Listen and Learn
On the drive back home today, I finished listening to an audiobook production of BUDDHA BOY. It was a perfect traveling companion, just the right length for the round trip. While I loved the recording of the audiobook by Full Cast Audio, it was the afterword by the author that caught my attention, making me pull over to jot down a brief note before continuing the drive. Kate Koje was talking about her process as a writer, how stories begin and then how they evolve.
The journey of the writing is fascinating. As I talk to others about writing, I discover that we have different approaches: the tools we use, how we draft and revise, whether we outline or not. I am talking here about a different kind of writing than Koje's. I am talking about the sort of professional writing that is part of our lives.
Because I try to blog every day, I find these posts seem to flow naturally. I do very little revision. These are intended to be almost stream of consciousness pieces. I begin with a concept and see where the writing leads me. I blog also for Follett. Those pieces are super short, and once I have a theme or topic, the post moves quickly.
Sometimes I am surprised at a turn a post takes. And I let that turn take me to a new realization. Often, these come my favorite pieces of short writing. A couple of weeks ago, I posted a link to Austin Kleon's blog about doing the verb in order to be the noun. It is true for reading AND for writing. If I want to be a writer, I must do the verb and WRITE. How can we provide more time for our kids to do the verbs in order to be the nouns?
The journey of the writing is fascinating. As I talk to others about writing, I discover that we have different approaches: the tools we use, how we draft and revise, whether we outline or not. I am talking here about a different kind of writing than Koje's. I am talking about the sort of professional writing that is part of our lives.
Because I try to blog every day, I find these posts seem to flow naturally. I do very little revision. These are intended to be almost stream of consciousness pieces. I begin with a concept and see where the writing leads me. I blog also for Follett. Those pieces are super short, and once I have a theme or topic, the post moves quickly.
Sometimes I am surprised at a turn a post takes. And I let that turn take me to a new realization. Often, these come my favorite pieces of short writing. A couple of weeks ago, I posted a link to Austin Kleon's blog about doing the verb in order to be the noun. It is true for reading AND for writing. If I want to be a writer, I must do the verb and WRITE. How can we provide more time for our kids to do the verbs in order to be the nouns?