Interview at 52 Projects

Jeffrey Yamaguchi and I sat down at our respective keyboards and had a cyber conversation. This interview at 52 Projects was the outcome. Check it out during this summer lull.

That's not to say that writing isn't difficult. It certainly is. But I want to instill in my students the idea of 'play' in writing. The idea, quite frankly, of fun. That when you sit down with your characters or verses or screenwriting software, whatever, that there's a sense of play there. A sense that something really interesting is going to happen, not just on the page, but actually within the writer. You've got to keep that sense of play, and that sense of discovery, otherwise you begin to see your writing as your enemy, and that's poison for a writer.

I'm not even sure if I'm right about all this, to be honest with you. But I believe it, and I want my students to believe it. I think the old way: the "bleeding from your forehead" way is unhelpful, especially for younger writers.

I guess my main point is: writing is about creating, and it's also about solving problems. And while the problems themselves may be unpleasant, the actual process of solving them is when we grow the most as writers. I think it's important to look at that process in a positive way. It's important to remember that sometimes the solving of problems is the most fun in the writing process. And often it produces the best writing.