tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1110107012766586348.post617161113087878489..comments2023-08-10T03:12:36.037-07:00Comments on LKWatts Confessions: To Write You Must First Experience LifeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1110107012766586348.post-81193590667444920442012-08-17T09:24:47.368-07:002012-08-17T09:24:47.368-07:00You are quite right there, Jim. I believe Tom Hank...You are quite right there, Jim. I believe Tom Hanks wanted to get into character for the film Castaway so he spent some time alone on an island. It's extraordinary what lengths some people will go to but this is what makes the world turn. Thanks for commenting.LK Wattshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09366991733427612418noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1110107012766586348.post-28330496326901519322012-08-15T04:35:43.970-07:002012-08-15T04:35:43.970-07:00There are various levels of experience though. You...There are various levels of experience though. You might think that firsthand experience is the best and it can be but a writer could get very messed up if he or she insisted on experiencing everything their characters went through. I’m reminded of a famous quote attributed to Laurence Olivier: To put himself in the mindset of a man losing control whilst filming <i>Marathon Man</i> Dustin Hoffman didn't sleep for days at a time and let his body become dishevelled and unhealthy. Finally, after all this work Hoffman notices his co-star Sir Laurence Olivier sitting comfortably on a stage chair without a care in the world. Surprised that he is the only one on set who has gone to such rigorous lengths, he asks Olivier how he's able to make his performance look so real. The confused Olivier stops, takes a breath and calmly responds, "Dear boy, it's called acting."<br /><br />I think there are two schools of writer too, method writers, for want of a better expression, and people who simply make things up. I’m often astounded by the lengths historical novelists will go to to make sure their books are as accurate as they can be and the majority of us never notice or even care that much. <br /><br />I had bacterial meningitis when I was a little boy. My brother, who is three years younger than I am, had viral meningitis three years after me. Our sister, who is three years younger than my brother, had nothing but they watched her like a hawk. I have no idea what damage, if any, the meningitis caused. I joke that it’s what made me a writer although I’m only half joking. That might be due to the fact my mum dropped me on my head as a baby. (She didn’t actually drop me on my head; she left me on a table and I rolled off.)<br /><br><br /><br />Jim Murdochhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12786388638146471193noreply@blogger.com