Hurray for Art!

My muse has been a bit confused lately. To draw or to write?

This week, my energies are transferred to the first medium. One of the wonderful aspects about living in Florence is the numerous art museums, each begging to be explored. I find myself returning to the Palazzo Pitti at every chance I get. Why? It’s never as crowded as the Uffizi and there’s a rather large collection of Andrea del Sarto’s paintings, including one of my personal favorites, San Giovanni Battista.

Wikipedia

Anyways, wandering through art museums always piques my creativity. Whether through drawing, or being drawn completely into the moment captured in marble or oils. There’s something contemplative about del Sarto’s works that makes me stop, stare and wonder.

I’m entering an art show in Florence. My submission is a ‘reinterpretation’ of this piece, a bust portrait in conte crayon. Plus, my paper is larger–100x70cm. My room has turned into a studio, with sketches and reproductions strewn across the floor.

I’ll post pictures after the show–I’m not sure what the rules are regarding photos of the work prior to the event.

Looking Ahead: Some Goals for 2010

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

As 2009 winds down, I turn my thoughts from Christmas dinner (roast beef and English roast potatoes…yum!) and the year ahead. 2009 was a good year and the blank expanse of 2010 is promising (if daunting). I have a few writing goals set for myself.

1. Write one(+) short story a month

Given that my short story production this year was…three…this will be a definite improvement. I hope to write a variety of genres. Fantasy, sci fi, historical, mystery…who knows?

2. Submit work/enter contests

I’ve received some encouragement to submit various short stories to magazines. I’ve wanted to submit my work since high school, but never felt that I was good enough for publication outside of the school literary magazine (and have refrained from my college’s lit mag because my work is so atypical of what they publish). Part of my hesitation is rejection, but I know I’ll have to deal with it. Aim high, fall fast; I have years to improve.

3. Read more

Yes, I need to read more. I always do (I’ve joked about changing the name of the blog to She Reads Too Much). Fortunately, my courses for next semester look like they’ll be chock full of interesting (and informative) reads: I’m taking a course on Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio along with one on Florentine architecture.

4. Write another novel

I’m going to write the first draft, with hope. Either my pilots or my alt reality WWIIesque Resistance piece. Although this may be pushed aside due to writing my thesis/distinction piece/grad school applications. Though, I do have roughly a month before the semester begins, and two months summer vacation…hmmm…I’ll just have to not let research distract me too much. 😀

Photo (C) Beth

Writing Longhand: A Love Hate Relationship

The Twirl and Swirl of Letters

I’ve been thinking about how I write. Not my style, but the physical action of writing.

For myself, I make sure that I write at least one page (front and back) in longhand daily. There’s something truly breathtaking to see your words on a sheet of paper in crisp, blue ink. I need to do it. My hands tend to hurt after typing for long periods of time (back in March, I could barely hold a pen due to incessant blogging); longhand is the only thing that makes my hand feel better.

Will I ever write an entire first draft longhand? I’m not sure. My favorite writer, Patrick O’Brian, did. Scores of writers pre-typewriters did (probably all except poor blind Milton who narrated everything).

This isn’t to say that my handwriting is by any means decent. It isn’t. Imagine a chicken’s claw dipped in ink; this chicken has had a few caligraphy lessons and attempts to mimick the hobbit alphabet mixed with standard cursive. There you go.

Cursive is something I struggled with. People say that those children who draw all the time will end up with beautiful penmanship because they know how to hold a pencil; not true. I’m a pretty good artist, by no means Raphael, but good enough to minor in Graphic Design (and yes, I draw everything by hand). Despite my artistic leanings, my handwriting sinks to new lows every year; it is better than my days as a third grader when my teacher kept me in from recess to work on my L’s and Q’s.

There is a beauty in the physically written word that the word processor lacks. While words can appear on the screen quicker, changes can be made, and paper isn’t “wasted,” something is missing. I know people who are only a few years younger than I who do not know how to write in cursive.

Can you imagine only receiving notes from loved ones that are typed and sent across a computer screen? A love email does not have the same weight as a handwritten note, even if the words are the same. Handwriting is personal, it displays time and care. Typing? It’s quick and gets the point across.

That is to say, I do not hate typing. I’m quite proficient in it; I type quicker than I write in longhand. But when writing fiction, I feel as though I don’t put as much effort into it as when I write longhand. See my NaNoWriMo draft from last year (so much fun producing such drivel).