Posts Tagged ‘ writing materials ’

Raw Materials for Book Projects

It’s not the capacity to think that we lack when we experience difficulty in writing, but rather, it’s the raw materials like ideas and information that are in short supply. Those things are usually found somewhere else. And that is what research seeks to accomplish.

But even if we think that we know stuff, no editor or publisher in his right mind will believe us. They still expect any writer, beginner or published, to produce a decent amount of research. From there, we could take the theory of relativity apart for all they care, but before that, the editor or publisher expects at least a reference to Einstein’s paper or some book from an equally brilliant physicist who attempted to disprove Einstein.

I’m reminded of an incident in college about a term paper I submitted. It didn’t have a single footnote. I didn’t think I needed any because I was conceited enough to think that I presented a brilliant paper and I did not need to reference other authors. Needless to say, I was wrong. The professor noticed it and it was really difficult to defend yourself from skepticism.

As a rule, a conservative writer who can follow the rules of the publishing industry makes editors and publishers comfortable. They are not looking for genius. They are looking for a publishable idea that will sell.

2010
05/14
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research
writing materials
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Overcoming Writer’s Block

There’s a reason for getting stuck and not being able to move forward in writing a book. And that is the assumption that we are self-sufficient in producing literary works.

We can appreciate the problem if we compare the work of writing to a factory making goods. Production in a factory stops for various reasons. One possibility is the lack of an essential raw material. Writing work, like a factory, needs a steady supply of raw materials.

Ideas and information are the essential raw materials for writing work. And there are different forms of ideas and information. Some types of ideas and information contained within a book are quotations, explanations, arguments, narratives, descriptions, questions, statistics, etc.

The assumption that we are self-sufficient as to the raw materials needed for writing a book is the primary cause of work stoppage (i.e., writer’s block). If you are not drowning in a huge inventory of ideas and information, you don’t have enough raw materials. With this in mind, an aspiring writer should realize that productivity in writing work is more of a logistics problem than a lack of creativity, imagination or skill.

2010
05/14
CATEGORY
writing materials
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1 comment