tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post939838664517519667..comments2023-08-14T10:44:59.007-04:00Comments on Novel Spaces: Coincidence or inspiration?KeVin K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14792797517571690942noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-10890235369424700742011-09-10T14:27:26.932-04:002011-09-10T14:27:26.932-04:00Kittitians sound a lot like Trinidadians. We'v...Kittitians sound a lot like Trinidadians. We've never had a full-on hit (in living memory, that is) so we tend not to take the warnings seriously. When the warnings are out some of my countrymen have hurricane parties in the streets. Heaven help us if our luck were to change...<br /><br />I've written experiences that I haven't lived, including a hurricane short story back when I wrote GCEs, an excursion to a swamp I never visited, and a moonlight walk in Vizcaya Gardens that I've only driven past in Miami. It takes research and more research, allied with imagination. But yes, vicarious experience is a poor substitute for the real thing. You remember the odd details rather than having to invent them.Liane Spicerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05035607144500219524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-13294333746279327532011-09-09T21:43:03.666-04:002011-09-09T21:43:03.666-04:00So true Lydia. That must be why there are more aw...So true Lydia. That must be why there are more award winning older writers than younger ones. They have more real experience.Jewel Amethysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14813773386476356666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-88750748024325837742011-09-09T12:45:47.550-04:002011-09-09T12:45:47.550-04:00That is so true Charles. And sometimes, when I re...That is so true Charles. And sometimes, when I read some people's writing, some of the things they describe seem to be not from the perspective of the characters experiencing it, but from their own perspective when they experienced it. That's one of things I'm hoping to avoid, which is why I embraced Irene as an inspiration for the hurricane scene and changed my perspective.<br /><br />And yes, experiencing a disaster as a youngster and as a homeowner are very, very different. I recalled after Hugo being disappointed because I didn't see much of anything at my sister's house, while on my block most of the houses roofs came off. With Irene, I was breathing a sigh of relief that we didn't get flooded out and empathized with those who did.Jewel Amethysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14813773386476356666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-32543490959844805572011-09-09T12:45:42.758-04:002011-09-09T12:45:42.758-04:00There's nothing like real experience to put te...There's nothing like real experience to put technicolor into an imagined idea.Lydia Kanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00484415427764822386noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-6746985722201362712011-09-09T08:26:08.156-04:002011-09-09T08:26:08.156-04:00Definitely a big difference in how we experience t...Definitely a big difference in how we experience things as children and as adults. A whole different set of memories.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-23727172892708527732011-09-09T07:16:40.185-04:002011-09-09T07:16:40.185-04:00Lol, Kevin. During the earthquake here my kids an...Lol, Kevin. During the earthquake here my kids and I were in a building that had to be evacuated. It's still fresh enough in my mind to write the scene :). But that said I think one natural disaster is all I can handle writing about at a time.<br /><br />They say we remember the most traumatic experiences of our lives, even if we are too young to remember anything else. Hurricane Donna sounds just like that for you. It's really great that you've been able to harvest all the emotions associated and use it to creating those scenes.<br /><br />Experience does equate inspiration...most times.Jewel Amethysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14813773386476356666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-34816209359989373702011-09-09T02:07:08.277-04:002011-09-09T02:07:08.277-04:00Just out of interest: Was there an earthquake scen...Just out of interest: Was there an earthquake scene that was giving you trouble, too? Y'know, the timing...<br /><br />The week of my eighth birthday a storm called Donna hit our home in Florida. What I remember vividly was the terrible storm stopping abruptly, like someone had just turned it off. The air was still and the world was full of a bright, brassy sort of light. So of course I went out to explore. I'm told the time between the other eye wall hitting and dad convincing me to let go of the tree I was hugging to keep from being swept away in the torrent was about fifteen minutes. I remember it being days. I've never been in combat, I've never had to rescue someone on the side of a mountain, I've never been chased by wolves. But a lot of what I put into writing those scenes comes from that experience; it's the source of their energy and immediacy.KeVin K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14792797517571690942noreply@blogger.com