Hi Allison, I have a brief mention of it here on my writing blog : http://stelladuffy.wordpress.com/2009/01/21/editing-a-novelediting-this-nove l/
Basically I was at a standstill, having completed the 4th draft of the novel, my publisher, agent and I all knew more work was needed, but none of us could quite get clear on what it was, and a deadline was looming, of course. I asked Lee Simpson of Improbable who had been part of the Devoted & Disgruntled Open Spaces to come and talk to me about it, I knew he would be able to hear my concerns and I trusted he'd probably have a suggestion of two that were of value - I think NOT asking a fellow novelist was useful here actually! We did some process work on what it was I was going through (my 11th novel! how could I be so 'stupid/inept' - my feelings - as to not know what to do next, etc etc), and Lee suggested it might not be so much a case of not knowing what to do, as not wanting to do it in the usual way. And that if I did actually know what to do, all I needed to do was come up with that agenda and then allow myself permission to work on it in OS - as and when I was drawn to/moved to, rather than ploughing through a list and grinding to a halt because it was so boring/difficult. So, the next day, I took some time, called about two dozen sessions - for myself, alone - made up my timetable and each day for the next few weeks I worked on what I was drawn to work on, for as long as I wanted to stay there. The final edit was a pleasure, the book my most successful at the time. It sounds incredibly obvious as I write it now, but at the time it felt like a huge liberation, trying a new process, one I had worked successfully for other forms, and giving it a go with my 'real' work. And a joy, of course, finding that OS had solo application! Hope that explains it a bit. As a non-planner for first drafts (I tend to improvise a first draft, though with some idea of beginning-middle-end) I'm not sure it's possible for a first draft, but I'm interested in finding out one day. All best Stella On 15/7/10 1:40 pm, "Allison & Jim Baensch" <mb...@iinet.net.au> wrote: > Hi Stella, > Good to hear you have used Open Space for writing. > I also used it while writing a thesis recently. > I tried to map part of the process that was going on inside my head > in words and sketches. > The thesis ended up being far too long and I had to cut it in half > (several times over the many months of writing) and that section was > left on the cutting room floor. > But the process lifted me out of one of my 'sloughs of writing > despond' and got me going again. > How did you use OS for editing? > Allison > > On 15/07/2010, at 7:37 PM, Stella Duffy wrote: > >> hi all, >> I'm new to this list, having been at all of Improbable's 'Devoted & >> Disgruntled' Open Spaces led by Phelim McDermott in London in the past >> years. Some years ago, when I came to a major impasse in the >> editing of my >> eleventh novel, I tried editing in OS and was astonished at how >> useful it >> was for me, alone, with my manuscript. This year I have shared OS, >> along >> with other practitioners, with my buddhist practice here in the UK, >> and most >> recently I've been working on a new theatre project and (with Phelim's >> encouragement!)I now - shyly - share with you the report I returned >> to the >> National Theatre Studio who generously gave 30+ of us the space to >> work on >> this new project in OS. >> I'd be very interested in hearing from anyone else who has used OS for >> writing or where it's been used for making/devising theatre work. >> best wishes, >> Stella Duffy >> stelladuffy.wordpress.com >> >> >> My report to the NTS : >> I'm emailing to thank you all so much for your support for the >> Chaosbaby >> Project Open Spaces this weekend and last. >> >> To give you some idea of what happened, and how valuable it was : >> 36 people attended over both days (many of them came to both). >> The age range was from 21 to mid-60's. >> They were 11 actors, 2 actor-musicians, 4 actor-writers, 1 >> choreographer-dancer, 6 directors, 1 designer, 1 film-maker, 2 >> musicians, 2 >> playwrights, 5 writer-directors, 1 photographer. >> >> In the two days, using the Open Space form, various groups & >> individuals : >> - wrote a 14-page traditional/'straight' narrative for the piece >> - developed character breakdowns >> - worked on the physicality/movement for a number of characters/spaces >> - held many discussions about the nature of the piece >> - discussed the nature of chaos (as a theatrical concept, as a >> dance/movement concept, and in terms of chaos theory and mathematics) >> - created/drew up initial design ideas >> - wrote 3 new monologues >> - worked on the (two, brief) pre-existing texts >> - wrote and recorded a lullaby >> - documented the work on camera and video >> - made a puppet show, with live music accompaniment >> >> Above all, I think, we showed ourselves it is not only possible, >> but perhaps >> preferable to work in Open Space, with a wide range of theatre-makers, >> across many disciplines, which generated an enormous amount of >> work/material, led not by a single director or writer, but by the >> whole - >> and that in doing so it is still possible to have a cohesive idea >> of what >> we are making and where best our skills might be used. >> >> I'm really excited about taking this on further, I especially loved >> that, >> having met Slav (on the door, doing security) the first Saturday, >> he took >> (wonderful) photos for us on the 2nd Saturday. >> >> We're looking at a full weekend/three day Open Space to further the >> work >> later in the year. >> >> I've worked in made/devised/improvised theatre for the past twenty- >> five >> years, this was one of the few times I've felt that it was TRULY a >> shared >> group endeavour and not, at least in some ways, a director or >> writer-led >> experience. And happy though I am to work as both a director and a >> writer, a >> working form that uses ALL the skills in the room, to the utmost >> that can be >> offered, feels like a much better use of time, space, money and, most >> importantly, the full range of all the artists' abilities. >> >> * >> * >> ========================================================== >> osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu >> ------------------------------ >> To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, >> view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: >> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html >> >> To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: >> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist > > * > * > ========================================================== > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu > ------------------------------ > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, > view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: > http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
