Benedetti, In-Class May 9th

Paul Simon
Paul Simon is a world-renowned musician who has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was famous mainly in the 1970’s and has recently released his new album, Beautiful or So What, which is his 12th album so far. He shared his song brainstorming notebook and walked through his thought process for the song “Love and Hard Times”. The article walks the reader through each verse of the song, as it was written in the notebook and even includes a deleted verse that was not included in the final production. Simon claims that at first when trying to brainstorm a song he improvises melodies and words, and most of the time he throws them away. Eventually he comes to the conclusion that instead of thinking of the words himself, he would rather let the music speak on its own. This would be helpful in the sense that a writer eventually must reach the point where he lets go and allows his work to do all of the creating.

Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Jennifer Nelson is a DreamWorks creator, who helped aid in the production of Kung Fu Panda. Her process includes gathering a group of her co-workers and having a brainstorming session with food. They work off of each other’s ideas, using sketches and verbal communication. The team uses visuals to then create and edit images that will be used in the film. Once the animation is placed into a scene, it is critiqued and can be changed over and over again, If they are not content with the outcome, they start all over. Her process would be useful in the sense that you don’t work alone. Working with a group and bouncing off of each other’s ideas can be a great way to brainstorm.

Ruhl and Bradley
Ruhl and Bradley are famous playwrights who create visually inventive plays. Ruhl claims that she has a visual imagination and works through strange metaphors. She enjoys watching designers critique and interpret her plays, because constructive criticism is a good way to further enhance your own skills.
Bradley got inspiration for one of his playwrights from a dream. Once he awoke, he water colored the dream and then used it to write a story. Because he uses personal experiences and ideas, the final productions are very emotional, which reflects back onto the audience. Using personal experiences is a good way to bring emotion and passion into a piece of work, and I tend to use this technique more than any other technique when I write. Without emotion, a piece of writing is just that.