I'm an inveterate note taker and have jottings on small pieces of paper all around. Lines of narrative and dialogue from stories not yet written, possible titles, etc. In one place I worked, a co-worker came up to me one morning and said she had dreamed about me and "all your yellow stickies.'
Sort of a side comment but I'm pretty sure "I'm sorry for your loss" came from characters saying it all the time on "Law and Order."
Story ideas come and go, but when prompts me to write sentences in my head while I'm making dinner, waiting in line in a store, or getting the gas tank filled, I know I've got a good idea and my brain is already working on it. Composing sentences--including editing and moving them around in paragraphs mentally--is one of the great pleasure of being a writer, at least it is for me. I too critique dialogue in movies and TV shows, and consider those professional lapses like a quiz on Friday in English class.
Sheila McGuire, a wonderful author who taught at MSU when I was a grad student, said that putting one word next to another was one of the great joys in her life. I often think of it in terms of "Look, I made a hat!" from the Sondheim musical.
I think as writers we are constantly filing away snippets of dialogue, overheard conversations, situations we read about on social media. Yeah, we are always "writing". Thanks for this.
A lot of the things you've written here ring true. The process begins when you start engaging with the world and experiencing actively. In a way, we never stop writing.
But I related to what you said in terms of my mystery series, having interviewed police, firemen, private investigators, medical examiners, gun experts (and gone to two shooting ranges). Details, details, details.
I know exactly what you mean. I wince a lot when reading. I don't think of it as being judgmental, more as "Oh, I think that could've been better." Sometimes, of course, it's "Ouch!"
I have a good resource for that kind of thing. My son works for the police department in the St. Louis area. One of the CSI guys. I frequently ask him if something is right, or does this work, or is this what happens on a crime scene. One thing I found out is that it can depend on where in the country you are, and what kind of law enforcement it is. They're apparently all different insofar as procedure goes. Interesting.
I'm an inveterate note taker and have jottings on small pieces of paper all around. Lines of narrative and dialogue from stories not yet written, possible titles, etc. In one place I worked, a co-worker came up to me one morning and said she had dreamed about me and "all your yellow stickies.'
Sort of a side comment but I'm pretty sure "I'm sorry for your loss" came from characters saying it all the time on "Law and Order."
Me too! And I find them inside books I had forgotten about, either on Post-it notes or written in pencil.
There’s an Ngram about the loss phrase on Reddit that shows it really took off in 2000, so that would have given Law & Order a full decade of blanketing the country. And maybe other crime dramas too? https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=sorry+for+your+loss&year_start=1800&year_end=2018&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Csorry%20for%20your%20loss%3B%2Cc0
Story ideas come and go, but when prompts me to write sentences in my head while I'm making dinner, waiting in line in a store, or getting the gas tank filled, I know I've got a good idea and my brain is already working on it. Composing sentences--including editing and moving them around in paragraphs mentally--is one of the great pleasure of being a writer, at least it is for me. I too critique dialogue in movies and TV shows, and consider those professional lapses like a quiz on Friday in English class.
Loved your last line!
Sheila McGuire, a wonderful author who taught at MSU when I was a grad student, said that putting one word next to another was one of the great joys in her life. I often think of it in terms of "Look, I made a hat!" from the Sondheim musical.
I think as writers we are constantly filing away snippets of dialogue, overheard conversations, situations we read about on social media. Yeah, we are always "writing". Thanks for this.
You're welcome! We file away everything so when we "write what you know" that draws on a vast store of insight, insight, and observation.
I know whereof you speak!
Isn't it fun? To have ideas come from every which way?
It is!
"Where do you get your ideas? has been a common question on and off at my readings and book signings.
Same here.
Once I said "Walmart."
I could see a story idea being prompted by a visit to Walmart, in a Raymond Carver kind of way.
Hey Lev,
A lot of the things you've written here ring true. The process begins when you start engaging with the world and experiencing actively. In a way, we never stop writing.
Best,
Mahdi
Glad to hear it, thanks.
Ah, got it.
But I related to what you said in terms of my mystery series, having interviewed police, firemen, private investigators, medical examiners, gun experts (and gone to two shooting ranges). Details, details, details.
I know exactly what you mean. I wince a lot when reading. I don't think of it as being judgmental, more as "Oh, I think that could've been better." Sometimes, of course, it's "Ouch!"
Are we pickier or is there more bad writing out there? And less good editing?
Both, 100%.
I have a friend who has been complaining for years about the editing of crime novels.
I have a good resource for that kind of thing. My son works for the police department in the St. Louis area. One of the CSI guys. I frequently ask him if something is right, or does this work, or is this what happens on a crime scene. One thing I found out is that it can depend on where in the country you are, and what kind of law enforcement it is. They're apparently all different insofar as procedure goes. Interesting.
She’s not talking about accuracy, she’s talking about how badly written and edited they are in terms of prose, etc.