Visualization

          Visualization is something that has become in more recent decades something that is part of New Age thinking.  It is often associated with prosperity or success philosophies which say if you picture something long enough and strong enough in your mind it will eventually come into being. 

            One of the early American proponents of this technique is  Wallace Wattles (1860–1911), who wrote The Science of Getting Rich.  His philosophy is rooted in some of the beliefs of the Hindu religion. Since then many success and self-improvement movements and books have continued in this similar school of thinking.  In the 1970s there were many new religious movements that embraced these thoughts.

              I am not here today to advocate any of the religious connections to visualization, but to approach the topic from a more logical viewpoint related to writing.  Although before proceeding I will say that in my own life there are things that I have visualized with a strong focus and they have come to pass.  This has been sometimes with good results and sometimes bad.  It is an illustration of be careful what you wish for because you might get it, but that's another topic for another time.  The real point that I'd like to make though is that the act of creative visualization usually has its results through logical explanations.  I'm not saying there can't be supernatural consequences to creatively visualizing something, but let me return to this aspect on my post tomorrow.

             Today let's look at the act of vividly visualizing as a part of the creative process of writing.  When I am reading something I try to picture what I'm reading.  This may be one reason that I often have a difficult time reading something that deals with concepts or things that are more related to thinking than seeing, or that is thinking in the sense of reasoning and contemplation.  This is me, and may be some you, and there are probably some complex reasons for this and I certainly wouldn't want to delve into those reasons here.  The bottom line is that I do better reading a story and story is my current topic.

            When I am writing, I am attempting to create a world, characters, and a series of events that the reader can become a part of.   In order to do this most effectively I see it as imperative that all of these things become real to me.  This must be done through vivid visualization. 

             Some writers take a very organized and detailed approach in creating outlines, character sketches, and other recorded details about aspects of the story with which they are dealing.  This is probably the most sensible approach.  My approach is much more internalized in my imagination.

             When I begin a story I start with a particular component which is usually focused on plot, character, or setting.  I start by thinking about it and organizing the basics in my mind.   Sometimes I will write down a few notes, but mostly I essentially start daydreaming or going through a process of visualization. 

              I will picture the characters and imagine as much as I can to make them real.  They become almost as real to me as the people I actually encounter in my life.   I can see in my mind in detail the places where the story takes place--I am there and I know what everything looks like.  The settings of my stories become places that are absolutely real to me. 

            Being unable to visualize what I am going to write is when inspiration is labored.  At that point I may have to look at a map or research what I want to write about.  Inability to understand inhibits being able see a clear image of my writing subject.

              Call it what you will, the ability to see the movie in my mind allows me to write the screenplay for whatever I am seeing.   Whether a short story or a  novel, I need to be able to drop myself in the midst of that story's world and become an observer in that world.  

               Success is when I find myself thinking about that world at random times during the day or relating my story to things I hear about or witness.   At times I may be experiencing life in a duality of existence--I am here where I am, but part of me is living in the level of my story.  In some ways this might sound a little crazy, but I think everyone in every pursuit does something very similar.  We are who we are and who we want others to think we are.

               My ultimate visualization victory is when I begin to dream the characters, setting, and story.  At that point I realize that the writing that I am working on has firmly placed itself into my subconscious and is now an absolute part of me.  Once I have achieved the ability to dream about my story I am often able to find solutions to aspects that have perplexed me, new understandings about characters or story concepts, or even new directions for the plot to take.

            What approach works best for you in creating your story and its elements?  Do you lean more toward a structured and practical approach?   If so, why do you think that works best?   How intensely do you resort to visualization?   What are the hazards of relying on vivid visualization?   If you are not a writer, do you use visualization in your own pursuit?

          Tomorrow I will be addressing the topic of creative visualization.    On Wednesday I will have a special post with a scheduled stop on Tamara Hart Heiner's book tour appearing on Tossing It Out.   Then on Thursday I'll be pulling something out of my hat.





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Awards and all

            Now, let's see.... how does this work?   I cut back on blogging post days, I've been slacking on my blog visiting and commenting, NaNo is over and I've slowed down on my writing, and I'm still behind and haven't found time for reading of late.   I guess it's because it's winter and the days are shorter.  Yeah, that must be it!

            In any case I'm going to acknowledge some awards that were passed my way and, sadly, I'm not going to pass them on today.   I'll have to make up for this eventually.   So without any further discussion:


Here are some awards:

The Supernova Award is from Stephen Tremp.  Here why in his words:  For my hosts who participated in this blog tour, I give you all the SuperNova award. I thought this is appropriate because supernovas are exploding stars that become extremely luminous and can briefly outshine an entire galaxy. The can seed the nebulae with heavy elements and initiate new star and planet growth. I feel you have helped initiate new growth for me.

Thanks Stephen!  It was a great virtual book tour and you can call on me for your next one.  Pretty cool looking award, huh?

And Another "Go Away I'm Writing Award"

Rashelle at No. 2 Pencil, Stat! handed me another "Go Away I'm Writing Award".  She passed this my way in the middle of NaNo when I really needed it.    Now I need for somebody to give me "Hey, You Need to Keep Writing Award" in a mug filled up with highly caffeinated coffee.  

An Award from Poetess Yvonne:

          Everybody's favorite Lady of Verse, Yvonne from Welcome to My World of Poetry , sent me this "Super Star Blogger Award" all the way across the Atlantic.  This was a lovely Thanksgiving Day surprise and I do thank you for it, Yvonne.  Hope you're getting some warmer weather over there--we hear it's been cold...really cold.  Thank goodness you're there to warm our hearts.

And so:

          I think I got them all.  I hope so.  Have a great weekend and an highly productive week ahead.



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Some Christmas Magic

             Stephen T. McCarthy's recent blog post about his favorite bars got me to thinking if in my past drinking days there were any particular establishments that I could claim as favorites.  Stephen had complete descriptions replete with anecdotes and even photos and there was no way I could match that.  For one thing, I was never much of a drinker.  Also, I was always so cheap or broke I preferred to drink at home or at friends' houses rather than go out and pay more just to have the ambience of a bar scene, which is another thing I usually didn't care much for.

            So as I was thinking about this topic, I thought of a Christmas related story that is also kind of a favorite bar story.  This would have been in December of 1981--my show biz days.  I had been called for a two week Christmas tour with a New York magician by the name of Chuck Windley.  We were doing some holiday gigs in the New York state area--I don't recall exactly where because I didn't have to drive on this tour and when I'm not driving I sometimes tend not to pay any attention to where I'm going.  This was Chuck's gig and he was in charge. 

             There was one particular show--it may have been in Utica--scheduled on a Saturday at a school auditorium.  Underprivileged children were going to be bussed in for the show and Santa would be there distributing gifts after the show.  Since the all of the shows on the tour usually were scheduled for 7:00 or 7:30, we always liked to get into the building at 3:00 PM in order to give us plenty of time to set up.  That's when we arrived for this show.

             When we arrived at the school, the gates were locked.  We walked around looking for an open door and we waited.  It was cold--New York in December, you know.  Finally, concerned that no one was showing up to let us in, we looked for the nearest pay phone.

              The school was located in a quaint old small town neighborhood--like those you typically find in the northeastern part of the United States.  Across the street was the only business in walking distance--a neighborhood bar.  This bar was in the basement of one those apartment structures that look like a giant white clapboard sided house. The bar was a small place with about five tables and fortunately a pay phone in the back.   Since it was cold out, we all--there were four of us--went inside to wait while Chuck started making phone calls.  When we arrived in the bar there was only the bartender and one customer.

             Chuck couldn't get a hold of the agent that booked us and now was truly frustrated.  He told the bartender our story and asked him if he knew anybody from the school.  It just so happened that he knew the custodian and had his number.  Chuck called, but got no answer.  We were at a loss of what to do since we were now going to be very pressed for time to set up the show.  Chuck ordered a drink and so did I.

              As we sat there nursing our drinks, a regular walked in to begin his Saturday night carousing.   He told us the story about how there was supposed to have been a magic show at the school for a bunch of poor kids but the magician never showed up--the show was supposed to have been at noon.  The bartender's face lit up and he pointed to our table and shouted, "That's him!"  He and the two customers became very excited as though a celebrity were in their midst.

              Chuck was devastated.   He had never missed a show in his life.  It was a performer's worst nightmare.   "The show must go on" is the standing rule of show business and for this show we weren't even there.   I felt really bad for him.  This was his reputation on the line.

               The bar folks didn't understand the import of this to Chuck.  As evening approached, the neighborhood drinkers began filtering in and each one was brought to our table and regaled with the story of the magician that didn't show up for the underprivileged kids.  At first Chuck was embarrassed, but since his main line of entertainment was stand-up comedian, he began to just take it in stride and turned it into something absolutely hilarious.  Soon we were all drinking, laughing, and having a darn good time as Chuck entertained the Saturday crowd with magic and jokes.

              Then to top off a perfectly absurd day, the evening was capped off with the ultimate punch line. After having spent the entire evening in the bar with all of the silliness stemming from our misfortune, the evening news came on.  The lead story?   Magician doesn't show up for Christmas show--over 100 children disappointed.  There was a filmed report with interviews and everything.  The barroom was roaring with laughter.   A TV comedy show couldn't have come up with something this ridiculous.

            Those folks in that bar probably talked about that night for years. That was just one of the funny things that happened on that short holiday tour with Chuck.  The whole tour was a hoot.  Chuck Windley was one fun guy to be around.


And now a little more Christmas magic:

         If you haven't seen this video yet check it out, it's pretty cool.