Norman Mailer died this morning. Here is a quote from Mailer:
I think it’s bad to talk about one’s present work, for it spoils something at the root of the creative act. It discharges the tension.
Words to write by.
November 10, 2007 by ybonesy
Norman Mailer died this morning. Here is a quote from Mailer:
I think it’s bad to talk about one’s present work, for it spoils something at the root of the creative act. It discharges the tension.
Words to write by.
Posted in Authors, Bones, Death, Fiction, Quotes, Writers, Writing | Tagged creative process, norman mailer quote, writing advice | 10 Comments
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That’s why I rave about The Executioner’s Song. It’s worth reading again, or diving into if you haven’t already.
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A big loss, for sure.
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Interesting idea.
Talking about something does sorta put a little more resistance up when it comes to actually doing it.
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Great quote. I agree. I think amuirin wrote something a while back about not wanting to talk about love and spoiling the happiness. I feel the same way about a writing project.
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This quote jumped out at me. It’s similar to something Natalie Goldberg often said during writing workshops. Something to the effect that she always holds in her belly the energy she has for writing a book. Don’t dissipate it by talking about it. That by holding it, you gain juriki — energy or power. By talking about it, you let that energy go.
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That’s a good way of describing it. I never heard of juriki before, but it’s the right word, somehow.
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I once heard a speaker say, “You should always keep something beneath the counter.” He wasn’t talking about writing, but the idea has stayed with me. I wonder why we feel compelled to reveal all…a sincere desire to be known, I imagine.
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ybonsey,
I agree with Mailer’s statement. I used to always talk about what I was going to write….. and then the story would play itself out as I told it. I’m a lot quieter than I used to be.
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Here’s another quote from Norman Mailer, from the Nancy Crampton book on writers. I saw her photographs this year at the Minneapolis Central Library. Wonderful show. I wanted to add this last week, but just now found the time. It says a lot about his high expectations of writers, and the things we sacrifice to write:
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I read it twice. Amazing quote.
I’ll need to read it again, and again.
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