{"id":1405,"date":"2013-06-04T09:09:50","date_gmt":"2013-06-04T16:09:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/?p=1405"},"modified":"2019-01-24T08:15:53","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T16:15:53","slug":"the-art-in-good-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2013\/writing\/the-art-in-good-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art in Good Writing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Painters'

Painters’ Lodge, Campbell River<\/p><\/div>\n

Who\u2019d have thought I\u2019d learn what it takes to write well at a Painters’ Weekend?<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s one attended by many of the best artists in British Columbia. They come annually to Painters Lodge in Campbell River to demonstrate their technique, show slide presentations and participate in panel discussions.<\/p>\n

What I learned about good writing came out of a panel discussion on what constitutes good art. What the artists had to say, applies to writing as well.<\/p>\n

\"P1030252\"

Pat Martin Bates in front of one of her creations.<\/p><\/div>\n

Grande dame artist, Pat Martin Bates,<\/strong> 86 years old, said, \u201cThere is a grain of truth in all art<\/i>.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

Writers know that when their writing contains kernels of truth, readers connect, as it speaks to them in a way they understand.<\/p>\n

Pat Martin Bates also said, \u201cIt\u2019s about putting your inner voice on canvas.<\/strong>\u201d<\/i> Painters paint to communicate. Their \u201clove comes through the paint.\u201d The artist\u2019s \u201chands make the voice of their heart visible<\/i>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

What this artist said about art, could be said about writing. Good writers communicate. They show their love through their words\u2014whether it\u2019s love of their characters, or love in their story, or love of their craft.<\/p>\n

Good writers make the voice of their hearts visible.<\/strong> When we, as readers, feel the pain a character goes through when they lose someone they love, or feel the sexual excitement of a character’s first kiss, or laugh at some blunder he or she’s committed, we relate to the humanity of the work. If only for a moment, we feel understood, or we get to understand something we hadn’t before. That is the genius of good writing. It makes our lives richer.<\/p>\n

Another artist, Peter Shostak<\/a>,<\/strong> defined good art as \u201cIndividual expression you can get away with and get paid for<\/i>.<\/strong>\u201d Isn\u2019t that true of what writers hope for as well? Readers are willing to pay if the writing is good.<\/p>\n

Robert Amos<\/a><\/strong>, an art writer and painter, said, \u201cArt is the grace that descends on any activity.<\/i><\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 So true. When I read a good book, and a sentence sings to me, or I connect with a character, it\u2019s heaven sent.<\/p>\n

\"A

A View of Discovery Passage from Painters Lodge<\/p><\/div>\n

This weekend underlined the art in good writing. It also inspired me to paint and write more. It’s only through doing, that we get better. I hope you are similarly inspired to create, if not through writing, then through your art, or through your garden, or through cooking for your family or loved one, or however you creatively express yourself. We all have that right brain. To find the creator in oneself is an unparalleled joy, one that requires nurturing and attention.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who\u2019d have thought I\u2019d learn what it takes to write well at a Painters’ Weekend?\u00a0 It\u2019s one attended by many of the best artists in British Columbia. They come annually… <\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[14,4],"tags":[512,262,42,78,510,507,509,511,508,33,5],"class_list":["post-1405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-writing","tag-art-in-good-writing","tag-artist","tag-character","tag-diana-stevan","tag-painters-lodge","tag-pat-martin-bates","tag-peter-shostak","tag-reader","tag-robert-amos","tag-writer","tag-writing-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LuVB-mF","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":434,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/finding-the-muse\/","url_meta":{"origin":1405,"position":0},"title":"Finding the Muse","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"28 \u0422\u0440\u0430\u0432\u043d\u044f, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Today, I went to the 17th annual Painters at Painters celebration of the arts in Campbell River. One of the presentations was called 'Amusing the muse', conducted by painters (and sisters) Janice Robertson and Suzanne Northcott. They gave their thoughts on what the muse meant to them and their work.\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/P10201031-300x238.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1148,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/writing\/escape-artist\/","url_meta":{"origin":1405,"position":1},"title":"Escape Artist","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"9 \u041b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The book launch for Escape, an anthology, published by a new group, Peregrin Publishing. took place at the Maritime Heritage Centre in Campbell River, on Nov. 10. We had a great crowd. There was music, a slide presentation of the printing process and readings. I'm one of 28 writers who've\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Escape.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":823,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2012\/writing\/what-is-it-about-the-troubled-artist\/","url_meta":{"origin":1405,"position":2},"title":"What Is It About The Troubled Artist?","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"4 \u041b\u044e\u0442\u043e\u0433\u043e, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago, I went to see the play, RED, written by John Logan. 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Heliobore in our garden Jan. 2019 I received a promising sign for the new year.\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"writing thoughts and plans","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_bce7.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_bce7.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_bce7.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dianastevan.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_bce7.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":765,"url":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/2011\/writing\/the-many-paths-of-inspiration\/","url_meta":{"origin":1405,"position":4},"title":"The Many Paths of Inspiration","author":"Diana Stevan","date":"29 \u041b\u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0430, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I've written about inspiration before, but I gave it short shrift. 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Following your passion means subjecting yourself to those highs and lows. Self-doubts of All Writers This post, however, isn't so much about my agony and ecstasy in writing, it's about what all writers go through when they write their\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u0423 "Writing"","block_context":{"text":"Writing","link":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/category\/writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"\/\/ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=0889227411&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL250_&tag=dianastevan08-20","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dianastevan.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}