There were a lot of things that I had planned to do in 2011, but most of them never happened. There was too much to do and it seemed that there was simply not enough time. I guess there never is enough time in our lives to do all the things that we want to do.
But, the funny thing is that when I look back at 2011, I can’t help but wonder: Did I do the best in the time that was available to me?
I came across this quote by John M. Ford yesterday. Something about the quote appealed to me, and the quote stayed stuck in my mind for the rest of the day. The only way, I thought, I could get it out of my mind was by writing a post about it. So, here goes.
I think most of us, when we read something good, imbibe some of the elements of the writer’s style. It is a natural process and, sometimes, we do it even without realising. We copy what we like, mainly because we want what we write to be liked too. This is why it is often said that if we want to write good stuff, we have to read great stuff.
However, blind imitation is for apes.
As a new writer, it is often easy to get caught up in the excitement of the business. You hold up that shiny new piece of writing and can’t wait to share it with the world. You research everything you can about writing and plan the most effective way to get your work into the hands of the public.
This is great, and writers should get excited about what they are doing. The problem comes when the writer gets so excited that they forget to become their own critic.
Here are five mistakes that new writers often make.
“At midnight on November 1, armed only with their wits, the vague outline of a story, and a ridiculous deadline, more than 250,000 people around the world will set out to become novelists.”
These are the opening lines from the official press release for NaNoWrimo 2011. For those who don’t know what NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is, it should suffice to say that NaNowrimo is about writing a 50,000 words novella in the 30 days of November. Every year since 1999, an increasing number of people have attempted this task, and many have failed. Let’s have a look at the numbers:
When I was a child, I did not watch a lot of TV. In fact, TV was not even interesting as only a few channels were available, and these were mostly boring. So, naturally, kids in our time did the next best thing – they read!
These days, however, TV has become interesting. There is something for everyone and, therefore, it is no wonder that everyone is watching more TV than ever before. I am no exception.
But, with the increase in my TV viewing time, I couldn’t help wondering: Does watching TV TV kill creativity?
January 2nd, 2012 
NeoBluePanther 
Posted in 
Tags: 
