Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Things I've learned

Thoughts for the day:

Competent work employs the first workable idea.  A competent craftsman will have practiced his skill up to a certain point such that his work, on first perusal, will leave nothing to offend the eye.  He will use the materials most easily available to him that will get the job done.  And he will put just enough thought into his work so that it's clearly a unique product.

A good craftsman will think deeply to get past the early ideas to find an elegant one.  He will trust that his skills are competent and focus on expressing his ideas and himself through his work.  He will use materials that inspire him and others without being overbearing or gaudy.  And he'll know he's achieved something true to himself when the results of his labor surprise him, not because his work is bizarre, but because his work of art taught him something he didn't know before, and perhaps reveals to others what they didn't know about themselves.

I plan to apply these principles to writing.

2 comments:

Roseline said...

I'm glad to read your blog, even it is quite different experience to me. Most of time I'm around those in my native language. And, so glad you learned something in your class

But, I start to read books in English. and I'll keep trying too. I'm really enjoying even if there are lots of vocabularies I need to check out.

Say hello to your DH. I saw a picture he is holding a dog. Was that Brian? I really hope he can come back to you.

Roseline

Kami said...

Hi Roseline! I'm so glad you have time to read my blog. Learning a bigger vocabulary is really hard! I hope you find it rewarding, and I hope I can help.

Brian is home!!!! The picture was of my DH holding Brian when he was a puppy. More info on the next entry.