Shouts from Down Under #2

Turning the visible invisible? Might as well study nothing.

We love reading.

We see the words. Our brain interprets. We think and find understanding that has formed from learning and remembering those lessons. Over time. Apart from the words on paper or screen in the first place, the rest is invisible. Hidden from view but still existing as a motivator, potential energy, kinetic response.

What?

We can read something and not understand the depth of the writer's attempt at communication. Is that the writer's fault? Is it ours?

We shouldn't blow our own trumpet. But we should have the opportunity to explain, point out why we wrote that stuff the way we did.

Example.

STATIC

The Princess and Cupid  (13+) Treacherous Knights doubtful defence of their King - then Cupid and Destiny team up... #1968441 by Sparky

A spinal paradox is a thing. I know it because while writing this poem I did some research on a subject I knew nothing about apart from visions of Robin Hood and the apple on some kid's head. And maybe cupid. Yeah so cupid became a thing in the poem thing.

Yes, there is something called the archer's spinal paradox. Let this guy explain, so we really can be smarter every day.



What probably all of you don't know, unless you follow me on Facebook, is that recently my career has changed into something very de-stressing, yet satisfying, and hopefully money producing. (More than waiting to get rich from publishing a novel)

I'm now a visual technician. A window cleaner. Here's the link so you can see I'm not just puffing out hot (invisible) air.

https://www.facebook.com/rodthewindowcleaner/

This does have a point. And the point of relating window cleaning to a bunch of writers and aspiring famous authors is to pass along some thoughts this job change provoked.

I have had to cease doing disability support work due to various factors including stress, anxiety and mental trauma. No biggie for some, devastating for me. BUT, it's ok and life goes on.

While cleaning glass panes for people, I have realised a simple life truth. The better I do my job, the less they have. Yes. The cleaner I make their windows, the more view, the less is blocking it. My job is to remove what is blocking people's view. My purpose is to make people's window panes turn invisible. Simple as that. If the client can see anything there then I have failed. (or some guy before me failed and maybe scratched the glass with his stainless steel scraper or used the wrong grade of steel wool)

So this brought me back to the things we do as writers, the processes and methods we put into practice to make the visible, or obvious, invisible or hidden.

We create illusions using words. And we work on people's thoughts directly. When we do our job the best is when they don't realise we are there, or we have become invisible. The writer has ceased to exist for the reader. The reader is now totally immersed in the story.

Mission accomplished (high five).

If you are working on your Nanowrimo planning then some thought provoking stuff may help you. Come and sit down and spend some time sipping coffee and eating cake. Or Timtams. Or Vanilla slice.

I feel that a major cause of writer's block, besides obvious tiredness and perhaps illness, stems from our own personal unhappiness or stress. We are trying to act. We attempt to be someone we are not. We want to maybe cover up things in our life by not writing about those thoughts or promptings that our brains offer up.

This is all invisible of course. Who knows the real you? Perhaps not even yourself. What motivates you or me? Really. And therefore we can have a handbrake applied to our creativeness.

Our writing has to come from deep down for it to be of value. Sincerity will lubricate platefuls of profitable ideas. The writers' psyche cannot be hacked or circumvented in some cunning fashion. You might fool yourself, but you can't fool the reader, at least not for long.

Ever typed some stuff and then stopped, holding that delete button down for a while? Because what we wrote was utter rot. It was false. We were dreaming. We were probably being lazy or maybe not that bad, just not really digging deep for realness. So it had to go. Good quality comes from effort and feedback, right?

I'm probably guilty of offering up TMI. (Too much info) Heart on my sleeve stuff. Do people really want to know that stuff about a total stranger? But then I've always tried to throw pride in the garbage can of limitations, fling reluctance, to give of myself, out the back door on the ground of rejection where it belongs.
There are enough limits on our writing prowess without shovelling our own burdens and failures on it deliberately.

I've become a bit of an Elon Musk buff lately. Our son is looking at investing in the new Tesla electric car when released in 2017. The acceleration of it is better than any on road vehicle including supercars. Beats the pants off them. And it will be free to charge on the road because Tesla offsets the cost with their Solar energy and storage. It will cost compare to other similar sized sedans on the road but with zero fuel costs, and reduced servicing etc.

Elon has just released the new solar roofing systems, as you may be aware, in the last day or so.



Along with the cars, these will revolutionise everything. Crazy. Electricity is invisible. Energy is invisible mostly sort of as far as I am aware perhaps could be maybe should.

There is a sentence where I have drifted onto a tangent of utter rot.

Back to the subject of writing and getting to realness. Have you as a writer done some serious self analysis? Have you taken off the gloves of mercy and really given yourself a talking to, about what it is that motivates you to write? About why you want to write certain ways, on certain subjects and in whatever style?

Do you like power over others? Do you want to recreate a childhood you never had in your story's characters? Are you expressing and venting and cleansing by putting your thoughts on paper?

Whatever your aim and purpose, your "calling" if you like, should you be losing your focus and writing on anything less than your heart and soul's most honest epiphany, then hey dude, forget it. Havin yo sef on Harry or Harriet.

And therein lies the point of this whole exercise in blog entry-ness.

Your Nano ideas and writer's block can stem from not getting down pat first off just why you are here on earth, why you like chocolate but dislike cabbage, why the sky is blue and you don't eat truffles much or even maybe know what they are.

Those questions and more CANNOT be googled so don't bother. Yes, you. The person reading this right now. No, not anyone else. No need to look over your shoulder, or think, hey this is a good article for so and so, or think man, this guy doesn't have a clue so why am I bothering to read any further.

YOU are the only one who can think deeply and get the the gizzard, delve into the chook's giblets about this matter of motivation, of purpose, of what drives you to write.

Until you at least try to address any underlying mental, health, relationship or general life problems, of the sort that interferes with your deep thoughts, then writer's block will sit there right in your head like a lead slice of pizza. Inedible. Heavy. Unattractive and unfulfilling. If it's like that for you the writer how much more terrible for the reader. They will then become as invisible as your words or lack of. They will look something like this. Enjoy writer's block being made visible in the following paragraph.




.


Sparky