[stylist] More things to ponder

Wed Dec 12 19:50:00 UTC 2012

In a lot of respects, I think pretty much anything can go.  People's 
reactions vary so widely when it comes to things that I think the line of 
where things become unbelieva ble is when you make behavior change too 
rapidly--as I'm prone to do when writing.
Barbara

Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance. -- Carl Sandburg
-----Original Message----- 
From: Herrin, Amber
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 8:15 AM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] More things to ponder

Bridgit,

Wow! Yes.  All very good points.  I hadn't thought about it that way,
but certainly there are those who write about war effectively without
actually experiencing it.  I think, though, that to a certain extent,
unless someone has experienced something, they can't really call a
writer out on something and say, 'hey, that's not really real.  That
was written by a writer who has no clue!'

What I mean is, yes, it is definitely important to gather research and
yes, it is certainly important to find a way to recreate what you are
talking about as accurately as possible, but my question, I guess, to
add to the discussion-and something I'm personally curious about-is,
can you really know whether or not something is portrayed accurately
if you yourself have never experienced it?  Can you really recreate it
in a way that portrays real feelings or, are you just 'guessing' as it
were?

Does that affect the quality of your writing?  Who knows, though,
unless they have experienced it?

Maybe I'm not asking clearly so I'll try with an example.  Because
I've looked back over what's above this and though I'll send it
anyway, it just seems repetitive or unclear to me.

If, let's say, a writer wants to write about the feelings of finding
out that a person's child was sexually abused, beyond all the
research, beyond all the deep self-reflection and intraspection and
imagination, once all these things are done, once the writer has all
the research he or she can possibly have, when he or she writes about
these feelings, can someone who has never had their child sexually
abused really know whether or not these things are accurately
portrayed?  The feelings, the actions, the best ways to cope etc?

Maybe in a situation where you're reading a fantasy book this kind of
thing doesn't matter, but let's talk about in the context of self-help
books where you're reading not for yourself but to help your child,
your sister, your mother, your brother, cope with something horrific
in his or her life.

Sure, you can say these things are usually written by doctors or
psychologists who know the signs, know the issues, know the feelings
well, know the behaviors well, because they deal with them on a
regular basis and it's what they want to help stop or at least deal
with when it's over.

But can they really convey that information to you in a way that helps
you feel or know or search for the right signs when that's what you're
trying to do?

Deep stuff for quarter past nine...sorry.

Best,

Amber

On 12/11/12, Bridgit Pollpeter <bpollpeter at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Amber,
>
> Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I'm not seeking advice for a
> particular situation or anything involving personal writing. I had
> posted the Thoreau quote to spark discussion on the list. The post you
> have commented on here was just my way of challenging more thoughts on
> the subject. To truly learn, I think we need to consider multiple points
> of view and ponder on differing opinions. In a nutshell, be open-minded,
> grin.
>
> And to add to your thoughts... One of my all-time favorite novels is
> Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. Bronte was an unmarried recluse, and
> yet she writes this beautiful novel about a tumultuous, dysfunctional
> relationship. It's full of drama and life and pain. It's considered one
> of the best written novels of all-time. And keep in mind this was
> written long before information was readily accessible to all people.
> Research, of the kind many writers rely on nowadays, was simply not
> available back then.
>
> Switching sides though... Consider method acting. Method acting is a
> contemporary form of acting many actors practice nowadays where one
> literally places themselves into a situation in order to convey a
> character realistically. For instance, an actor playing a drug addict
> may speak to addicts and those who work with addicts in order to drawn
> upon real experiences. In the film Blue Valentine, the two leads lived
> together for a couple of months in order to depict a couple on the
> screen. Some feel the same about writing.
>
> Now some actors take it too far such as a young actor in the film
> Lawless. To portray a druggie, he actually took LSD and other drugs to
> personally understand what being on LSD feels like. I think this is
> taking it too far just to depict a person or emotion whether you are an
> actor or writer.
>
> Hunter S. Thompson intentionally sought "experiences" in order to write
> about them. This, in my opinion, seems to be manufacturing experiences
> as opposed to letting them happen naturally. Thompson's writing is
> really good, but he was purposeful in seeking out people and situations
> in order to write about them.
>
> To put yet another spin on it, think about war correspondents. Can a
> journalist accurately portray the devastation of war if not at the
> frontline?
>
> So how does any of this relate to creative writing and how we convey
> stories?
>
> Sincerely,
> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter, editor, Slate & Style
> Read my blog at:
> http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
> "If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can
> satisfy, we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for
> another world."
> C. S. Lewis
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:12:05 -0500
> From: "Herrin, Amber" <herrinar at muohio.edu>
> To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] Something to ponder
> Message-ID:
>
> <CALCfpxJLqK8pSJ62bpvEW1XdtOnPcJ=jzYhax_E1-p=FmeCHug at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hello Bridgit,
>
> I am not the ultimate authority on this-but I personally do not believe
> anyone is.  Keeping that in mind, here is what I believe:
>
> While you may not know what something feels like, you can certainly try
> to imagine yourself in the position you are trying to write about.  Set
> the sceen inside your head and ponder it.  Really allow yourself to
> imagine that this is what you are facing.  Then write down how that
> makes you feel.  This is just a basic idea of the feelings that are
> possibly linked to this experience, because it was only pretend, after
> all.  So the next step would be to research.  Even after you research,
> though, since people are...well...human (no getting around that one is
> there?) And each of us are unique, how we react (or fail to react) to
> various situations cannot be dictated by a 'what if?' or 'supppose
> that...'
>
> What I mean is that I believe that you can write about it realistically
> enough to pass off a storyline as long as you do actually do the
> research needed to present a full picture, because no one would question
> as long as it seems sincere.
>
> If, for example, you are writing about the loss of a loved one and you
> are writing about the reactions of a teen-aged child, there would be a
> little leeway in what is expected because children will be children, and
> their reactions to any situation-dire or not-are going to cover a wide
> range of possibilities.
>
> On the other hand, if you write that the child was running around the
> funeral home pretending nothing was amiss, I suspect that someone would
> question the quality of your writing or research.
>
> I think it would be a little easier to talk about the situation if I
> knew what you were trying to set the sceen for.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Amber
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Writers Division web site
> http://www.writers-division.net/
> stylist mailing list
> stylist at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
> stylist:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/herrinar%40muohio.edu
>

-- 
Sincerely,

Amber R. Herrin

e: herrinar at muohio.edu
P: (513) 593-5855

_______________________________________________
Writers Division web site
http://www.writers-division.net/
stylist mailing list
stylist at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/stylist_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
stylist:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/stylist_nfbnet.org/poetlori8%40msn.com 