[stylist] More things to ponder- tapping into the humanexperience

Sat Dec 29 17:47:22 UTC 2012

Ashley,
I agree with the importance of research. I think it is important in fiction
as well as nonfiction. I once talked to a literary agent who was bemoaning
the fact that murder mystery writers couldn't get their facts straight about
the guns they mention in their work as well as crime scene procedures. She
was well acquainted with the little details because her lover was a cop.
Fantasizing is wonderful and crucial to the creative process, but it's also
important to learn -- in general and certainly in combination with the
writing process. There's a scene in my novel where a guy is removing a tree
limb that is growing into the roof. I talked about the process with my
husband who has done such things and ran it by him afterwards for accuracy.
In another scene, the characters do first aid on someone, and despite some
basic knowledge, I read up on first aid and found some little things to add.
I also run to Google frequently to make sure that a word I've chosen to use
is really being used in the correct context. Some of my characters' names as
well as fictional place names came from nonfiction articles and books I've
read and were specifically used to connote a meaning beyond being just a
name.
Donna 

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Ashley
Bramlett
Sent: Saturday, December 29, 2012 11:34 AM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] More things to ponder- tapping into the
humanexperience

Bridgit,
great advice. I also think we do not have to live an experience to create a
story of it.
But research and personal contact with those who went through  experience is
necessary to write about it well.
Ashley

-----Original Message-----
From: Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 6:19 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] More things to ponder- tapping into the human experience

Amber,

We enjoy deep discussions here, grin. Never apologize for your thoughts and
opinions.

I use to be a performer- I say use to because it's been years since I've
performed- long story. Anyway, I bring a lot of my performing arts
background into my writing. I use a lot of exercises I learned when dancing,
singing and acting to draw emotions out. In order to discover emotions and
thoughts I've not personally experienced, I speak with people; I read a lot
and I observe human nature in general.

We all will have a feeling, an opinion, when we hear about something-
whether it be good or bad. We react to information even if we don't share a
close relationship with a given circumstance. You use the example of abuse
and how to accurately portray this when writing. When you hear a story about
abuse, if you take the information in and ponder it, you will have a
reaction, an emotion. I believe this is what allows any artist to portray a
situation that comes from a second-hand experience.

And when writing, the most important aspect of a story is great characters.
It's our job to bring characters to life, to make them three-dimensional. We
put elements of ourselves into characters, or use people close to us as a
prototype for characters. We also try to live in their circumstances in
order to evoke readers.

Consider this too: Sometimes a personal experience is difficult to write
about. Often we require distance from a situation in order to portray it
with accuracy, depth and a balanced view. For example, before I came to
terms with some events in my childhood, I found it difficult to write about
them. The emotions and feelings were too raw for me to put on page.
Likewise, when I try to write about my husband, it's just too disgustingly
sappy, grin. It's all puppies and rainbows and clichés no one wants to read
about. With both examples, I don't always have the distance to create a
balanced view on the subjects. Should someone like yourself, Amber, write
about my experiences though, you have that distance from the situation. You
can sift the information and really flesh out a story, looking at it from
all angles.

This isn't to say we can't write about our own life. I just believe we need
a little distance from our life in order to accurately depict it on paper.

Tapping into our emotions is vital when writing. Personally experiencing
something certainly assists in portraying it, but I don't believe we have to
have directly lived through something just to create a character and story.
Breathing life into characters requires a writer to be a student of human
nature, to think beyond the scope of our own mind.
We need to be tuned into our emotions, thoughts and physical being. I
believe this is how we can take research and breathe life into writing,
creating compelling characters and allowing readers to want to take a
journey with those characters.

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: Wed, 12 Dec 2012 09:15:29 -0500
From: "Herrin, Amber" <herrinar at muohio.edu>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] More things to ponder
Message-ID:

<CALCfpxJ0qB6=8tDUKKPAWTSM7ZjjAjh8XiiqfY7-C5PtuWh38g at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

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

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