. Self-esteem is based on recognizing their value. Using them is a source of pleasure. It is good to live. It is good to create. Live! If you want to be a writer, don't just drift, shape your life! Watch, learn, practice. I'm not just sitting in front of my computer. I even tried aikido. I gardened. I've led hikes. I worked abroad. And, of course, I trained myself. Of course, I still do many of these things to this day. I lead an active life. As a writer you have to be present in reality. A good writer is a good observer and a good professional. He pays attention to detail. Take the first step.
Forget about shame and expectations. The most important thing is to make it a joy to create. Enjoy it. In the beginning, just write down what comes to you. Practice. Just like when you were a kid and you took a clay paste and made something out of it. And you never thought of Rodin's Thinker! It's important not to set yourself an irrational goal. Here are the devastating facts. There are eight billion of us on the planet. In many countries of the world, there are professional writing schools that are churning out writers of outstanding talent. And yet not all of them become bestselling authors. It makes you very miserable to aspire to something that is unattainable. In Hungarian, you're not going to be a world-famous, big-selling author. In fact, you can get into quite a lot of trouble if you think that writing is a way of making a living, or if you see writing as a source of livelihood in the first place. It's not. It's a joy. So stay with me and listen to me if you want to do well for yourself.
So you've been captivated by a story and realised you might as well write one yourself. Meanwhile, it never occurs to you that if you don't learn to read and write at primary school, you'll never get the idea of writing. It's surprising that almost no one realises that writing is a luxury. You sit in your warm room, banging away at the keyboard with a belly full of food. You are in an exceptional position! A pat on the back is in order. Another fact, nature knows only one success, the living being is alive. You live and you create. Fantastic!
Rejoice, for you are indeed fortunate. So don't push yourself with world success or publishing. Learn to write first and finish your first book.
Writing is a profession. It can be learned. There are online tutorials in English to help you get started. If you really have the germ of talent, you can find an editor, or a master, who will be of great use to you, because he will point out your blind spots, your weak points. An editor is tough but sober. You need him badly. I put my two hands together that one of our fantasy writers was my master. One of the great old men, the one who picked me up.
Again, good advice, he does other creative activities besides writing. If no one can see or hear you, dance and sing. It doesn't matter that you can't sing and dance, the very act of making noise and moving is good for you. It relaxes you, it energises you. Or, if you're more relaxed, paint, crochet, whatever feels good. But make sure you move! The brain needs oxygen. And eat right. Healthy body, healthy soul.
Believe me, writing is stressful. You need all your strength to perform at your peak. That's why it's important not to distract yourself. Be purposeful. Put everything aside when you sit down to write. I even turn off the internet. I come off the network and only have the word processor open.
It's important to have an agenda! The brain likes order. In fact, it's an added bonus if you use tiny rituals.
For example, listening to your favourite song before you create, doing a little dance, making a cup of tea, etc. The ritual can be anything. However, it is important to be rested and relaxed, with nothing to distract you. You need to concentrate and pay attention to so many things you won't believe it. When my brain is spinning at top speed, I am able to control the text, keep a lot in mind, and constantly use language in a demanding and varied way, paying attention to the unique traits of my characters as their actions and words shape the story.
Believe me, it's a fascinating experience, like being a Formula 1 driver.
Where does inspiration come from? From everywhere. Because our brains get a lot of stimuli every day. But there's always one that hits you right on the head. You recognize it. It's an aha moment. It's a little different for me, because I don't consciously pay attention to the signals. I have better things to do than react to random impulses. However, in the evenings, my brain goes wild and in between the daydreams of processing stimuli, I have deep, conflict-processing, or storytelling dreams. These are amazing. It's like being a camera in a movie. At the same time, the brain pours information about characters and events into me. They often include spoken text and music. They are colourful. They are all very powerful experiences. The last one was on 5 November 2021, which inspired me to reopen the creative workshop of my brain after fifteen years.
I think it's time I finished my treatise.
You know exactly what you want. Go create and enjoy yourself.
Nincsenek megjegyzések:
Megjegyzés küldése