ForumsArt, Music, and WritingTo Become Better....

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Erabor
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Erabor
274 posts
Nomad

Many times I've asked myself 'how do I get better at writing?', and when I consult a teacher or professor, they always have the same cliché idea on the subject: Write everyday.
I use to fight this idea, believing that there was some miracle cure to making a person write or compose art better, but, I have come to the truth that creating stories or poems, we leave a little bit of us into that haiku, or that painting, or whatever it is you are composing. This, I feel, helps is emotionally.
So this is my challenge, to myself, and anyone that wishes to participate: Write, draw, paint, or create something every day from now until December 1st. This 'challenge' (because I do believe it is difficult) is to help people evolve and become improved artists by one months time. The change could be microscopic, your gargantuan, but I know by the end you will see a difference.
So, in essence, I want to better myself and others through writing something everyday and posting it to this thread.
So please. Post and better yourself.
It will start tonight, or tomorrow, or whenever anyone feels like it, but this ends on the first of December.

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Gantic
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Gantic
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I dislike "write everyday" as much as I dislike &quotractice makes perfect". Practice doesn't make perfect. You aren't going to get that much better by writing everyday. (Is there a nuanced difference between "You aren't" and "You're not"?) It's harder to learn technique that way. Why are some perfectly grammatical writings so bad and cringeworthy? I cannot bear to read anything I wrote as a teenager. Why are some less grammatical writings so good and provocative? Yet, some later writings I can read over and over again. Practice without learning, without reading, without digesting, without technique is wasteful. What's a good way to shell hard-boiled eggs? Maybe it's the juxtaposition of phrases. Learning technique is definitely better than repeatedly punching a tree to gather wood. Sure, you're going to be more efficient at punching trees, but you might not realize there are more efficient ways to gather wood. Could you describe a tree to me? without using any adjectives or adverbs? Would you? (Yew wood? harhar.) One of my favorite things to have learned about writing is encapsulated in the following quote:

This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. Itâs like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbalsâ"sounds that say listen to this, it is important.

â Gary Provost

There are other seeds a beginning writer might not notice makes for better writing. The joint offers the least resistance when cutting up a whole chicken. That's why drumsticks and wings are cute the way they are, even the awfully hacked up (maybe sawed through?) ones that have also been cut through the spongy cancellous tissue. Certainly, once you reach a point where you have an eye for what makes it what it is and what might make it better, then writing everyday can further improve writing. But it all depends on the style you want to achieve. And maybe then, you'll find your voice. Maybe.
EmperorPalpatine
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EmperorPalpatine
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Jester

(Is there a nuanced difference between "You aren't" and "You're not"?)

Both are correct. To me "You aren't" seems more casual, while "You're not" seems slightly more formal. "You're not" also puts more emphasis on the negation because it's separated.

What's a good way to shell hard-boiled eggs?

With artillery rounds.

...considerable length, a sentence...

Comma splice. ( < sentence fragment)
pangtongshu
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pangtongshu
9,815 posts
Jester

Why are some less grammatical writings so good and provocative?


Case in point: Works of Plato.
Reton8
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Reton8
3,173 posts
King

I feel I have to agree with Gantic. There's and old adage "We learn from our mistakes." But I always felt that this wasn't right. A more fitting saying would be "We learn from our corrections." or better "We learn from being corrected." In other words, just experiencing something and making a mistake doesn't make you better at that thing you have just done. If you do make a mistake, you must be corrected (by someone else or yourself) and then you must act in alignment with that correction and change your way of doing that thing. If you do not bother to correct the mistake you're making you will not improve or you'll just get better at doing the given task incorrectly. This should fit right along with Gantic's analogy about gathering wood by punching a tree.

I would say that writing everyday isn't a bad idea, so long as you also study about writing everyday or so. This is kind of the approach I use when playing a new video game that's more involved, like an MMO. For instance, let's say I'm going to play a new MMO game. First, I'll go on the internet and research the game. Maybe read up on the history of it a little, learn what certain terms and abbreviations, watch people play the game, learn about the different races and classes, spells and abilities, and finally look through the forums for the game. Then I'll play the game a little and this is were I EXPERIENCE it. After playing a few days, I am now more familiar with the game first hand. I have experienced what I just read about. After this I research the game more or re-read what I had before because now I understand what I am reading more deeply and thoroughly, due to my experience actually playing the game. A pattern of researching, playing, researching, playing, researching, playing, etc... develops and they both play off each other. The more I play the more I understand what I am reading in guides, walkthroughs, and forums. The more I research the more I understand how the game works and how to play more efficiently, correctly, and effectively.

The same can be done for writing. Write some stuff and then read about writing techniques, then write more, and then read more about writing techniques. The more you write the more you will understand when you read about writing techniques as you will have experienced first-hand what those writing guides are getting at. The more you read about writing the better your writing will become. The two play off each other.

Lastly, it can't hurt to read books, especially books that are considered classics and are written by well renown authors. This to me is studying the works of the best in the field, especially if you have just been reading about writing techniques and writing stuff yourself, when you go and read a book written by a pro you can now examine it for the techniques and styles employed by the author. Just be careful in that some of the best authors purposefully don't write by the numbers, and that you may not be at a level high enough to employ such a style yet.

That's what I would do though, if I were trying to improve my writing. Study writing techniques and works of the pros, write something myself, study some more, write something myself, repeat, all well trying to improve my weaknesses ("correct my mistakes).

Gantic
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Gantic
11,892 posts
King

Comma splice. ( < sentence fragment)


Where would a comma splice enter into the equation? The clause following isn't at all independent, but a tacked-on clause that adds pungent notes to the preceding phrase "a sentence of considerable length". It is a common comma use I easily recognize and employ, almost as easily as wordplay, that is if I don't punctuate to make a point or make a point to punctuate. Think of it as a sharp fragrance that pricks up your ears (or your eyes or your nose, whatever it is you are hearing, seeing, smelling with). Now if only I employed piquant wit to make a poignant point, but punctilio is not my house. Pop!

Suddenly, I change the subject to suggest that one should never use the word "suddenly" or "then" or "out of nowhere" or anything like that. That pricks up ones ears in a jarring manner. There are more canny ways for abrupt transitions.
EmperorPalpatine
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EmperorPalpatine
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Jester

Where would a comma splice enter into the equation? The clause following isn't at all independent, but a tacked-on clause that adds pungent notes to the preceding phrase "a sentence of considerable length".

Ah, nvm. It was a resumptive modifier. I don't see those very often.
Erabor
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Erabor
274 posts
Nomad

The purpose of this thread, was not to just mindlessly produce words and type them out, but to learn. By active practicing, you can become better by learning and absorbing the piece which you created.
The works published on this thread don't have to be 'good', by really anyone's standards. Just, if you feel the need, give your two cents and move on. Heck, I didn't spend but twenty minutes on the piece I'm about to post, i didn't make a second draft, or a third, fourth.....
But hey, I made it. I'm taking a step in becoming a better writer.

November 3
A man was destroyed by a storm.
The winds took away everything he owned,
and the rain washed the crops he sowed.
The man sat down, empty, broken;
He sat on the Shores of Despair
And wept.

He felt bitter feelings towards God,
The force he denied all his life
Became the receiver of his strife.
Time tried to mend his bandages
And failed.

The night ended and Dawn reached out,
Bolstering hope for those that need
New food on which they can feed.
And the man asked, and he received
The Word.

And All was well.

Erabor
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Erabor
274 posts
Nomad

I don't know if this would be breaking the code of double-posting, but since I created this thread, and since I am continuing with another segment of it, I'm going to post anyways.
On another note, I'm not a grammar Nazi, but I feel I could always get a better grasp on it. So if you feel that I made a grammatical mistake, by all means, please comment your humble opinion on it, so I can correct and learn from my mistakes.
Just a side note, and now on with my daily entry. (Today I wrote two, rather short pieces of poetry)
November 4a
Why does skin feel more sacred
When it belongs to someone you love?
A missionary travels the world,
But when returning, the embrace of this wife
Is worth more than all the gold in the Earth.
{This piece is a bit of prose}

November 4b
Alone with a cause, I am
Walking among the fallen, I am
Struggling to find the truth, I am
Wiping the blood 'way, I am
Looking to The Horizon, I am
Standing to face my foes, I am
Waging my war with a pen, not a sword.

{A bit of background on this one- That last line came to me a while back, so I wrote it down on a piece of scratch paper on my desk. I wanted it to be the conclusion to a poem, so I managed to shape that single line into another piece. Not that anyone should care, just felt like sharing}

Erabor
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Erabor
274 posts
Nomad

Missed yesterday, barely fit time to write today.
Life sure can be busy.

November 6
I'm hoping,
Tonight on the black I'm praying,
For good luck
To guide me through these awful times
Of happiness and confusion.

I'm walking,
Yesterday in the blue I'm waiting
For something,
To lead me to the unknown.
My mind blurs and I think of you.

Gantic
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Gantic
11,892 posts
King

Locked by request.

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