For the Record...

I would just like to state that I combined my podcast and shitty first drafts blog post. That said, I would like to elaborate on the Shitty First Drafts piece by Anne Lamott. My writing process now actually factors in the shitty draft stage and I am SO much less stressed! Bulgakov: you got nothin' on me tonight!

One thing to think about, and this is a point Steven Beringer made in a comment, that there is a muscle memory factor, but organic inspiration or almost 'divination' is so important. The shitty first drafts is a great idea for academic or critical writing, because we are forcing ourselves to do something we would probably choose to do after a pretty lengthy list of other options. But the creative writing aspect has a lot to do with being really into your idea. The shitty first draft plan works because it takes the pressure off to get your ideas down on paper, and it needs to function as just that, since not everyone is William Faulkner, storying The Sound & the Fury in their head. Once that happens, you have a base. It's really important also, to make sacrifices. If you're not willing to stay up all night (or for days) to write your novel, what are you doing?! Just kidding... sort of. When else will you write everything down? It's best (I've found) to fully commit to your story until it's more or less finished. I never finished my novella because I planned out the meaty middle section and went to bed instead of just writing it. I have a great beginning and ending of something I won't publish because it's too far removed from me now. TANgENt.. But the writing process is just about being open minded toward yourself and all existing outside of you and your writing.

I've had a few classes that have taught me very significant lessons: I want to perform an Indian raga some day, I don't want to be an art major, I want to become a Taoist sage (or Eastern preventative herbalist) after retirement, and actual introspective analysis on my writing process, which I never thought to examine before! Being stoked on the process is what it's all about. Krishna told these two experienced yogis when they would transcend. The first yogi - uptight, serious and exact asked when he would reach enlightenment. Krisha responded: next life. The yogi flew into fit of rage and bitterness because he had worked so hard for 40 years. The second, silly, happy yogi asked because it had just occurred to him to, and Krisha said: "Do you see all of those leaves on the tree? That is how many life times you have before reaching enlightenment." The yogi was so happy and said "Wow! I will be enlightened some day!" "Then you are already enlightened," Krishna told him. There's a difference between working towards an end and working because it's a way of life, an extension of the self. I suppose though I will never admit that I consciously want to be an artist, I will always find my way into doing art. The passion is what attracts me to all of this. The multimedia powers I hope to gain from this class and the minor in the future will be used not for a posh career in advertising SO that I can make a lot of money, but I want to continue doing the things I've been doing recently, working with amazing, brilliant, talented people on music, art, culture, & literature and enjoying the experience and process behind all of it. My friend Reida coined the term "Renaissance-ing". I hope to be Renaissance-ing for the rest of my days!