Writing

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

ISBN: 
1570624240
Authors: 

Natalie Goldberg

Publisher: 
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Publish Date: 
1986

Reading Like a Writer

ISBN: 
0060777044
Authors: 

Francine Prose

Publisher: 
HarperCollins Publishers
Publish Date: 
2006

Reading

For the longest time I have neglected to read anything more than the technical manuals and whitepapers required to advance my career as a Computer Analyst/Programmer.  For a longer time, I have felt the desire to write and even though I know it is important for a writer to always be reading, I have neglected that activity too, for what reason I am not entirely sure.  There are a lot of classic works of fiction and biography that I have never read or if I did, it was in high school or college and I don't remember much about those works as I didn't see the point of reading them at the time and so didn't create the need and neurological connections to retain the information therein.

 

You'll note that there are some authors listed for whom I haven't included any works.  This is because I'm not ready to start reading them yet and when I am, I'll add a list of works to circumnavigate.  These are generally authors who are recommended by other writers.

 

Going into 2009, I set myself a rather vague goal to read more and the list below is a starting point for this reading effort.

 

  • Fiction
    • Aristophones
    • Babel, Isaac
    • Elliot, George
    • Fitzgerald, F. Scott
      • The Great Gatsby
    • Homer
    • Johnson, Samuel
    • Joyce, James
    • Montaigne, Michel de
    • Munro, Alice
    • Nesbit, E.
      • The Railway Children (01/18/2009 - )
    • Ovid
    • Schulz, Bruno
    • Travers, Pamela Lyndon
    • Yates, Richard
  • Non-fiction
    • 808 PRO Reading Like a Writer, Prose, Francine (01/11/2009 - )

The Art of Creative Thinking (by John Adair)

Tonight I finished reading "The Art of Creative Thinking" by John Adair.  Mr. Adair summarizes 20 key aspects of creativity, drawing on his own experience and other creative individuals, contemporary and historic.  The list of tools Mr. Adair describes provides me with a relatively simple framework for developing my own creativity.  If I can remember and apply these principles and make them a part of my life, I believe I will achieve the success at writing that I desire.  Below I have listed the main points taken from Mr. Adair's book.  This list is basically the table of contents.

  1. Use the Stepping Stones of Analogy
  2. Make the Strange Familiar and the Familiar Strange
  3. Widen Your Span of Relevance
  4. Practice Serendipity
  5. Chance Favors Only the Prepared Mind
  6. Curiosity
  7. Keep Your Eyes Open
  8. Listen for Ideas
  9. Reading to Generate Ideas
  10. Keep a Notebook
  11. Test Your Assumptions
  12. Make Better Use of Your Depth Mind
  13. Do Not Wait for Inspiration
  14. Sharpen Your Analytical Skills
  15. Suspend Judgment
  16. Learn to Tolerate Ambiguity
  17. Drift, Wait and Obey
  18. Sleep on the Problem
  19. Working it Out
  20. Think Creatively about Your Life
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