tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post1853160222311686157..comments2023-10-09T07:40:18.991-04:00Comments on Having Fun with Writing: The Beautiful Process of Writing from PainClaudia Zurchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00302024950570710809noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-10836251329936628612012-02-19T07:21:49.737-05:002012-02-19T07:21:49.737-05:00Writing, is, in essence, akin to bearing your soul...Writing, is, in essence, akin to bearing your soul for everyone to gaze upon, applaud, critique and dissect. If those things are good or bad, it is neither here nor there, it is what it is - a journey from your imagination, tapping in to the inner most core of what shapes you, be it your conscious, subconscious or unconscious mind, all will have their part to play in the construct that is your writing.<br /><br />I find it difficult to believe that any writer can perform their style of magic without some part of themselves being included within the mix, in fact, I would go so far as to risk saying it is virtually impossible. For me, it is like saying, 'I've never been afraid', or 'I've never make mistakes'. Unless, in the first instance, you have a medical condition that affects the brain structure called the amygdala, which deals with emotional learning, fear is part of the human experience.<br />As for never making mistakes? Impossible - it's part of the evolutionary cycle: we make a mistake, we learn and adapt and evolve.<br /><br />So, writing is an evolution - full of mistakes, full of emotions. To 'cold tap' an entire written work is impossible. But I'm open to opinions on that :)Mark Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13002166292175980928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-85686302048066152832011-04-11T14:59:00.433-04:002011-04-11T14:59:00.433-04:00Oops! I hadn't seen this comment so I answered...Oops! I hadn't seen this comment so I answered your other comment (above) first. Glad you found this post, Abby, and that's serving you as inspiration. Keep writing!Claudia Zurchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302024950570710809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-59028707077403073642011-04-11T12:26:09.190-04:002011-04-11T12:26:09.190-04:00Funny I stumbled across this post you wrote after ...Funny I stumbled across this post you wrote after telling you I couldn't write because of the emotions it stirs in me. Well I guess I will just have to. <br />Something keeps sticking in my head regarding this though. My ex said to me, as we were splitting up, that I am a wonderful and gifted writer, if only I didn't write about so much angst. But that's what I know! It is what pushes me. <br />Oh well, screw him. I think I'll go write some angst tonight! Thanks for this post.~Abby~https://www.blogger.com/profile/15852404023734348353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-89314770025467344802011-03-09T09:03:44.300-05:002011-03-09T09:03:44.300-05:00Hi Sharon,
great idea! using some material from yo...Hi Sharon,<br />great idea! using some material from your journal is as good as any other form of inspiration.Claudia Zurchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302024950570710809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-27037162858571886522011-03-07T22:32:05.247-05:002011-03-07T22:32:05.247-05:00I journal when I am going through difficult times....I journal when I am going through difficult times...I always have. I'm sure at some point I will go back and reread them and use the material in some way in my writing, but at this point they are a release.Sharon K. Mayhewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07799235347319851345noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-43227213874576651542011-03-06T18:13:15.201-05:002011-03-06T18:13:15.201-05:00Hi Adam,
Well, writing is art, and artists find th...Hi Adam,<br />Well, writing is art, and artists find their muse in different places whether it's pain, loss, love, death, joy, or any other human experience.Claudia Zurchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302024950570710809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-22707365412796842072011-03-06T17:41:11.937-05:002011-03-06T17:41:11.937-05:00Hi Claudia,
Upon reading your post, my first thoug...Hi Claudia,<br />Upon reading your post, my first thought was, doesn't all writing come from pain? But I guess that's a little too dramatic. I write as a means of slogging through and processing my own thoughts. I can't claim to have had many epiphanies.adam.purplehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13715310339491141836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-87399395332882144782011-03-05T10:56:07.196-05:002011-03-05T10:56:07.196-05:00Hi Carla,
You don't have to write something th...Hi Carla,<br />You don't have to write something that's personally painful to you. Inspiration can come from somebody else's pain. Give it a try. If it's too much for you to bear...then put it aside. When you feel stronger, you'll come back to it.Claudia Zurchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302024950570710809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-51260691781648054302011-03-05T10:30:39.479-05:002011-03-05T10:30:39.479-05:00These are such poignant ideas...I often don't ...These are such poignant ideas...I often don't write about painful things. It's too painful. Even this much of a confession put my guard up! ;) After reading your post and the comments, though, I want to give it a try. Maybe it could turn cathartic? It may be worth a try!Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15380048190884905579noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-22807620103175374942011-03-04T14:15:06.116-05:002011-03-04T14:15:06.116-05:00Hi ladies,
thank you for sharing your comments wit...Hi ladies,<br />thank you for sharing your comments with me. Yes, I'm learning that painful experiences are life lessons and when we put them on paper they turn into wonderful works of art ;)<br />No matter where our inspiration comes from, I think writing is an outlet to express happiness, sadness, pain, joy, peace, and everything in between.Claudia Zurchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302024950570710809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-1700951563935641012011-03-04T08:29:51.312-05:002011-03-04T08:29:51.312-05:00I think that most of us write from what we know. A...I think that most of us write from what we know. And sometimes that can be pain. Just look at all the great works of art--the sonnets, the paintings, the songs produced. Many of them display a poignancy that reaches out and says something on a deeper level. We may find ourselves relating to that particular song. Why? it goes and gets us where we are most vulnerable. Isn't that the human condition? As a writer, I am grateful for all of life's events, be they happy or painful, to explore my own potential for healing and growth. Claudia, thank you for your thought-provoking post.Kelly L. Howarth M.Ed., PPCC Empowerment Coach Transition Partner Speaker Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13975568522328180672noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-83571643694625593742011-03-03T19:05:58.367-05:002011-03-03T19:05:58.367-05:00I think quite a bit of my writing comes from past ...I think quite a bit of my writing comes from past pain or angst. It drives me to write about similar situations and provide the comfort I never received.Alleged Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04869021184116123477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-56205025819345024862011-03-02T21:33:47.698-05:002011-03-02T21:33:47.698-05:00Hi Cathy,
I know you wrote your memoir from having...Hi Cathy,<br />I know you wrote your memoir from having gone through such a difficult period in your life. As you said, writing also taught you something about yourself. I'm glad to hear you discovered so much from your writing.<br /><br />Hi Laura,<br />Writing can be rewarding as well, and yes, who would have thought? Look at you now! You're a published author!<br /><br />Hi Kitty,<br />At first, I was like you. I wrote stories that were not so close to me. My characters were a complete figment of my imagination but as I experienced more and more with style, I found out that pain can drive anyone to write amazing stories because you're writing from your heart.Claudia Zurchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302024950570710809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-3289546439998457182011-03-02T17:19:04.846-05:002011-03-02T17:19:04.846-05:00I know very little of JD Salinger except that he w...I know very little of JD Salinger except that he wrote one of my most favourite books of all time with Catcher in the Rye. I could read this over and over again and just fall in love with it forever. <br /><br />I'm not a good enough writer to be able to turn a personal catharsis into a work of art. When I try - the piece becomes maudlin and unreadable!!! I discovered through experience that I am able to I write "better" when I am so distanced from my stories. <br /><br />Take care<br />xOld Kittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13185547869183611159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-82071933114151127122011-03-02T16:01:50.412-05:002011-03-02T16:01:50.412-05:00I wrote my first novel as a way to deal with my po...I wrote my first novel as a way to deal with my post-partum depression. It was pure therapy. I escaped through my characters and setting. I didn't write for publication, only the enjoyment of writing itself. Who would have thought?Laura at Library of Clean Readshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15252118683176350398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-7894295688296740252011-03-02T15:40:41.635-05:002011-03-02T15:40:41.635-05:00Hi Claudia, great post! Well, I certainly can at...Hi Claudia, great post! Well, I certainly can attest to writing from personal pain! Writing my memoir was very difficult, harder than I thought it would be. It was cathartic and looking back I am able to realize new things about myself I wasn't aware of before. If I knew how tough it would be to write about the trauma's I have gone through I am not sure if I could have done it!Cathy Buetihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09176782992604138092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-46525326068118254022011-03-02T15:08:31.450-05:002011-03-02T15:08:31.450-05:00Hi Isa,
thanks for your detailed comment. Wow! I n...Hi Isa,<br />thanks for your detailed comment. Wow! I never thought of having a favorite chapter in this book (or any other book for that matter). But you're right, his writing style helps the reader see the chaos in his head. That's genius!<br />Glad to hear you liked this classic.<br /><br />Hi Ben,<br />Thank you! It's amazing that a lot of people use writing as a catharsis (or not), but the end result is what matters. If you find it healing, then your writing is twofold. Like you, I write because I have something to say. I am very observant and I get inspired on what I see or hear. It was not too long ago that I wrote a story from a personal POV and back then I had no idea that it was coming from pain. Now I'm glad I wrote that story. <br /><br />Hi Racquel,<br />Isn't it glorious when words pour from within? whether they're from pain or happiness, the inspiration just flows ;)Claudia Zurchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00302024950570710809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-20490569282894710552011-03-02T13:06:14.038-05:002011-03-02T13:06:14.038-05:00I would say my stories are a combination of both. ...I would say my stories are a combination of both. I must say though, the words seem to poor if I write when I'm in pain.Racquel Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12878474658503690859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-91767867799886739502011-03-02T09:07:35.094-05:002011-03-02T09:07:35.094-05:00Great post Claudia. Great question you're aski...Great post Claudia. Great question you're asking also. I have started to write for catharsis, and to a certain extent, I still do. It's a way to evade the day by day struggle of 9 to 5 work. A way to say "I have something in my life worth more than that".<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, it's a calling. If you're a writer, your destiny lies inevitably behind a keyboard. But for some, it's a more satisfying feeling than for others I guess.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11483490020980574428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6652875193826011637.post-81632824653164257562011-03-02T07:31:27.741-05:002011-03-02T07:31:27.741-05:00Salinger’s first chapter introduces the main chara...Salinger’s first chapter introduces the main character and narrator— Holden in the Catcher in the Rye. The first and second-person narration engages both the psychologist to whom he is speaking as well as the reader. The reader is first struck by the lack of organization which Holden employs to convey his message. The stream-of-consciousness narration seems to have no recognizable pattern; there are many digressions to other subjects making it apparent that Holden himself doesn’t know exactly what he’ll say next.<br /><br />Holden first mentions his brother, D.B., who is a writer in Hollywood. Yet Holden doesn’t seem to care for his brother’s activities too much, admitting that D.B. is "being a prostitute." Secondly, Holden describes his dissatisfaction with his school, Pencey Prep., where the slogan, "molding boys into splendid, clear-thinking young men," doesn’t seem applicable. Holden thinks that too many of the people at Pencey are "phonies"-- a term he uses to describe anyone who exhibits some sort of human frailty. Often these frailties include conceit, apathy, and ignorance.<br /><br />The end of the chapter includes Holden’s retreat from the big football game to his dorm room, and a narration of his troubles with the fencing team. The team had to forfeit the match when Holden left all their equipment on the wrong train. Holden is embarrassed by this, but is quick to judge the team, blaming them for the mishap. Later, Holden admits that he’s getting kicked out of Pencey Prep. because of his poor grades. This too, seems to cause embarrassment, but again, Holden blames others by saying, "the more expensive a school is, the more crooks it has." This is my favourite chapter in the book.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com