Comments on: The Thousand Foot Climb http://genrebender.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/the-thousand-foot-climb/ Feeding the Muse a Morsel at a Time Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:22:23 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Matt Mitchell http://genrebender.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/the-thousand-foot-climb/#comment-141 Matt Mitchell Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:59:28 +0000 http://genrebender.wordpress.com/?p=215#comment-141 @Ken: That Gladwell guy's sharp. I like that idea. @Steve: You're exactly right, and I should have added that into the article. If you take a long break from climbing, you won't be making 60 and 80 foot climbs on your way up, you'll be lucky to be making 20 feet per, no matter how well-conditioned you are. Climbing uses different muscles, changes the way you normally move...that's another perfect tie in. And yes, the view from the top is the best part about it. @A: No, I was what we called a "free climber," meaning the only thing attaching me to the tower were my hands and feet. I would "belt off" any time I stopped, though. Those long climbs are not a good time to be letting your mind wander. No plotting or brainstorming when the only thing keeping you from plummeting to your doom are your little fingers. Sometimes maybe if you're on a break, but if you're climbing, you can't do anything but focus on climbing. Thanks everyone! @Ken: That Gladwell guy’s sharp. I like that idea.

@Steve: You’re exactly right, and I should have added that into the article. If you take a long break from climbing, you won’t be making 60 and 80 foot climbs on your way up, you’ll be lucky to be making 20 feet per, no matter how well-conditioned you are. Climbing uses different muscles, changes the way you normally move…that’s another perfect tie in.

And yes, the view from the top is the best part about it.

@A: No, I was what we called a “free climber,” meaning the only thing attaching me to the tower were my hands and feet. I would “belt off” any time I stopped, though.

Those long climbs are not a good time to be letting your mind wander. No plotting or brainstorming when the only thing keeping you from plummeting to your doom are your little fingers. Sometimes maybe if you’re on a break, but if you’re climbing, you can’t do anything but focus on climbing.

Thanks everyone!

]]> By: A Smith http://genrebender.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/the-thousand-foot-climb/#comment-140 A Smith Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:45:56 +0000 http://genrebender.wordpress.com/?p=215#comment-140 Holy crap! I'm afraid of hitting the ground with a nasty crunch rather than the height itself. Did you use a guide line or some sort of safety rope? *shivers* And those long climbs were probably a great time to plot and brainstorm. I agree with Steve that it's easier if you aren't absent from the climb too long. The apprehension increases with each week away from the blank page. Nice blog Matt! Holy crap! I’m afraid of hitting the ground with a nasty crunch rather than the height itself. Did you use a guide line or some sort of safety rope? *shivers*

And those long climbs were probably a great time to plot and brainstorm.

I agree with Steve that it’s easier if you aren’t absent from the climb too long. The apprehension increases with each week away from the blank page.

Nice blog Matt!

]]> By: Steve Buchheit http://genrebender.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/the-thousand-foot-climb/#comment-139 Steve Buchheit Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:19:47 +0000 http://genrebender.wordpress.com/?p=215#comment-139 Love that analogy, Matt. It also helps (as I remember these things) if you're climbing regularly. It's not as daunting if you keep climbing towers as it is the first time, or the first time after a long hiatus. I get the same feeling for big design jobs. When I was doing them regularly, I could knock off the big jobs (200 page catalogs) with a workman like mentality. Now that I've been away from it for long times, each time I start up a job I look at that tower and think, "gulp." And the climb is slow and arduous. The view from the top is still wonderful. Love that analogy, Matt. It also helps (as I remember these things) if you’re climbing regularly. It’s not as daunting if you keep climbing towers as it is the first time, or the first time after a long hiatus.

I get the same feeling for big design jobs. When I was doing them regularly, I could knock off the big jobs (200 page catalogs) with a workman like mentality. Now that I’ve been away from it for long times, each time I start up a job I look at that tower and think, “gulp.” And the climb is slow and arduous. The view from the top is still wonderful.

]]> By: Ken McConnell http://genrebender.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/the-thousand-foot-climb/#comment-138 Ken McConnell Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:17:01 +0000 http://genrebender.wordpress.com/?p=215#comment-138 This reminds me of that ancient Chinese Proverb about a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I tend to get more concerned about finishing the damn thing, than actually starting it. Maybe because that's where I am now with my novel Tyrmia. I just want to make it to the end. This is my third novel and it seems to be taking me much longer than the last one. But the last one was not SF. I do posit that SF and F take far more time to write than a normal piece of fiction. The thousand foot idea brings to mind Gladwell's latest - Outliers. In which he says in order to be good at something, you have to work at it for 10,000 hours, which works out to be ten years. This reminds me of that ancient Chinese Proverb about a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

I tend to get more concerned about finishing the damn thing, than actually starting it. Maybe because that’s where I am now with my novel Tyrmia. I just want to make it to the end. This is my third novel and it seems to be taking me much longer than the last one. But the last one was not SF. I do posit that SF and F take far more time to write than a normal piece of fiction.

The thousand foot idea brings to mind Gladwell’s latest – Outliers. In which he says in order to be good at something, you have to work at it for 10,000 hours, which works out to be ten years.

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