I tell my students one of the most important things they need to know is when they are their best, creatively.....
BITS ‘N’ PIECES
Pakistani gamer Arslan Siddiqui won the Tekken 7 Championship at the Evolution Championship Series or Evo 2019 tournament, becoming the first national player in the history to do so. In the Tekken 7 Grand Finale, Siddiqui beat South Korea’s legendary Jae-Min “Knee” Bae.
Lessons from Toni Morrison’s career
Produce something you would want to read, or see, or share. “I only wrote the first book because I thought it wasn’t there, and I wanted to read it when I got through.”
Take a risk. “I am always trying to say what it is, what the truth really is. I never avoid the risk.”
What helps you feel like you belong in the world? Find out, and do it. “What makes me feel as though I belong here out in this world is not [being] the teacher, not the mother, not the lover, but what goes on in my mind when I am writing. Then I belong here and then all of the things that are disparate and irreconcilable can be useful. I can do the traditional things that writers always say they do, which is to make order out of chaos.”
Figure out how you work best. “I tell my students one of the most important things they need to know is when they are their best, creatively. They need to ask themselves, What does the ideal room look like? Is there music? Is there silence? Is there chaos outside or is there serenity outside? What do I need in order to release my imagination?”
Use the world around you. “Everything I see or do, the weather and the water, buildings . . . everything actual is an advantage when I am writing. It is like a menu, or a giant tool box, and I can pick and choose what I want. When I am not writing, or more importantly, when I have nothing on my mind for a book, then I see chaos, confusion, disorder.”
Learn how to critique your own work. “Go away from your work, and read it as though it is the first time you’ve ever seen it. Critique it that way.”
Don’t write what you know. “Think of somebody you don’t know. Imagine it, create it. Don’t record and editorialize on some event that you’ve already lived through. I was always amazed at how effective that was.”
