Now to the post: It seems that whether I’m watching TV, reading, or even just chatting with someone in line at the store, my mindwheel is always turning. It drives me mad sometimes but it comes in quite handy when I need inspiration for writing. Does anyone’s creative wheel EVER stop turning? LOL
.-= Michele | The Writer’s Round-About´s last blog ..Michele Tune On The Business of Blogging =-.

Amy – Aw, thanks. I do my best to keep things diverse around here, what with the uterus and all.

Ali – Be brave, Sir Robin! That’s good that good television turns you on, it means that your brain has already gotten addiction to being used for thought, not simply for idle entertainment. Violence, neuron fire, sex, neuron fire, pretty people, neuron fire. Good TV will actually make you say WHY.

Mary – Perhaps, yes. Perhaps the answer is in front of you. Don’t get passive though. That way eternal procrastination lies.

Michael – This is why I don’t actually have TV. I have a TV set, but all I can do with it is watch DVDs. It helps to not be able to engage that part of your brain. Now if I could only figure out some equivalent for the internet . . .
Jean – You would think, wouldn’t you? Though I think that holds true rather more for fiction writers than for copywriters. Copywriters need a different set of words.

Adam – Thank you for the compliment. Always lovely. That is exactly why I don’t have TV, and you’re absolutely right – you’ll make time for the good stuff. House, Mad Men, Rome.

Janice – Movies are killer for good writing. it’s amazing how often we have no idea who those guys are.

Rose – Reality shows offer no insight into how people work and think under stressful situations, because both the situation and the people are falsified. The people are falsified because selective editing allows any particular feature you like to come to the forefront – there have been multiple examples of some character being portrayed as a violent person when it in fact no one really has that experience of them. it’s just that they never showed all the rest of the time when he hadn’t recently been thrown off a cliff and couldn’t find his wife.

Dave – I disagree, respectfully. Not writing is a terrifying prospect, true, but if I honestly found it more terrifying than writing, I would write more. I believe most writers are the same.

Arwen – I think it wise to read if you are a writer. I also find it unwise to dismiss any portion of the population on a random presumption. I am sure there are excellent writers out there who don’t read much. James is one. Not because he doesn’t know how to read or have favorite books, but because he’s a busy bugger and rarely has time.

Dean – Sometimes that works too. We’re actually going to discuss that next week.
.-= Tei – Men with Pens´s last blog ..Slaying Writer Dragons: Epic Skill #1, Mental Prowess =-.

I do agree, though, that watching less television has actually made me more creative because I’m spending that extra time learning about other more useful things. However, you have to be just as careful about what you read both online and offline otherwise you end up ingesting just as much fluff as you would have watching television.

I also agree with Jean. Can you really call yourself a writer if you are not doing a good bit of reading also?
.-= Arwen Taylor´s last blog ..Loss Leader Marketing – How to Use this Retail Marketing Strategy in Your Internet Business =-.

I mean, some shows, like the Big Brother ones, are known for getting the most unrealistic people together and then making them act weirder. Then it’s just like a bunch of naked children running around and screaming for attention. No good, that.

But couldn’t you say that some reality shows are great for gaining insight into how people work and think under stressful situations? My grandparents love Survivor, so I must defend my family honor.

Wordsworth was a famous poet, and though he wrote lots he was greatly against the reading of books as a source of knowledge. “Nature is all!” he cried, and yet we still consider him a literary man. Books are the respectable way to learn, yes, but even the most base occupation of time can teach a person something.