Digression: the trick (part 3) (and final)
One last thing on ideas. The easiest way to get an idea, I’ve always found, is to look for a good one that somebody else has had, which they’ve then proceeded to screw up. So if any of what I’ve dashed off here over the last few days strikes a chord, feel free to take it and change it and make it yours. And maybe — unlike that Moles guy — you’ll get it right.
I could say more, but I’m out of time. Thanks for having me, Jeff; you other folks, thanks for indulging me.
Well, let’s see ahm … you know some songs come out of the ground just like a potato … others, you have to make them out of things you’ve found … like your mother’s pool cue and, you know … your dad’s army buddy … and your sister’s wristwatch and that type of thing … you’d be surprised what you can find if you’re … you know … resourceful.
– Tom Waits
P.S. The rest of the trick? Smoke, mirrors, and Wikipedia.
November 2, 2008 at 1:33 pm
[...] life of diverse sorts, memory lapses, old books, heredity, mists, gases, whistling, whispering… Digression: the trick (pt. 3): “You have to make them out of things you’ve [...]
November 2, 2008 at 7:49 pm
Heh. That was neat-o. Thanks for all that.
November 2, 2008 at 9:29 pm
“… like your mother’s pool cue and, you know …”
Great quote.
=^_^=
November 3, 2008 at 8:39 am
“…Wikipedia.”
So true, and the internet in general, even for small details. So many times I have a simple idea but when I actually try to write a paragraph about it, I realize I’m lacking some key bit of knowledge. For example, I wanted to write about someone removing a forklift battery. I went to the internet to see where batteries are located on forklifts. Under the seat, usually. I also found out that a forklift battery is so heavy, you generally need a crane to remove it. Good thing I checked! The scene only lasted a couple of paragraphs, but some reader out there would have noticed I didn’t know crap about forklift batteries.
November 3, 2008 at 9:44 am
Thanks!
(And Bill, I totally know that one, having once spent several hours googling up an interesting way to break a motorcycle, what it would sound like when broken, and why our protagonist wouldn’t be able to fix it… all for a few lines of dialogue in a scene that didn’t even have a motorcycle in it, just one of these scary army pack robots.)