Comments on: So maybe I didn’t answer this already – How I write

By: Stan

Stan — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:10:52 +0000

Very interesting post, Damien, much of which I can relate to. For example, the way a new piece of writing starts seems like a kind of crystallisation, beginning with one small idea that grows in every direction (the trick is then to shape it suitably). That applies more to fiction than to my blog, though.

I think writing is a lot more like painting, collage and other art forms than is sometimes supposed.

By: Pat

Pat — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:45:45 +0000

I have often wondered if the process of designing buildings on paper has an effect on the shape of the building. Put it another way, would a building built along lines marked out on the ground result in a shape that drawings on paper could never achieve. I once saw a process where bales of hay were used to mock-up the building outline, allowing people to move walls and change shapes in life size dimensions from the inside. The resulting shape was then transformed to paper to design the building proper.
Now apply this to words. Could the subject be formed up prior to using paper/screen, or even before using words? If anyone has heard of a technique I’d be interested to hear.

By: Red Links 3/02/09 : Alexia Golez

Red Links 3/02/09 : Alexia Golez — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:43:33 +0000

[...] this post by Damien how he blogs. Nice organic [...]

By: Damien Mulley

Damien Mulley — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:13:29 +0000

@John 34-35 minutes for the above post.

By: Daily Spud

Daily Spud — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 16:15:23 +0000

I found myself thinking how well you describe what goes on in my own writing process. Different material but very similar sounding stages of post-crafting. I will reread those twenty times on occasion, tweak a word here and there – and then you have to let it go, out into the ether. You don’t always nail it but you move on to the next post and keep it comin’.

By: Rowan Manahan

Rowan Manahan — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:28:20 +0000

“I cannot write five words, but that I change seven.” (Dorothy Parker) Sounds like you and Dorothy would have got along Damien. You’ve captured the surge, ebb and flow of your writing process beautifully there.

By: John Smyth

John Smyth — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:55:01 +0000

Another question, then – how long does it take you, on average, to write a post for the site – like the post above, for instance?

It takes me bloody ages to craft an entry, and half the time, it’s only a caption to a photograph (must write faster).