From: sheilah@wam.umd.edu (Sheila Herndon)
Subject: longwinded boring, with ideas Re: (happy...inspiration ideas
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 19:32:41 GMT

In article <1992Sep13.233017.17238@leela.cs.orst.edu> 
petersm@jacobs.CS.ORST.EDU (Marguerite Petersen) writes in responce to
jchien@leland.Stanford.EDU (Jennifer Crystal Fang-Chien) writes:

>I have only one other suggestion to add to your list.  When really
>suffering writer's block I've found it's a good idea to go out and 
>*do* something.  Visit someone, go to a movie, take a walk, even go
>to the store.  Something just might happen that will spur you to write.
>If not, at least you did *something.*  :-)

>Kathleen O'Toole, Bringer of Light

This is a good remedy for depression. If one has the will power to
get up and do something. If not, ask a friend to substitute will for
you, if you feel like it.

I do not like to write when I am depressed. I like to write much more 
when I enjoy it -- usually when I am happy, often I end up writing 
when I am upset. When I am depressed I am not emotionally involved.

I think doing anything physical is good to make one feel better, I get the
idea that somethng in your body will churn out endorphin or adrenilin
beasties and you will have no choice but to feel better. Also scheduling
activities is good. It may feel wonderful to plan to do something and then
do something. 

As a matter of fact, I have not felt like writing much, but the feelings
I remember from realizing how planning fitted with time and accomplishment
inspire writer-like feelings in me. I still don't feel like writing however.

My favorite inspirations/subjects for writing come from observing, memory,
observing feelings of memory and observations. I am also very interested in
the logic of illogic ( a poor phrase, what I mean, I guess, is a search for
consistancy (consistancy would be a better word than logic I guess) amoung
things that do not appear to be consistant or follow rules. It is intriguing
to observe myself and my feelings and try to find "rules" that govern
"ungovernable" things. It may be that I should just take an elementary 
psychology class before I frustrate myself rediscovering the same fallicies
of introspective psychologies.

Questions will drive writing, eg, presently I find myself wondering
how thoughts are represented in a person's imagination. What does the
word "Pictured" mean? So I will wonder about pictures of words, pictures
of meanings and if there are any pictures inside my head. 

eg
I wanted to write music once, a month or so ago, (I do not know how)
(I imagine it is all a music cliche so bear with me, I only have my examples.)

first start with rain
consider the rain, it doesn't drop in horizontal pages.
allow it to intersect a horizontal to the ground plane.
think of the drops
think of the number of drops
think of the time of the drops
think of the distance the drops have fallen
think of the rain now falling on a mountain instead of a plane
think of the rain now intersecting the surface area shaped of a mountain
think of the city as a hollow surface area
think of the rain now intersecting it
think of each point on the surface area, x and y wher a drop falls and t and what else
think of each drop again (return)
one drop one drop
round round
when it falls it falls apart
think of the rain falling on the city
on a house flat roof slant roof
side
on a telephone poles and wires on a streetlight sticking out of a telephone pole
now on a person walking a moving element
now on cars
now think of what "cars" is. it is singular.
you cannot draw it you can draw "car" think of
"cars" think of "car " think of "leaves" think of "leaf"
think of drawing words
think of a drawing of a street
with "cars" written on the road.
then think of a drawing with one car two car three car ...
picture of "cars"
think of whether the car objects are te deep meaning or the surface structure
think whether the idea of all together is te deep meaning or te surface structure
now think of painting
and of creating all these ideas
and of talking to someone about them
now think of listening to music, to walking to u2
regular beat
now think of painting a canvas all blue love the color blue
think of painting afterwards the diagram labeled "airplane"
think of why you label
think of the question of the object is it deep meaning or surface meaning?
	-30-

Very wonderful for me to think that if anyone looks at this they will
think of different things and not recreate my thougth process. Or very
wonderful to think that maybe someone would have the same thought
process. For example would anyone think that the rain falling down the
side of the house (verticle) is irrational? I don't know.
-- 
stark raving sane  sheilah@wam.umd.edu