=MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (Full Version)

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Cerbero -> =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/9/2010 14:25:04)

Greetings, Legends and Lore. It's been a long time.

Several days ago, I was skimming through a somewhat old newspaper and idly thinking to myself of just how predictable the collective behavior and its consequences became... when I stumbled into a rather appealing column written by Paulo Coelho, known for pieces such as "The Alchemist", "The Zahir" and "Eleven Minutes", among others. What began as a disinterested search for something to divert my attention suddenly became a rather intent reading, despite the relatively short column.

I would like to note that there are several aspects of Paulo Coelho's philosophy that I do not particularly agree with, but this one article managed to catch my interest. The process of writing is greatly dependent on one's will and capacity to balance it with the other activities one deals with on a daily basis. Such becomes increasingly difficult to those with overexerted schedules and exponentially so to those with stressful lives - While I will grant that they can help in the sense of inspiration, it can pose one too many blocks as well.

It is also worth clarifying that I have no rights whatsoever over this article(All due copyright information is detailed below), and that the original version is not originally written in English. I translated it myself as I thought it might draw interest like it did mine, and perhaps make for an equally interesting discussion on the experience of writing as well as of this particular perspective.

quote:

In front of the computer

Writing a book is one of the loneliest tasks in the world. Once every two years, I sit down in front of the computer, look towards the unknown sea of my soul and see that there are some islands there: Certain ideas that have developed and are ready to be explored. Then I get on my ship (Named Word) and decide to sail to the nearest one. On the way, I shall face currents, tempests, but continue rowing, exhausted, now conscious that the island to which I intended to arrive is no longer in my horizon.

At this moment several scenes cross my head, such as spending the rest of my life commenting on the successes of the past, or criticizing new writers because I do not find the courage to publish anymore. But was it not my dream to be a writer?
Then I must continue to write phrases, paragraphs, chapters, writing until death, without letting myself be paralyzed by neither success nor defeat nor the other snares. Otherwise, what is the sense of my life?

I decide: Better start right now. And the process of the first book repeats one more time. I wake up at nine in the morning with the intention of sitting down to write as soon as I finish breakfast. I read the newspapers. I go out to walk. I go to the bar to chat a little with people. I come back and remember that I have to phone a series of people.

I look at the computer out of the corner of my eye, but it’s already time to eat.

While I eat a sandwich, I don’t stop thinking about what I should be writing.

Dinner time nears and then, to unload my conscience, I wonder if I should write, at least for a half hour.

I start out of obligation but, suddenly, “the thing” takes over my will and I don’t manage to stop anymore. The help calls. I ask her not to interrupt me. One hour later, she calls again. I’m hungry, but before, just one more line. When I sit at the table, the dish is cold. I have dinner quickly and return. Now I cannot control my thoughts anymore. I am coming across with matters I had never dreamed of. I drink coffee, I drink more coffee and by two in the morning I stop because my eyes are tired.

I lie down, spend another hour taking notes I want to use in the next paragraph. I promise to myself that I’ll start writing at eleven in the morning the next day. And the next day, the exact same thing occurs again. Walk, conversation, food, guilt, anger, struggle with the first page, etcetera.

But that is how it works. There is no other way.

Column "Frente a la Computadora" written by Paulo Coelho, published in the “Viva” supplement of “Clarín” newspaper on Sunday, January 17 2010, copyright of said edition by Grupo Clarín. Intellectual property registry number 1759, MCS.



With no more delay, I leave you with a quote from The Alchemist, relevant perhaps to the tendency to wrongly call routine "Fate" and let it sweep us around.

"At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie."



alexmacf -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/9/2010 18:46:10)

I find writing in front of the computer to be difficult when trying to come up with ideas, but when just wording them properly, I feel more comfortable on it.



Dewdrop Fairy -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/9/2010 21:39:45)

[:D] Thank you for posting and for translating, Cerbero. I had a hearty laugh at that article. Oh yes. I know that so well. And I wouldn't even call myself a "writer" (there are weeks and months when I don't write a line simply because I'm not "in the mood").

Telling myself that it's about time to continue a story project actually is quite a good way to make me finally do some of my housework...



Cerbero -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/10/2010 8:54:09)

You are very welcome, Dewdrop Fairy.

Writing can indeed be one of the most lonely tasks in the world. Particularly so when one has a perfectionism such as mine - No story ever leaves my notebook or drafts until they completely satisfy me... and my standards are extremely strict. With the magnitude of my writing projects, this can represent a significant delay. Even short stories may take weeks, and more prolonged ones span over months. I wind up trying to pass my own sea of many worlds through a minuscule funnel. The end result is very rewarding, but the process is oh so easy to hinder.

Which brings me to another frequent yield present in the article: Opinions. Even those most detached from social interaction care to some degree of what may be thought of them, regardless of how they react to it. This invariably affects the subject and in turn their will to write, whether unfavorably or not varying with the case. What of a writer whose pieces go unappreciated, or aren't given the so necessary constructive criticism? Or one in an environment where writing is shunned altogether? In my opinion, trials like these bring the will of both writer and characters to surface. The latter is due to a personal aspect, so forgive me if it does not apply to all.



Shreder -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/10/2010 9:20:20)

All my writing is done on a computer. Writing by hand depresses me, probably because my penmanship is terrible. XD



horusmaster9 -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/10/2010 18:00:41)

It all flows from my mind to my hands to my keyboard to my screen. For that reason, when I have writer's block, it hits me hard. After about a week or so of inactivity, I'll figure out something to write about. :D

Plus, bigger words usually spontaneously pop into my head when I'm typing more so than when I'm writing. :D

I believe that there is another thread just like this... Hmm. Oh well. 7.7



Cerbero -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/11/2010 8:58:07)

Said thread compares typing and writing by hand, whereas this thread deals with the actual process of writing and its many contexts. The title is that of the article, since it inspired the actual post. While it may seem ambiguous, it is only so until one reads the main post.



nolraitru -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/11/2010 15:05:27)

I feel about the same as the writer of that article. Except when it comes to one little point.

I type faster than I can think of a story.

Typing upwards of 100+ wpm, means that when I'm thinking of exactly what I'm writing, I'll normally have a whole lot of typos, and I always have to slow down to either back up and fix everything, or to think about what I'm going to write next.
Because I'm so laid back, I don't feel a need to speed up how I think, because that would effect how I think in all situations, and I like my cool demenour and calm thought.

So for me, it goes something like this: Write for about 30 minutes. Get trapped by slow thought compared to my speed in typing. Write for about ten minutes. Forget where I was going with the story. Type slowly to try and guess what I was going to do. Give up for the night if I can't think of what I was going to do, if I can. It starts over again.
I cannot write for very long, or I can write for as long as I want. Depends on the day.



Cerbero -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/12/2010 8:06:58)

Amusingly, my case is quite the opposite. A full explanation would be a rather... lengthy tangent, which I once put poor Eukara through, but here is a much more bearable summary: I process every variable of my stories simultaneously, far faster than I can type (Even typing at over 100 words per minute). It has a particularly useful advantage, turning one into more of a historian than an author. Thankfully such doesn't overwhelm me as much as one would think, but it can certainly pack quite the headache.



demolitiondragon -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/14/2010 19:13:19)

@ Cerbero: I understand the headache; my brain melted yesterday. Try inventing a minimum of 3 planetary location and naming systems of referral; multiple governments, laws, countries and customs, etc for each of 20-30 planets; and while you're at it, come up with 3 methods of calculating and converting the time difference between planets and hyperspace travel, taking into account the distortions in time caused by the spinning of planets, black holes, speed of the vehicle and other such nuisances by incorporating a sliding scale. T.T Then develop several planes of existance and all the things therein and the rules thereof. Plus story and characters and all that jazz. =]

I'm glad I don't have the routine the writer of the article has.



alexmacf -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/14/2010 21:16:00)

The worst part of making up worlds is NAMES. What do you call the Britain expy without making it sound like anything on this world? Nastarzelaplax?

EDIT:
@below: I usually have an easy time with people names. It's the country names (Britian expy) that are difficult.



horusmaster9 -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/15/2010 10:19:13)

Everyone here types so quickly... I only type from about 70-90wpm last I checked. D:

@demolitiondragon: Kabikaboo might help. Personally, though, I just put all of that information into a .txt file, although it admittedly isn't as complicated as your little problem sounds. So far, it's just a timeline spanning about two thousand years... and there's a map in another file, but I can't seem to find it now. 7.7

@alexmacf: Woo! /me high five! :D
This is where typing or being on a computer may help A LOT. You can type in a bunch of gibberish until it looks like it can be refined (osuiert.) and then refine it (Suiert). However, for real-er sounding names, I just look up the list of the most commonly used names in a certain country, and I may change it around a letter or two. :D

I forgot to mention that I keep many different bits of information scattered around my hard drive. There are files ranging from snippets of a story to useful information regarding a world or something... but they're all lost within the mounds of digital folder that I placed them in. D:



Cerbero -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/20/2010 9:46:57)

Another point of this article worth discussing is the astounding frequency of one of a writer's greatest foes: Persistent and untimely interruptions.

In a (series of) events that may well make one think Edward Murphy haunt us, a writer may be surprised by a sudden flow of inspiration and an ease to put it down in words... only to be further surprised by a beyond persistent inspiration that seems bent on derailing the idea's train.

To better word it, if you forgive the paraphrase:

I never had an inspiration
Particularly large and wide,
That a wrench did not fall upon,
And always at the worst of times.



demolitiondragon -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (2/26/2010 23:18:40)

@ horus: I use Kabikaboo, Wordpad and many pieces of paper. =] It's coming up with it and getting it straight in my head that's the hard part. The systems of referral I mentioned before for example is based on how the name of a planet changes: one person refers to it as planet x, the locals call it Guvayr, someone else calls it by a co-ordinate system their planet uses, to someone else it is Source of Iron 233434... and so on.



UrufuHiken -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (4/4/2010 21:22:28)

Aye, I've been there, even for one of my age. Its funny how writing works, I'm just getting out of one of those writer's block phases. Wasn't in the mood for so long and didn't want to force myself, then I get talking to another friend who was writing a story and I start to help him out... next thing I know I'm pounding away at the keyboard and flying back to this forum at mach speeds.

I prefer to type at the keyboard then to write by hand. In fact, I don't even like writing my own name, probably because my handwriting might quite possibly be atrocious... Perhaps I should take calligraphy lessons.



superjars -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (5/4/2010 9:17:10)

Personally, I find that I do my best work when I write something down, then transfer it to typing, then leave it alone for a while and come back and read it again. I find that as I read things over, I find that I sometimes have no idea what I was writing or why I chose the wording I did for it. The written draft and the typed draft can look so dissimilar to even seem like two separate works. However, I usually type things out because while my hand writing is very nice, it's slow and my brain has a tendency to race off, which my writing cannot keep up with. Typing can, however, so I usually stick to that...



MonsterMike9000 -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (9/29/2010 22:57:04)

Its such a relief to know that I'm not lazy.
The things this Paolo guy went through. I've gone through it myself. That sense of not being good enough is crippling.
As for that quote..Fate and Routine. Fate is knowing that you will die some day. Routine is drinking coffee at lunch time. You can always skip the coffee.



Xplayer -> RE: =MECH/AUTH= In front of the computer (9/29/2010 23:26:30)

I find that writing by hand increases my creativity by approximately 400% I've always done it and likely always will. I take a notebook with me almost all the time. The paper is my sketchbook, words are my drawing. If I truly witness something inspirational or just have a random moment of inspiration, I want to be able to capture it immediately.



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