do you personalise your writing?

[Melanie]

Do you personalise your writing? Do you see yourself in every story or poem you write? or is it totally fictional?

This question is inane. The wording personalize doesn't make sense in context. Everything written by any person is personalized. Hardly a ground breaking topic.

Hi Grit. I don't mean to single you out as there are others here who have posted your same sentiment. So, to all of those, surely cacian knows that there is some level of personalization (spelled with an "s" over the pond) in all artistic works but it seems to me that she is going beyond that foundational level of the obvious.

There are varying degrees of personalization. "The cow jumped over the moon and the dish ran away with the spoon" is a lot less personal than "when I awoke, I felt you warm and near, I kissed your honey hair with my grateful tears" (paul simon), or Sylvia Plath's prose and poetry about her personal struggles with depression.

With that said, however, I think I would have been a little more interested if the question was, "Do you feel your prose or poetry would be more engaging if it reflected more of your personal feelings and experiences?". Actually, there's an audience for all types of writings. And the beauty of creating is the freedom we all have to express whatever we want to.

Hillwalker could be more polite in his criticism, but then again his avatar of Simon Cowell explains and almost excuses his tongue-in-cheek delivery by his own admission...I did say "almost"

[stlukesguild]

cacian... how exactly are you defining "personalizing writing?" You ask: "do you see yourself in every story or poem you write? or is it totally fictional?" Can't you see yourself in a work of art and yet said work remain wholly fictional? As a painter I find little in my work that I see as autobiographical. My work is wholly fictive. Yet I am certainly in my work in my choices of how to use the materials at my disposal: color, line, shape, form, etc... This is the reason that those with a degree of experience in art can recognize the hand of a given artist... it is as unique as a signature. I suspect the same is true of my writing... it is colored by my choices of vocabulary, my use of syntax, and all the other formal elements of writing that evolved over time in response to what I read and what I admire, etc...

[cafolini]

Hi Grit. I don't mean to single you out as there are others here who have posted your same sentiment. So, to all of those, surely cacian knows that there is some level of personalization (spelled with an "s" over the pond) in all artistic works but it seems to me that she is going beyond that foundational level of the obvious.

There are varying degrees of personalization. "The cow jumped over the moon and the dish ran away with the spoon" is a lot less personal than "when I awoke, I felt you warm and near, I kissed your honey hair with my grateful tears" (paul simon), or Sylvia Plath's prose and poetry about her personal struggles with depression.

With that said, however, I think I would have been a little more interested if the question was, "Do you feel your prose or poetry would be more engaging if it reflected more of your personal feelings and experiences?". Actually, there's an audience for all types of writings. And the beauty of creating is the freedom we all have to express whatever we want to.

Hillwalker could be more polite in his criticism, but then again his avatar of Simon Cowell explains and almost excuses his tongue-in-cheek delivery by his own admission...I did say "almost"

Here we disagree rather rotundly, because for the writing to hold meaning regardless of appearance, the writer must know and be a master of the psychology he uses. I don't see guesses as being important to good writing.

BTW, I'd look into Edgar Degas position regarding this for the extreme, and Van Gogh for the same stuff in gentle gear.

[Melanie]

Guesses? I'm sorry but I've read your comment multiple times, cafolini, and have no idea what I said that you "rotundly disagree" with.

[Bleeding Pawn]

Have you ever posted something positive on this forum? If you hate everyone/everything on this forum so much you can always leave, you know.

What Adolescent09 is trying to point out here is that maybe he has come across certain comments of the senior member (which he mentioned of) which tends to be sarcastic in nature (correct me if i am wrong Adolescent09). It has to be appreciated,no doubt when anyone gives up his/her precious time in guiding someone in their ambitions but yes i have also come across certain members` comments which, as of late, stresses more on character assasination rather than giving critique on the posters works.

I can never understand why people like you and calfolini are always negative about virtually everything except towards certain forum members who you agree with/compliment regardless of whatever they post.

It is the same case everywhere on the web, you should have been used to it by now. Adolescent09 did not say that someone is or is not offering a helping hand but of the tone by which they use to do so and it is clear that what he wanted to say was that certain members are partial towards other members or friends in doing so.

It's got me wondering if you're both the same person using different forum accounts.

Adolescent09, we have to keep it in mind that this virtual world, to which we label as the web, is more or less like our real world where we reside and breathe in, rather it wont be far -fetched if we consider that the perils of being in a virtual world are more long lasting and distressing when compared to the our world.

This side of the world gives ample opportunity to display our other side which unmasks the mask we wear in the real world. Its helps in bringing out the animalistic nature of ours which otherwise, lies dormant within. Why Animalistic? because it is obvious that certain users like to hunt in packs. As a matter of fact it is not a secret that having multi-faceted personalities and and or accounts is the norm nowadays, similar on the lines of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde story,which rings true in nets today. It is just so commonplace in net today that it has become a part of our subconscious and whenever we happen to encounter certain aspects, it`s like deja vu feeling.

Now, I am not talking about any members here , since i myself am new here and i hardly know anyone, but just generalising what web world is all about

[Steven Hunley]

Of course we all personalize, to some extent. We can't help it. We leave at the least, our particular fingerprints behind.

[cacian]

cacian... how exactly are you defining "personalizing writing?" You ask: "do you see yourself in every story or poem you write? or is it totally fictional?" Can't you see yourself in a work of art and yet said work remain wholly fictional? As a painter I find little in my work that I see as autobiographical. My work is wholly fictive. Yet I am certainly in my work in my choices of how to use the materials at my disposal: color, line, shape, form, etc... This is the reason that those with a degree of experience in art can recognize the hand of a given artist... it is as unique as a signature. I suspect the same is true of my writing... it is colored by my choices of vocabulary, my use of syntax, and all the other formal elements of writing that evolved over time in response to what I read and what I admire, etc...

Well I mean to say is this: do you the writer enter into a personal scenario/debate in the stories that you write? because if it is the case then maybe a new way of writing is to not get involved personally for various reasons.
One of the reason is that the less personal we are in our writing the better view we have of what we write and why we write. Imagination is about creating a world where none us has been before. To personalise writing is to put oneself in the picture and therefore exposes more of what we know and nothing of what we do not know and therefore writing becomes too obvious . Fictional must be kept to its true meaning if we are to write to the true meaning of the words.

Of course we all personalize, to some extent. We can't help it. We leave at the least, our particular fingerprints behind.

Well I think actually we can and should help it if we are to create a new web of imagination. I always write away from me because I feel I need to explore more of what I do not know because what is not known is worth more then the things we already know.

[cafolini]

You are always at least up to your knees in it. And when there is a trench on your way, you disappear.

[hillwalker]

I always write away from me because I feel I need to explore more of what I do not know because what is not known is worth more then the things we already know.

What drugs do you take to achieve this? And how exactly is 'what we don't know' worth more than 'what we know'?
You're just adding to the drivel with pronouncements like this.

H

[hypatia_]

I think you have to write from your own experience, so from that standpoint, every story has pieces of you in it, yes.

However, I also feel great writers know themselves well, and are able to have a story be completely devoid of anything they truly feel, if they wish.

[Oedipus]

I don't think you quite understand, Adolescent09. hillwalker is a treasure, and he gives a lot of terrific feedback to writers at all stages. He is keeping this whole place honest. You do not always have to agree with his opinion, and he can be a tough critic sometimes, but he keeps this place real, he thinks carefully about other people's work (often a whole lot more than the people originally posting it! :0) and gives his feedback without holding back too much. Without hillwalker and other people like him here on this forum, you'd be stuck with people who nod their heads and say 'wow,' no matter what crap people write.
cafolini I really don't know so well to give an opinion on. But he is also quite forthright with his own opinions, and does give positive comments when he likes something. Still, he does comment. Some people don't comment at all.

Yes. He is indeed a harsh critic; but after all, saying that a persons questions are pointless and than not providing any assistance on how to find less pointless questions, or rather just insulting someone and leaving: that is, as you say, 'terrific feedback'. It is a shame that a doctor did not provide such feedback to his mother when she was pregnant. We might not have to deal with this 'H' if she had been aware of the lurking monster in her stomach, and dealt with the issue. But it is alright! He is a 'treasure', after all. Keeps the place 'real'. I wonder how he thinks about literature when all he seems to care about is his lastest 'witty' retort to cacian - a poor soul who clearly needs help to understand the world around him.

It seems strange that you condemn people who praise 'crap' when you do exactly the same thing to this self-important fool. All I can say is that if he gives the best feedback on the site we all might as well burn our keyboards and our paper, or do it all by ourselves. I'm disgusted by your sycophantic fellatio of hillwalker and I shall try to avoid the incoming crepitations of that amorphous blob of indignant stupidity.

[Scheherazade]

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Since this debate turned into a personal discussion,

it will now be closed.

Those who insist on targeting others will receive infraction points.

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