tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post6397378587422374105..comments2023-06-24T06:20:19.513-07:00Comments on Alice Duncan's Newsletter: So Happy to Host Tim Hallinan Today!Alice Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04617808704864502171noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-14596527334861444862011-12-06T21:49:20.851-08:002011-12-06T21:49:20.851-08:00Hi, all --
Please forgive the very late rsponse. ...Hi, all --<br /><br />Please forgive the very late rsponse. I was on the road all day today, for the second day in a row and am now in beautiful Fort Bragg, California, redwood country.<br /><br />Alice: My pleasure.<br /><br />Pat: You're too nice, to me, anyway. Maybe you take it out on other people. (That's a joke.)<br /><br />Mike: I'm with you, except that I don't usually know who did it, and sometimes I don't even know whom it was done to. In the book I'm writing now, the person I thought was going to be the main non-continuing character is suddenly starting to look like the victim. And it's very kind of you to say you learn from my posts, because it works both ways.<br /><br />Marilyn, thanks, and I'm in total agreement. Books need daily watering and pruning.<br /><br />Everett, Haruki Murakami's wonderful book WHAT I TALK ABOUT WHEN I TALK ABOUT RUNNING has a metaphor I like --all longterm prokects require the doer to get a sort of flywheel spinning in his/her chest. The hardest part is to overcome inertia and get it spinning; after that, all you have to do is keep it spinning with a little daily work. But if you let it run down, you've got to get all that momentum back.<br /><br />Jenny, you'll get through (or over) those walls. You're a fine writer. But that doesn't make them any less daunting when you're facing one.<br /><br />Sheri, thank YOU. If I offer good advice, it's because I've made every mistake a writer can make and then had to dig my way out. Congratulations on making it through Nanowrimo!!!<br /><br />Hi, John, and thanks. But when your students hit one, I'll bet they all think it's the end of the world, don't they? Mine always did.<br /><br />Wendy, I'm with you. I prefer the deep abyss to the top of the wall. At the bottom of the deep abyss, you can persuade yourself (usually erroneously) that you can't fall any further.<br /><br />C.K., you're right about which days are the most fun, but (in my experience) those aren't always the days we do the best writing. And that keeps me going through the worst days.<br /><br />Anonymous Brenda, daily writing isn't the easiest routine to schedule, but it is ABSOLUTELY the best way to write, at least if you're me.<br /><br />Jackie, thanks so much -- you post on my blog -- the last of the tour -- taught me a lot, too.<br /><br />Anne, for me that was a hard-learned lesson. I always think I can bull my way through things, but there are times when I just have to shut up, go still, and let the less directive areas of my mind play with a problem for a while.Timothy Hallinanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00551263887774445511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-81290550546375101142011-12-06T18:50:09.211-08:002011-12-06T18:50:09.211-08:00Tim, our writing styles are indeed very similar. L...Tim, our writing styles are indeed very similar. Like you, I've learned when it's impossible to get around, over or under the wall without getting too bloody, the best path is to stop writing. <br /><br />It may take a day or even a week of non-writing, but eventually I come to realize where the disconnect took place. Going back to correct it, is the only way I can move forward in the book. <br /><br />Great post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-91800727329449709592011-12-06T17:25:10.394-08:002011-12-06T17:25:10.394-08:00I found today's post very helpful. Just when I...I found today's post very helpful. Just when I needed it.<br />Thanks,<br />JackieJackie Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16276062715832103428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-23338005463012338042011-12-06T15:25:16.908-08:002011-12-06T15:25:16.908-08:00Tim,
I have not been writing 6-7 days a week &a...Tim,<br /> I have not been writing 6-7 days a week & I think you are right about the need to do it. Thanks! I'm going to have to read those "finish your book" posts too. <br /><br />BrendaW.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-11373394397502677712011-12-06T15:22:20.126-08:002011-12-06T15:22:20.126-08:00Really liked your post, Timothy. And I especially ...Really liked your post, Timothy. And I especially like the sentiment that a stone wall is a prompt. And thinking back, you're right-on.<br /><br />MadelineM.M. Gornellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05610211516010193111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-10054930522134528492011-12-06T15:11:02.541-08:002011-12-06T15:11:02.541-08:00Love the post, Tim, with great advice. I find days...Love the post, Tim, with great advice. I find days where walls vanish before me, others where they rise high into the sky. I guess we all know which days are the most fun.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-28815063403477050012011-12-06T14:12:37.936-08:002011-12-06T14:12:37.936-08:00Tim: Instead of climbing the wall, I often feel li...Tim: Instead of climbing the wall, I often feel like I've fallen off the top of the wall into a dark abyss where no light can penetrate. It's the same problem, I'm just afraid of heights.<br />Wendy<br /><a rel="nofollow">W.S. Gager on Writing</a>WS Gagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02278366853908626596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-70668667758978730022011-12-06T11:01:49.813-08:002011-12-06T11:01:49.813-08:00Fine post, Tim. "Something there is that does...Fine post, Tim. "Something there is that does not love a wall." We all bump our noses on such walls, and you've given us some good ways to deal with the obstacles.john M. Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00175415154857919353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-46926342669733620842011-12-06T10:24:15.383-08:002011-12-06T10:24:15.383-08:00Hmm. I'm still contemplating my mountain, Tim....Hmm. I'm still contemplating my mountain, Tim. I know, I know. You've given me sound advice. Maybe one of these days, I'll take it ;-)Alice Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04617808704864502171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-56725486311469345912011-12-06T10:07:38.518-08:002011-12-06T10:07:38.518-08:00Thanks for this Tim. You always have the best advi...Thanks for this Tim. You always have the best advice. <br /><br />Your advice in your "Finish Your Book" posts to write ABOUT the book if you get stuck helped drive me through nanowrimo to the tune of 72K words. <br /><br />Thanks for participating in this tour and introducing me to some new authors.Sheri Harthttp://www.sherihart.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-69689535830765766642011-12-06T09:36:06.719-08:002011-12-06T09:36:06.719-08:00Had to climb a few stone walls lately, Tim--on a f...Had to climb a few stone walls lately, Tim--on a forthcoming book. It seems it's even harder if you thought you skirted all the walls--and then you have to climb them in reverse.<br /><br />To torture your metaphor a bit ;)jenny milchmanhttp://suspenseyourdisbelief.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-33435336991590287962011-12-06T09:06:24.106-08:002011-12-06T09:06:24.106-08:00As I was reading this piece, I couldn't help i...As I was reading this piece, I couldn't help it, Jim Croce's "...stone walls do a prison make..." kept running through my mind. :-)<br /><br />I find that programming is much the same: I have to work on it 6-7 days a week in order to keep the whole thing in my mind and to keep my forward momentum going... somewhere.Everett Kaserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12371555243187874414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-43136042791831655312011-12-06T07:27:11.340-08:002011-12-06T07:27:11.340-08:00Tim, that was great. And I agree about staying wit...Tim, that was great. And I agree about staying with the book as often as possible--at my age I forget too much if I'm not writing nearly every day. <br /><br />MarilynMarilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04179984154939161530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-3955369822456527602011-12-06T07:10:50.206-08:002011-12-06T07:10:50.206-08:00I love the analogy with lion taming, and I agree t...I love the analogy with lion taming, and I agree that you have to write as often as possible to stay in a book. When I do that, I can't wait to get back to writing; the story doesn't leave me just because I'm not writing. <br /><br />I start a book knowing only who is murdered, why, and one clue. I don't have an outline or even a plot, just a victim, a reason, and a clue. Some people say I don't have a clue, but they mean that in another sense. Anyway, the clue can change, the reason for the murder can change, and the victim can change. I need them to get started, but I'm not hesitant to throw them out if it helps me with one of those walls Tim describes so well. I always learn from his posts.Mike Orenduffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09390940407971455613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-24429593187107027922011-12-06T07:04:50.398-08:002011-12-06T07:04:50.398-08:00Tim's take on writing (all of them) is always ...Tim's take on writing (all of them) is always fascinating -- and helpful. Thanks to you both for this blog.<br />Pat BrowningAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2183201547392787469.post-41962096917728544272011-12-06T06:54:24.244-08:002011-12-06T06:54:24.244-08:00Thanks for joining me today, Tim!Thanks for joining me today, Tim!Alice Duncanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04617808704864502171noreply@blogger.com