Friday 2 November 2012

The Artist Unleashed: THE TWO-FACED LIFE OF A WRITING EDITOR, by Laurel Garver

The Artist Unleashed posts have moved to a new domain. Please click HERE to read the rest of this post and for the opportunity to comment. Just search for the title of the post in the search bar on the new site.

17 comments:

  1. Hi Laurel! Congrats on the book. I've heard great things about it.

    Love the Editor Brain and that inner child, too. I like how you allow your mind to separate the where and how of editing from that youthful fun place of creating.

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    1. Thanks, Sherrie. Stina does a great job below talking the science of left and right brain and how each hemisphere has different strengths. I simply renamed the actors in the drama (smack-down?) that is my writing process. :-D

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  2. Like Laurel, I'm able to use both my right (creative) and left (analytical) sides of the brain. Creative-only writers would freak if they saw what analytic me does when I plan and edit. :D

    I love this post and finding out about this side of Laurel.

    And Jessica, I love the new blog banner (or new for me because I'm sometimes slow at noticing these things).

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    1. Thanks for providing the neurological science on this phenomenon. I wish my hemispheres played together a bit more nicely at times. Seems one or the other wants to run the show when I approach a task! Any tips?? :-)

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  3. I'm the extensive planner who can be frustrated by the messy process of the first draft as well.

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    1. Sometimes to make the leap I have to do character games, like writing interview questions and getting the characters to answer them. When it feels like I'm taking dictation, the drafting flows more.

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  4. Congratulations on your release, Laurel! My list-loving mind sometimes recoils at my pantsy writing habits, but I can't seem to progress logically while wading into a story. Love your line about "harnessing mystery".

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    1. Funny! I feel like my left brain is always chiding me for pantsing, but as you say, the story flow comes when the creative right brain is given freedom to roam.

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  5. Congrats on the release. Loved your story about writing. Journalism has always lured me. But, I took a detour for art. Then a detour to Canada. I have an 'analytical side and a driver side'-these are business behaviour terms. (I want to know all the details and I can be pushy if it's needed - think raising kids).I didn't have a good father-daughter relationship, but it made me a more stubborn, risk-taking woman.

    I plan, outline, and then let my mind wander. I use my novel plan as signposts; I can still take a detour. Good Luck with the book!

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    1. Thanks, D.G. I've always been too shy to be a reporter, but loved the editing side of things, where the real decision making happens for publications. I love your outline as signpost idea. Sounds like a good way to get both hemispheres of my brain to play nice together.

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  6. Oh wow. I remember Highlights! Those magazines were awesome.

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    1. They're still being published I believe. I always tried to have that kind of variety in my homemade publications--some fiction and poetry, plus nonfiction and how-tos and puzzles. Dang, did I love making puzzles! :-D

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  7. Thanks again for giving me a special Friday appearance, Jessica! It was fun talking books and writing.

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  8. It's wonderful to hear I'm not the only one who struggles with letting go of the need for immediate perfection and embracing the messy side of the creative process. Congrats on the book!!! Best of luck with everything!

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    1. Thanks for the well wishes, Nicole.Those who are good at the messy side struggle elsewhere--revision and editing for example, don't come easily. Getting the left brain to give up some control for a while is really the key--and sometimes it takes tricks to make it happen.

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“I'm using my art to comment on what I see. You don't have to agree with it.” ~John Mellencamp

“Allowing an unimportant mistake to pass without comment is a wonderful social grace” ~Judith S. Marin

“I don't ever try to make a serious social comment.” ~Paul McCartney

“I'd make a comment at a meeting and nobody would even acknowledge me. Then some man would say the same thing and they'd all nod.” ~Charlotte Bunch

“Probably what my comment meant was that I don't care about the circumstances if I can tell the truth.” ~Sally Kirkland

“We're not going to pay attention to the silliness and the petty comments. And quite frankly, women have joined me in this effort, and so it's not about appearances. It's about effectiveness.” ~Katherine Harris