First of all, thank you SO MUCH for responding to my request to answer questions about your writing last week! Tons of people responded and your feedback was super helpful! I can’t wait to tackle the issues you brought up in the blog and my upcoming online programs….
Secondly (is that a word?,) I watched MOONRISE KINGDOM this weekend and got inspired to think about the creative process. If you’ve ever seen a Wes Anderson film, you know what a unique talent he is. As a writer/director, his point of view is so specific, his style of storytelling so original, the themes and emotional depth of his wild and strange characters so compelling, that you feel as though you’ve actually entered his brain. He’s one of my favorite filmmakers.
Creatively, I’m also obsessed with the novelist Joyce Carol Oates. No matter how many times I go to the library, I always end up standing right in front of her section on the fiction wall. Oates’ weird, twisted, gothic books are my crack cocaine.
This week, I’ve found short interviews with Wes Anderson and Joyce Carol Oates that focus on their creative process. I love that as a storyteller, Anderson picks a powerful emotional relationship and builds on that. And that Oates believes she doesn’t really have a personality, and disappears each day into the pages of her book.
Here’s Wes Anderson on creating MOONRISE KINGDOM…
Here’s Joyce Carol Oates, on her writing process…
Take Action! Think about how you work. Do you come up with a character first, or a situation, or a theme? How do you go about fleshing out this inspiration into a full story? What is your process for writing/executing the idea? Do you need to go to a coffee shop to focus? Do you work at home with a cat? Do you take walks or run in order to approach your story from a different perspective?
Once you’ve nailed down how you work best, do you do everything in your power to protect and support this process?
I love that both Anderson and Oates describe a sense of “disappearing” in their work.
Are you allowing yourself the time and space to do this?
The most magical part of writing is the way it unfolds differently for each person. Are you honoring the way the magic happens for you?
xo Pat
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