Understanding

They say that Hemingway wrote while standing up. A while back I read that in an item about famous writers' work habits. Many of the greats had (and have) peculiar or just peculiarly specific methods of working. I took an interest because of my own eagerness to improve as a writer, but not because I think that standing like Hemingway would help me write like Hemingway. I never would or could, but reading about different techniques may help me execute my own thing better.

Standing while writing is productive, I've found in that it seems to open me up more mentally. Sitting in my chair and staring down the screen indefinitely is useful to a point, in that you are really focused on the task at hand. I'm more apt to come up with something that way as opposed to trying to think of something while I'm watching a movie. Nothing is going to come that way, or at least considerably less than I would have gotten if more dedicated.

Standing and walking around, though, lets me think and really cast about. Prolonged inactivity in my writing area has the effect of poisoning it. Frustration and torpor make it less and less likely that anything will come. Standing, walking, looking out the window- these things give me a chance of breaking the downward momentum and generate an idea. Once I've done that, it's all right again to sit still and think.

I don't know if all that is how it was for Hemingway, but it's fine if not. What matters is that I found a useful technique. I'm always on the lookout for them, whether they come from a legend like him or from someone of lesser esteem. Plenty of my friends write, but I don't seem to talk tactics with them. It's more like strategy. I'd like to really get into the whole process with some people. Perhaps that is something that the new year has in store.