Dolphin Address 9
March 1th 2005
One of my favorite FAQ's is: 'How do you get to writing?' Maybe it looks as if I plunge some events into a concrete mixer to poor them over my screen after the necessary revolutions. That may be a too simplistic representation of affairs and I do not think this would give me much pleasure.
That does not mean, however, that I have not developed procedures to support my writing. This goes for content as well as for form.
The subject of an episode has a decisive and motivating power. It looks like being directly provided by reality, but is always a selection there of, however obvious. Usually I am so much in the middle of it, that I only realize this by fits and starts.
This reality I want to render. I find her abundantly fascinating to also draw from my own fantasy. I adapt her thus into a time sequence that the readability is not frustrated, but this may not be at the cost of the factual force of events. My challenge lies in naming them. One can call a playground in the rain 'left', I just like to name it 'childless' (
DEA 5 2005).
Much of my material I gather on the spot using a dictaphone. This is faster, can also be done walking or driving and among other people it is rather inconspicuous.
It has the same dimensions and behavioral motions as a cell phone. I have four files at my disposal and thereby differentiate my inserts in various ways. In general in try to be as brief and catching as I can be. This is handier writing out and clearer for arranging and composing.
As a permanent habit I skip a line when writing. This makes it easier to read back and I can change things without at once making a mess. This way I have filled heaps of shopping books. In Berlin at 'Karstadt' I chanced upon the 'Moleskin' ruled notebook, which combines a pretty indestructible image with a handy pocketsize, an elastic fastening and a harmonica compartment for loose paper.
Moreover the packing mentions that these notebooks played an important role in the gathering of ideas by Ernest Hemmingway, Pablo Picasso and Bruce Chatwin. So I am in excellent company.
Then finally, when I have a sketchy story on paper, I type it into my laptop. This to me is always something of a magic phase. Not only does it become 'real', but I have some much correction and changing technology under my fingertips that I can shape my text into the ultimate meaning.
As I write in Dutch as well as in English I often let both languages interact with each other. Sometimes I simply write in one until I get stuck and continue in the other. Sometimes an idiomatic construction in one suggests an answer for a wording in the other and sometimes I look up a lost word via the dictionary of the other. This can flash considerably to and fro, in which my Thesaurus gives great service.
In Ireland it was never very hard to find a subject. If Dusty did not take care of that, there was always the beauty of Nature or the peculiarity of the population. In Berlin it is mainly the city that is in my field of vision. It is my experience that expectation blinds me. It is not easy to keep an open mind in everyday observations. Also I find, that after I do 'see' something, I rather slam shut again. Still a degree of sensitivity is developing as I notice more differences.
Actually this goes for everywhere: there is plenty to be seen as long as you can keep an open eye.
Jan Ploeg, Berlin, March 1th 2005
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