The Anatomy Of Construction

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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XLVIII)
2007-12-22 02:17:00
Click on the above to see the full size image.Whoa, 'tis the season to be stressed out as hell! I wonder what Jesus would say if he saw all the mad efforts people go to around the time of his birth? Probably something like, "Hey, that's not what it's all about!"Too often we worry about the wrong things, do things for the wrong reasons. Writing reflects life. We write because we want to write- we celebrate Christmas because....? I guess this season, answer this question and see how that question relates to your reality. Would your loved ones want to see you suffer a double heart attack to gorge yourself on food and double your credit debt? Buy a gift for someone you've never met who'll never know you to thank you. Make your effort at spending time with people not the quality of the table setting, but the quality of the listening. Make your gift the keys to your heart and know that the blessed moments you spend with those you love are blessed moments, not moments of strained tens...
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XLVII)
2007-12-21 00:57:00
Click on the above to see the full size image.Writing is learning to thrive on challenge, to grow and exceed yourself and your fears. The whole, "Proving the pudding" thing, a chapter a day and posting the rough draft is quite a challenge.A number of people have told me they wouldn't feel comfortable putting a rough draft out there. I don't feel comfortable either, but I want to share with you the process of what happens and how the writing grows- it really is a beautiful thing to watch- at least from a creators point of view. I hope you're enjoying it as much as I'm enjoying putting it out there. by the end of the third chapter you should start to see how the central character is developed, and how the cast around him is forming. I'm not sure where it's going long term, but with writing, you can never be sure at what the finished product is going to look like.The most important thing is to write. you won't get this feeling of success unlesss you write; you won't get this fe...
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Pasrt XLVI)
2007-12-20 00:51:00
Click on the above to see the full size image.OK, a deal is a deal here's the link to the first chapter of the book I promised I'd bring you, one chapter every day until it's done. On the blog itself I explain the exact process I'm using to write and present the book as. Hope it makes you see just how possible it is for you to write.TomX We're going to Miss you Amber.
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The Anatomy of Construction (Part XLV)
2007-12-19 00:59:00
Click on the above to see a full size image.I've been talking about writing and how easy it is, but I haven't shown you any proof yet, have I? My writing grows by challenging myself everyday- stretching the limits of what I'm capable of and exposing my weaknesses and fears to the burning light of day.So here's the deal. Starting tomorrow, everyday, I'm going to produce a chapter. I'm writing a new book, and I'll share it with you every day. The minimum requirement I've set is four thousand words (OMG how much further can I drive my work load up?) I'm thinking a nice social satire, something in the vein of Catch 22, something with the heart of Fight club, something that shows the absurdity of the world I get to see everyday.What you're going to get is the first draft, one chapter at a time, typo's and all. i want to show you it's simple; i want you to see how mistakes are natural to everyone, and that with a polish, they disappear- more than anything else, I want to share...
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XLIV)
2007-12-18 01:57:00
Click on the above to see the full size image.I talked to a friend last night about the reason for writing. She writes for herself, her own reasons and a positive effect in her life- she writes to achieve a goal in her life. Which is fantastic- it's the only way to write.It's all well and good to write to save the world, free the pandas, and show people the foolishness of smoking cigarettes, but it's got to be for you and for a result in your; life- it's the only thing that will keep you going. Preaching is only good when you've got a pulpit, a pulpit is just a listening post, you've got to entertain people with your writing, you've got to entertain yourself first. Yourself and your dreams.I love learning new things- today's page is a pure product of Photoshop- never done that before. The same is true with writing- I love new writing styles and new things to write; haiku, novels, articles, reviews, critiques.The some of the best come back to listening- like trying to write i...
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XLIII)
2007-12-17 01:37:00
Click the above image to see the full size version.We all have bad days- it's important that we put them in perspective. they are, just bad days. A bad day doesn't not make a bad life, a setback does not make a failure. When you have days like this, write, make the bad days the days you learn something more about yourself and grow. TomX
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XLII)
2007-12-15 23:29:00
Click on the above image to see the full size version.The humble comma has many uses, about twenty of them in fact. There are some basic rules of thumb to apply to the comma. the most important one I use is "Read aloud"- when you use this rule you can see clearly where commas belong, and don't belong.Lets try the new camera out, shall we? I write in two different locations, my house....(I sacrifice neatness for productivity, paint, wax paper, coke and great stacks of CD's are very necessary for me to function. The basic equation is, No Music+ no art= no pages.)Just to put things in perspective, the computer in this image is a Pentium with 32 MB of RAM- you don't need a whiz bang machine to write, or a computer at all, for that matter.The other is my girlfriends house, much neater... Ah, breakfast awaits me, next to the keyboard. I make a rule of listening to a lot of music while I work, it helps me relax and enjoy myself , and what I do.Writing can sometimes be like living in a ...
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XLI)
2007-12-15 00:42:00
Click on the above image to see a full size version.Slowly I', slipping into some of the technical aspects. So tomorrows page is going to be all about the comma. Punctuation is easy, but the terminology is hell so examples are the way to go.Just further proof that that adage, "Show, don't tell," applies to all writing, be it technical or narrative.Summer in Australia- the sky is heavy overcast, there's been no storm, yet some light rain and cool air. Yesterday was muggy, leaving you With the sensation that your clothes had to be pried from your skin like a sticky second skin.Being a writer means you don't get paid very much at all, unless you're Jo Rowling (She is, along with Thom Yorke and John Steinbeck, one of my heroes). Being poor gives you some immense advantages. Buy a new pair of trainers and you're over the moon, buy a digital camera and you just about have an aneurysm with the sheer excitement of it all. You've been warned, expect photos....= )TomXWho'd have though...
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XL)
2007-12-13 22:15:00
Click on the above image to see the full size version.Writing is sometimes hard for people because we've been conditioned to accept that relaxation is doing nothing- avoiding activity. Activity, is work and work is not good. we don't want to be at work.Look at what you do as play; there's no dividing line between enjoying what you do at work and at home (OK, I'll admit that if you've got a job on an assembly line putting labels on fruit tins it might be hard to see the fun side) Fun, is a sense of accomplishment.Writing is one of the easiest ways to experience this.And it's fun.TomX
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXXIX)
2007-12-12 21:33:00
Click on the above to see the full size version.The above is the first page of the (fifth) redraft of the novel I'm working on. Something completely different to what I thought it would be intially.Be prolific, write a lot, think about how you would describe things, how other people have described things and how what you see resonates with you.Most of all have fun- looking on your work when it's done and seeing something close to what you envisioned is a joy- seeing something that took on a life of its own and became a beatiful piece is a sense of fullfillment nothing else can compare to.TomX
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXXVIII)
2007-12-12 00:45:00
Click on the above image to see the full size version.Motivation is a funny thing, and when you write, you don't always come out where you thought you would.The page behind the text today is the first page of the very first draft of the novel I'm currently finishing up now. It's been, three, four years in the works. initially it started as a book about where I live- I live in some very rock n Roll Flats on Hindley Street in Adelaide, they are to punk what Greenwich Village is to beat- the book changed into something very different.I didn't choose the direction, the direction pushed itself through my writing. the drafts changed, the only thing I had a firm grip on was it was a book about loneliness, desperation, tragedy, hope and rebirth. You know what, I like it better now. Let what you're writing take its own shape- create a situation and make sure you sit down and write everyday and a book will come out of your efforts.I've never worried too much about having notebooks descr...
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXXVII)
2007-12-10 21:25:00
Click on the above image to see a full size version.Don't click on the above image is you don't want to learn the frightening truth that you choose how much time you spend writing. It's true.Art is a support mechanism for life, but life will never wash up its shores some "Art time" While we can't spend every waking hour writing, we do get a lot more free time than you'd imagine. Free time that is easy to spend at a a bar, with friends, watching television; it's hard to spend that time writing.In school we're taught writing is work, and as we grow up, even if we want to write, some part of us still thinks of it as a chore, and not something we'd want to spend our spare time on.Make time to write.Throw the television off your balcony- Michael Franti put it best when he said "TV is the only wet nurse that would create a cripple" Your television doesn't like you, after six months you won't even miss it- it will be a strange little glaring and blaring box, you'll laugh as you ...
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Thge Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXXVI)
2007-12-09 22:26:00
Click on the above to see the full size image.Now my muse is revealed in his full Glory. Future Rug, the Panda, yes he tells me how to write...Inspirations, muses, don't take any of these things too seriously. As soon as you start to wrap yourself up in ego and good luck charms, one of them will let you down. There's a story in Zen about the mind being like a cart, is you drag it through mud it will become bogged and stuck. Don't tie yourself to things that can let you down or you'll find yourself saying, "I can't write because..."Have fun, enjoy what you do and try not to make it too much about yourself while putting the whole of yourself into what you do. it's harder than you might think, but when you get there, the results are amazing.Enjoy the beautiful day int his lead up to Christmas, once the birthday of Jesus, now the orgasmic climax to the great democratic dream- the freedom to buy what we're told. This Christmas, look with eyes open at those less fortunate and inclu...
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXXV)
2007-12-09 00:36:00
Click on the above image to see a full size version.Writing really is a matter of perseverance. Writing is also a disciplined martial art. No different to karate, the best practice everyday, polish their art and rise to the top. Another name for this discipline is "Bum glue" you glue your bum to the seat and sit down and write.Just write, and enjoy yourself.It's a beautiful Day outside, the rain a fine mist and the sweet scent of the calling coming form the street. Write whatever draws your heart and your pen.TomX
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXXIV)
2007-12-07 22:21:00
Click on the above image to see the full size page.I'll let you in on a secret- I really have a ball putting these pages together-I try and find a new way to do it every day- and if not a new way, an old way with a result that I love.I don't aleways succeed, in fact, most times, I come away going, "Urgh, that's not what I wanted". I guess one in six pages Comes out showing the idea I had in mind.It's like writing in general. Most of what I write, I spike. it ends up in a stack that grows everyday. i keep that work though; there are ideas in everything that I like, or see some possibility in. When I'm short on ideas to write about, I go through the spiked stack and see what grabs me. it might be an idea of a failed article or the lack of an idea that challenges me.I love writing becasue every single day it is a new challenge.I hope you find the same.TomX
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXXIII)
2007-12-07 00:35:00
I've had a lot of Haiku sent to me, thanks, everyone = ) I picked the one I like best- art is a personal thing and this one gave me a kick and a grin at once. There is a flow in my mindCrack the TV noiseLike lightning outside my door-Avinna Trzesinski Thanks for everyone who sent in Haiku- there was some great stuff. It's fun, and easy to do when Thanks everyone who sent in haiku- it's great fun reading it, but you all must have had a bal writing it = )You know, writers are courageous people. When you write well you are revealing every thing about yourself- your strengths, your weaknesses, your fears, your joys and your embarrassments- even when you are writing about something other than yourself you are putting a big part of yourself out there. When I was younger I wrote a lot of stuff in the Vein of Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman's "Drangonlance" series. I never showed anyone, not a soul- I was embarrassed because, well, they were sword and sorcery books, and serious writing...
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXXII)
2007-12-06 00:04:00
Click on the above image to see the full size page (as per usual)Slowly I'm trying to bring in the technical elements of writing to "The Anatom y ..." The technical elements aren't apostrophes and semi-colons and such forth, these are the mechanics, and easy enough to learn- "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White (You can find it on Google books here) is the best text I know of for the mechanics of writing.Description, dialogue, setting are the technical elements that let us down so often. When we start out they can seem like big dark mysteries and quite often leave us wondering what's wrong with the piece with no real idea- I'll try and give you all the pointers I can to escape the traps that I walked into....It's "A thing of Eighths" time again, and we're half way through the book. I sat down this morning and thought, what can I give you guys as the half way present, for all those who've been reading this blog, you deserve a little something special. I also started kicki...
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXXI)
2007-12-05 00:56:00
Click on the above image for the full size version. Well, call this an object lesson in the nedd to have distance between yourself and proofing. I sat down last night and proofed the page right after I wrote it and completely missed a word that I'd already left out.These things happen, but only if you don't follow the six P's (Preperation and Planning Prevent Piss Poor Performance)- guess I forgot to follow the rules- none of us are immune.So how did you go with the Haiku yesterday? I'd love to see you results- send them in to me at btcassidy@gmail.com TomX
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXX)
2007-12-03 22:06:00
Click on the above image to see the full size version... The hardest part about writing is of course sitting down and writing; I've said this before, haven't I? The trick is to make a commitment and start writing. If you pick up the pen sit down at the page and write, just even the smallest thing, you'll find that you can write.So do it, sit down, when you read this page and write something, however small.Haiku is a good place to start; the format is simple, three lines, the first with five syllables, the second with seven, and the third with five again; it must contain a seasonal reference, however oblique.Try it, it's easy.Little fat fingers,Sounds of bugs scratching in years,This is not success.Sacrifice thirty seconds, write, NOW. You can create nothing without a sacrifice, so give up a minute of your job (Chuck Palahnuick wrote the core of Fight Club, chapter six, during some idle work time) It's a sacrifice you'll thank yourself for making.TomX
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXIX)
2007-12-02 21:57:00
A lot of talk is done about writing, and quite frankly, when people talk, but don't do anything it gets me down. Writing is the best fun you'll ever have, talking about writing makes it seem hard work- wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which one fills up first sums up the way i fell when people say, "I wish I could write"Yoda spoke the finest truth when he said, "Do or do not, there is not try" Repetition is the mastery of all skill.TomX
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXVIII)
2007-12-02 00:09:00
Click on the above image for the full size version.We can write about anything, anyhow or anyone, but when we're writing it's important to remember that the tree, is part of the forest, and each of these trees has many leaves. Show your readers the full world in all its beauty, splendor terror and joy.From where I'm writing now, on Hindley street in Adelaide, i can look across the street and see a seedy pub with punters, drug dealers hanging out the front door all covered in tattoos and smoking cigarettes and eyeing perspective customers from a safe distance. I can see a young couple, feet sore from dancing all night with their arms around each other wearily walking into the coming day; the grey skies and rolling clouds and debris hold only beauty for them as their feet crush cigarette butts in passing.Show all of it, the good, the bad and the ugly, because only then will we truly appreciate the beautiful.TomX
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXVII)
2007-11-30 23:52:00
Click on the above image to see the full size page. Sometimes it's hard to know just what to write about and how we should go about it, as with everything in life, honesty is the best policy- it doesn't matter what you write, just write what you honestly feel.It doesn't matter what you think other people might think, it doesn't matter what other people do think, if you honestly share with the world your own point of view you'll always have an audience.TomX
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The Anatomy Of Construction (Part XXVI)
2007-11-29 23:46:00
Click the above image for the full size version.Time is of course one of the most difficult things about writing, because it is the ultimate excuse. There are a million other things to do than write. You can tell when someone loves their writing; first they'll make time to write, develop the discipline and the love, then they'll abandon their manners and start writing at the table, soon enough, they're that person carrying a pad and pen at all times and writing down everything they see; they're that person everyone calls disciplined and marvels at, saying, "I wish i was as disciplined as them," usually coupled with the statement, "They're so talented,"Talent comes along after years of practise, discipline is a concept, a way of saying, "That person really loves what they do". These are things you pick up over time- the love won't come easily; writing is sometimes the hardest, most soul destroying work of all; musicians can see their results readily, a song might take a long t...
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