Thursday, January 14, 2010

Journal of a Novel

My favorite example of these types of journals are two volumes of Steinbeck letters that are available.; Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters, and Working Days: The Journals of The Grapes of Wrath.

What he did and what I am thinking about doing is you write a long series of letters in the notebook he also wrote the novel in. The right side of the page is where you write your novel, and the left side of the page is where you keep the letters. Steinback said he used to do it to get his mind in the zone. Any writer knows how much of a key issue this is in the writing process. No matter what other kind of external influences are going on at the time, if you are in the zone, have the focus and discipline to immerse yourself into the world of your story you know as well as I do is that this is the place were your words come from. So I am willing to follow in the footsteps of those masters that have come before me and adapt their tactics there methods.

I would also like to get copies and read both of Steinbeck's books as all I have read are romantic descriptions of them. In one way though I would like to just keep that thought and do them how I imagine they are instead of reading and copying his style.

One of the things I do know about his technique that I am going to adapt is that he would set down to write, sharpen his pencils and start of by warming up and writing letters to his publisher and friend on many subjects.
 
I have a great idea of how I am going to do it. I am going to write a letter to someone who is new to the art of writing and has not read the books. For those of my readers who are occult inclined I am going to do a sort of writing version of Magick Without Tears by: Crowley.

Of course now I am at the point when I am trying to read like 15 books at the same time. My room is starting to become a path of books leading to the bed, books and music. Not that I think that is too much of a bad thing really.

I am going to and read for the rest of the evening and then tomorrow begin this work!

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