Blank Spaces, by Tatiana – In The Mix # 16
April 16, 2009 Tatiana EL-Khouri 15 Comments
The last few days the site has been going white and I have been in technical service mode. I was so wrapped up with making sure all the loyal MDW contributors and community had their fix; I forgot about my own column. Everyday it’s been something different, despite the technical difficulties my favorite part of the experience was reading Mike Gold’s email notices and musings sent to me and MOTU letting us know of the blank site:
I mean, negative space is a good concept but…
Site’s whiter than Casper’s ass in a bleach storm…
Instead of being placed in a mood that had me dreading opening up the site files, his musings were a very creative way to present the problem which got a smile on my face initially. So while I sit here staring at my blank page and thinking of the blank site I dealt with earlier this week, I really appreciate the talent of bringing together well thought out words and musings.
When the site started out, I worked hard on building the technical side of the site and building the graphical brand. A few months after the site was up and new columnists were added, In The Mix was added to the existing amazing line-up. The topics came to me pretty easy. Usually based off stops on my artistic journey that week or an anecdote from the past that has made me who I am today.
I’ve always been a storyteller of sorts as a child, moreso because I loved to talk and I realized my reputation preceded me. If I wanted to keep someone’s attention once they began to roll their eyes and stack me up as a gregarious child that would not shut up, I learned to say a line that was outlandish or engaging enough to have them stop in their tracks and ask for me to explain myself or continue the story. Hook, line, and sinker!
But writing is different, I’m not standing in front of someone or a crowd gauging their energy or vibe’in with their interests. It’s me alone with my laptop and my thoughts.
Now…..
Writer’s block!!!! I’m as blank as they come right now. So fellow MDW columnists and community, how do you work through writer’s block?
This column chronicles my journey as an emerging artist. So what do you want to hear? Any updates on my progress?
If I know MOTU well enough, the fate of my column lies in balance. So help me out, I’ll be waiting…….
McCarthy
April 16, 2009 - 1:15 pm
Where did you get your haircut? Those bangs are bangin’.
M
April 16, 2009 - 1:23 pm
Writer’s Block!!!
I f-n hate it!!!
I like to take the preventive maintenance approach. I write every morning when I get up. (2 pages both sides 8 ½ x 10 paper) This writing that I do is free flowing thought. Whatever is in my head I put it on paper. Even if at that exact moment I am thinking nothing I write the word ‘nothing”, until other words start flowing. By the time I am ready to work on a project my mind is clear and I don’t suffer as much.
Also there is a great book to read; “Bird by Bird” by Anne Lammont. She spends a lot of time talking about the writing process and dealing with writer’s block.
And if those don’t work….
A fifth of tequila, rum, vodka, or gin!! No wine, no beer and by all means…no girlie drinks!!!! Start writing! Then hit submit! Deal with the consequences the next day. “Everyone will think you’re a genius!!!”
James...?
April 16, 2009 - 1:25 pm
When I get writer’s block, I do a ‘vomit journal,’ which is kinda literally letting loose the clutter in your head onto the page. I just started writing whatever was on my mind, and some pretty freaky stuff came out, but by the end my head was clear and I’d have a few ideas (that’s a terrible name for a journal exercise, though).
But that’s my humble opinion. I think you would have been funny to know as a little kid.
HOLY CRAP! Idea! Write the column as you would when you were five! Minus, y’know, spelling and grammar errors. And maybe some wise censorship.
James...?
April 16, 2009 - 1:27 pm
Hey! We said the same thing at the nearly same time! That’s a sign that we’re right in our collective wisdom!
Ahh, confirmation. It’s a good thing.
pennie
April 16, 2009 - 1:45 pm
Tatiana,
“So fellow MDW columnists and community, how do you work through writer’s block?
Been writing professionally for thirty-plus years. When I have writer’s block, I put on some favorite music and drift away. Songs and jams bring memories which stir my pot. That nearly always does the trick for me but don’t know if that will help you.
“This column chronicles my journey as an emerging artist. So what do you want to hear?”
More about what moves you–things you care about. Your art. Not the twitter crap but what makes you dance. But, again, that’s just me.
And, what about those bangs?
Tatiana
April 16, 2009 - 1:59 pm
The bangs and new look are courtesy of Hair Artist to the Stars- Marcia Hamilton
pennie
April 16, 2009 - 2:12 pm
@Tatiana,
“The bangs and new look are courtesy of Hair Artist to the Stars- Marcia Hamilton”
Does she combine the attributes of Marcia Cross and George/Alexander Hamilton?
marc alan fishman
April 16, 2009 - 2:39 pm
To defeat writers block, I use a few techniques:
1. Open up a book, (or magazine, etc.), and pick a word. Do this three more times. Then, write, trying to incorporate those words… soon thereafter, content will come to you.
2. Listen to an old album or song you haven’t listened to in years. Let the memories flood back, and write write write…
3. Read cnn.com or large news site, and wait for an article to hit you, one you have an opinion on… boom.
Mike Gold
April 16, 2009 - 3:20 pm
My first journalism teacher said “Just type the first sentence. Anything.” Since the invention of the computer, I’ve developed the habit of using solitaire as a Zen writing experience. I turn over the cards and place them by rote, all the while thinking out my subject and a few significant points that deserve to be hit. I continue flipping the cards while engaging in mental wordsmithing.
But I usually comment on what’s going on externally. My feelings are internal, but the subject matter is not. Your subject matter is very internal, so you’ve got to reach inside yourself. It’s like writing comedy: if you do so with complete honesty, you’ll find all sorts of treasures.
Just never make the mistake of confusing writer’s block with not having anything to say. The former is just a brain fart; the latter does not exist. We all have something to say. Sometimes too much.
And deepest thanks for the kind words. They mean a lot to me; you’re wonderful.
Martha Thomases
April 16, 2009 - 4:25 pm
Uh, I’d suggest a Top Ten list of some kind, but well, maybe that’s not such a good idea this week.
ed zarger
April 16, 2009 - 9:24 pm
Most of my writing is in response to something else, so writers’ block for me isn’t a completely blank slate. That said …
If I don’t know what to write, I try to distill everything down, to its very core. Don’t get distracted or frazzled by peripheral details. What is it that you really want to say — whether as a function of the aim of your column, or in who you are at the core? The more you can look within you, the truer will be what you say.
I’ve also been around comics so long, don’t think just in words (or in words and one image, like most columns here). Words in sentences and paragraphs are not all that we are. Sometimes the FORM of what you write says more than the words themselves. It can refresh the reader, when s/he sees a form like an evergreen that s/he can recognize (which might fit well with a column about “Tree’s a crowd”), or vary spacing and boldness and styles — reaching a different aspect to the reader.
And don’t fear falling flat on your face. It’s a myth to think that we have to hit a home run every swing.
Jim
April 16, 2009 - 9:31 pm
“It’s a myth to think that we have to hit a home run every swing.”
Unless your parents are Asian. In which case, every swing must be a home run, and that home run somehow has to cure cancer and produce grandchildren. Tough life, us Asians.
Mike Gold
April 17, 2009 - 12:27 pm
Jim: “Unless your parents are Asian. In which case, every swing must be a home run, and that home run somehow has to cure cancer and produce grandchildren. Tough life, us Asians.”
Having been born to Jewish parents, I understand your pain. Asians, Jews, Klingons… there’s GOT to be a common root to those trees.
MOTU
April 17, 2009 - 12:49 pm
“So fellow MDW columnists and community, how do you work through writer’s block?”
Me?
I just write a plot featuring the slow death and torture of the stupid motherfuckers who have been hacking this site. I also write the screen play calling for every fucking person at Freeservers (suckservers ) to lose their jobs because they are powerless to stop those assholes. I SWEAR if I ever find out who these cowards are I’m going to jail for what I’m going to do to them.
…and that’s how I deal with writers block.
MOTU
April 18, 2009 - 4:38 pm
Soooo Tatiana,
Why does your article get the cool animation??