tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post640847465758819376..comments2023-11-07T21:12:19.852-06:00Comments on Wyrdsmiths: Continuing the Preceding Posttate hallawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06631759014508937940noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-30565366809776137732008-05-14T08:54:00.000-05:002008-05-14T08:54:00.000-05:00That's a good way to put it Doug, though I might g...That's a good way to put it Doug, though I might go one step further and say I'm looking at the cocktail napkin sketch of the house rather than the more practical architect's thumbnail. <BR/><BR/>I guess I'm talking about idea at the level you get in conversations where somebody says: "You're a writer! I've got this great idea for a book. Why don't I tell you about it" Followed by "Then you can do the easy part and write it." Or, "You can use that if you want."<BR/><BR/>And sometimes the idea the person describes <I>is</I> really smart and <I>would</I> make a great book. The problematic part of such an interchange isn't the quality of the idea, it's the belief that person has that the "idea" or conception part of writing the book is the hard part and the actual execution is the easy part. <BR/><BR/>It's that usage of "idea" that I'm really addressing. I think that's also what Justine is getting at, but I won't presume to speak for her.Kelly McCulloughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06399122960869198042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-1750113523265911002008-05-14T08:37:00.000-05:002008-05-14T08:37:00.000-05:00I think Kelly is talking about the initial "flashe...I think Kelly is talking about the initial "flashes" of the idea -- the, "Hey, that would make a cool story. *fiddle, fiddle* Yeah, it IS a cool premise." By contrast, I get the feeling that Eleanor is talking more about the process of develpoing the idea into a story, and the steps that go into it (almost verging on theme).<BR/><BR/>To attempt a metaphor, Kelly is looking at an architect's sketch of the finished house and saying, "Yeah, that might be a cool place to live", while Eleanor is looking at the blue prints and considering the overall livability of the place. Or something. :)Douglas Hulickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04221190213829107139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-42875770755449999032008-05-14T07:43:00.000-05:002008-05-14T07:43:00.000-05:00Yes. I think we are talking about different things...Yes. I think we are talking about different things, and I'm not getting what you and Justine are talking about. I'm not sure it needs more discussion. But there is some kind of (I suspect) basic difference here, which may well have to do with how we approach writing.Eleanorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07014586558046317266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32085591.post-79152576779019771702008-05-13T20:44:00.000-05:002008-05-13T20:44:00.000-05:00I pretty sure that what we're talking about when w...I pretty sure that what we're talking about when we talk about ideas is fundamentally different. For me (and [I think] Justine) the "idea" part of the morals story in your example is where you think <I>I wonder if I can make a story that ends with a moral work?</I> The execution of a story that takes that idea and makes it a successful one is where the vast majority of the work comes in and is not at all the same thing as simply having the idea.Kelly McCulloughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06399122960869198042noreply@blogger.com