Thursday, November 19, 2009

I'm Hanging Up My Shoes! November, Day 4

My friend Deb at Ranch Girl Ramblings gave me five words to blog about this week. Today's word is: FOUNTAINS Well, lucky for me, I live in a suburb outside of Kansas City. One of the biggest tourist attractions around here is The Plaza (well, it used to be, anyway, until the casinos and the race track came along). The Plaza is known for its fountains. Who knew water falling could be so beautiful? This is what listening to the wisdom of others has done for my writing. Now, I'm not saying it's as beautiful as that fountain, but it's getting there. Thanks to my beta readers and books like The Fire In Fiction by Donald Maass, my words are starting to flow like fountains, rather than just fall flat from the sky. I want people to stop and admire my words, not rush for cover or shield them with an umbrella. What about you? Do your words fall on the page? Or do they flow?

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

My words don't flow as much as I wish they did :)

Good for you that yours do :)

J.B. Chicoine said...

I know those fountains at the Plaza—beautiful, not just the waters, but the statues, too.

The thing about fountains is that the water is constantly circulated, never stagnant. It springs from the basin, like the reservoir of our words. When my words fall flat, they simply need some stirring and recirculation.
Now there’s a stretch for a metaphor.

Melanie's Randomness said...

It seems when I start writing a post that I have a lil idea of where it's going to go but then it gets takin away and it really flows. That's the most fun about writing. You can start & an hour later have a couple pages done and it's like Omg that's cool. I love fountains. One of my favorite movies is "The Fountain". Your posts have a great fluidity to them that's so refreshing & helpful!! That fountain in that picture is beatiful too!

Karen M. Peterson said...

I think that's a tough question to answer for ourselves. I mean, I think that my words just have a nice flow to them. But how do I know for sure? It's something I need to hear from someone else.

Kristen Torres-Toro said...

I love water fountains... water falls... water in general. It's so calming! I really hope my words bring peace like water. That's my prayer.

Patti said...

Hopefully they're flowing better now, although for a while I think they got stuck behind a dam.

Paul Greci said...

Sometimes they splatter and sometimes they flow.

Corey Schwartz said...

Well, on a good day. This week I can't even get a blog post to flow!

Jennifer Shirk said...

It really depends. Sometimes they flow. Sometimes it's a drizzle. :)

Angie Muresan said...

My words flow. The problem arises when I go back to edit. Then I realize that most of them really make no sense.

Amanda A. Ebokosia said...

I find that my words get better with time--- I find writing much easier when it comes from the heart. It gets better the more you open up to it and practice

Lillian Robinson said...

Well, they did flow... then I hit that part. I took a break from it, and I'm almost ready to get back. Maybe with life's distractions now out of the way, my words will again flow.

* said...

Sometimes my words just flow out of my brain and through my fingers, the keyboard and into reality.

Other times, they drop like tear drops or quiet rain, each one forming a poem, a sonnet.

I am grateful for any which way the words come out.

Carolyn V. said...

Good question. I think both, depending on how my day is going. I love the fountain. =)

Stephanie Thornton said...

My words don't always flow in a first draft, but they start to with revisions. I can't wait for this next round of editing- I'm focusing on metaphors and hyperbole. Yay!

Roni Loren said...

Great analogy. I hope people want to stop and admire my words one day too.

Unknown said...

My words flow in spurts--like those crazy EPCOT fountains. Bloop, bloop, bloop. Beautiful when you're least expecting it, but I need to work on consistency.

Heather Sunseri said...

I think I have my promising moments and my moments where I need more work. But I hope that I improve with each day that I work on it.

Amber Lynae said...

I love fountains. There really is something about moving water. Fountains make me think of the Bellagio fountains which are perfectly choreographed to music. Each drop of water and jet works together to create each display. That is what a good book does for me as well. When an author gets the pieces to fall into place things just move seamlessly to create something that amazes.

Stacey J. Warner said...

it flows...for the most part.

much love

Anissa said...

I love it when the words flow. I don't get there in the first draft, but that's why there are revisions. And revision. And revisions. :)

jdsanc said...

Susan, It's a bit of both I think, but flow is always what I'm looking to hook up in. It's evasive, but when I'm there, I can feel it. I love it. Sometimes when I'm done, it's crap. But that's okay, too, as long as it gets me past the nothing.

Jessie Oliveros said...

Ooh, my favorite is the horse fountain! I used to live one mile from the Plaza while my hubby was in school; now I miss it. (On a completely non-related note, I am going to see New Moon at the Plaza tomorrow night.) My writing flowed a lot during my rough draft because I was letting it fall wherever. Now, on my rewrite it is much more deliberate...and slow...definitely not flowing.

Tabitha Bird said...

Sometimes my words fall, sometimes they flow. I like it better when they flow, but sometimes I have to kick start that process by letting them fall :)

Matthew Delman said...

I aim for flow. Granted, sometimes I manage to hit that better than others -- my "home run" moments -- and other times the words just rain on the page.

Of course, that could be good sometimes too.

Ellie Kings said...

I always love your words Susan!
I try to make mine flow but sometimes have a hard time with it.