Sunday, May 8, 2011
What Else Am I Going To Do With My Time?
Irritating...I mean, Interesting article on NYTimes.com. I'm probably a little too bitter this afternoon to write much on this, but this article profiles published writers who haven't quit their day jobs working at the bookstore. Along with the usual banter..."What am I going to write about if I don't have a job" etc., it just reminds me how sad it is that most writers work other jobs to provide health insurance etc. for their families. It would be like Martin Scorsese working at Blockbuster.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Building Your Brand
You think selling a book is hard, wait until you have to start building your own brand. :) Interesting article on NYTimes.com about self-promotion.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Idlewild
I just posted a story called Idlewild on my other blog--check it out here--and I thought I should at least jot down a few things about the process. While there is no doubt that much of my work springs from some memory of something that happened to me or something I read in the newspaper or something someone told me etc., this story was written as a sort of tribute to my grandfather.
Leroy Quitman Miller--known as Quittie by everyone who knew him--bears many of the same characteristics of the "Quittie" in this story. While he died of natural causes and never killed anyone (to my knowledge) or took in an orphan (to my knowledge), he did own a convenience store, was married to a woman named Jean (my grandmother), drank his coffee so black and bitter it could have probably fueled his old blue Ford truck, and had a heart as big as Texas.
I miss him.
Leroy Quitman Miller--known as Quittie by everyone who knew him--bears many of the same characteristics of the "Quittie" in this story. While he died of natural causes and never killed anyone (to my knowledge) or took in an orphan (to my knowledge), he did own a convenience store, was married to a woman named Jean (my grandmother), drank his coffee so black and bitter it could have probably fueled his old blue Ford truck, and had a heart as big as Texas.
I miss him.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Students Bash Author's Work Until He Cries Like A Little Baby
While the title of this post is slightly exaggerated, my students read my short story "Stick Figures," and we had a class discussion on its merits. Coming from students that would rather lose their favorite texting thumb as opposed to reading one of my short stories, the response was rather flattering. What do you expect, right? Of course, they're going to say they liked it...you wrote it...you're their instructor. If that's what you're thinking, you don't know my students very well.
They're not short on opinions and they don't give a rat's @ss if I feel flattered or not. What they did manage to do was dig deep and deconstruct the story in a way that was refreshing and left me feeling optimistic for their future. Now if I can only get them to read one of my novels.
They're not short on opinions and they don't give a rat's @ss if I feel flattered or not. What they did manage to do was dig deep and deconstruct the story in a way that was refreshing and left me feeling optimistic for their future. Now if I can only get them to read one of my novels.
Friday, March 11, 2011
To Teach is to Learn
The Introduction of A Course in Miracles says that "the role of teaching and learning is actually reversed in the thinking of the world...seems as if the teacher and the learner are separated, the teacher giving something to the learner rather than to himself." The Course goes on to say that "to teach is to learn...that teacher and learner are the same."
While I consider A Course in Miracles a sacred text, this thought is applicable on the natural plane...and never more so than in writing. I believe that in teaching others about writing (whether in the classroom) or on this blog--through sharing my experience etc.--I learn more about writing than I have ever learned as a student.
If, as a writer, you are having trouble recognizing that writing is just as natural as breathing... start teaching. And I'm not asking that you get a job at the local high school...what I'm asking you to do is start talking to others about the craft, find someone you can mentor, find a writing community and get involved. If you haven't convinced yourself that creating is your life's calling, teach what you need to learn...
Sunday, March 6, 2011
The Gatekeepers Are Shrinking: a Rant on the State of Publishing
William Styron was interviewed in the 1954 Spring edition of the Paris Review, and his response to a question about the value of creative writing courses reminded me of one of the reasons why publishing is in a state of disrepair.
Here's the question: What value has the creative writing course for young writers?
And here's the annotated version of his answer:
"It gives them a start, I suppose. But it can be an awful waste of time. Look at those people who go back year after year to summer writers’ conferences, you get so you can pick them out a mile away. A writing course can only give you a start, and help a little. It can’t teach writing. The professor should weed out the good from the bad, cull them like a farmer, and not encourage the ones who haven’t got something."
Writing in the Margins
Part of the joy of reading a good book is being able to take it with you to the the beach. Or reading on the train. Or in the bathtub. And writing in the margins. Check out this great article--from NYTimes.com--on marginalia and whether reading in the electronic age will ever be the same. Check it out here.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Why Do Writers Abandon Novels?
Why do writers abandon unfinished novels? Check out this very interesting article on NYTimes.com.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Random & Entirely Coincidental
I just posted an excerpt--the first three chapters--of my second novel, "Random & Entirely Coincidental," on my other blog. Check it out here. While I don't apologize for the mature subject matter of my work, "Random & Entirely Coincidental" takes it to a whole new level.
I've had an agent for the past five years--and I was working on "Random" when Scribe Agency took me on as a client--so I guess it's been a little over three years since I dotted the final i and crossed the final t. "Random" was an intentional departure from my first novel. While "The Anguish of Angus Bluefeet" approached some mature subject matter, I felt like I had held back on some of the most powerful scenes...particularly those as they relate to a man's penchant for sexual obsession.
I've had an agent for the past five years--and I was working on "Random" when Scribe Agency took me on as a client--so I guess it's been a little over three years since I dotted the final i and crossed the final t. "Random" was an intentional departure from my first novel. While "The Anguish of Angus Bluefeet" approached some mature subject matter, I felt like I had held back on some of the most powerful scenes...particularly those as they relate to a man's penchant for sexual obsession.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The Anguish of Angus Bluefeet
I just posted an excerpt--the first three chapters--of my first novel, "The Anguish of Angus Bluefeet," to my other blog. Check it out here. I submitted it to my agent a little over five years ago, and we still haven't sold it. There are probably some things that I would change (now that I think about it) but I don't want to spend the time that it would require. I've already finished the second novel...and am working on the third...so going back to the first one doesn't make sense. It took over five years to write "The Anguish of Angus Bluefeet," and it was a great learning experience. It would be really nice to see it on the shelves of my favorite bookstore!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Stick Figures
Just posted a story on my other blog. Check it out here. I wrote Stick Figures nine or ten years ago. Although I had dated a few women with children, I didn't have any children of my own. Very interesting to read a story I wrote about a young girl--who in certain ways reminds me of my own daughter--long before Bella was born.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
A Canine Appetite for Reading
The New York Times reports that a "trove of books that were among the last ones that Thomas Jefferson, the nation’s most bibliophilic president, collected and read in the decade before he died" has been discovered.
Jefferson's taste in books--in his own words, he had a canine appetite for reading--should give scholars further evidence of where he got his ideas and what influenced him. As the article so eloquently states, "the physical collection is not as critical as what it represents intellectually."
I suppose that collecting the video games and dvds of the next generation may provide evidence of where they got their ideas and what influenced them, but sadly...a "canine appetite for gaming," doesn't have as sweet of a ring to it.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Reading the Infallible Word
While I try to link to books I've actually read--rather than read about--this book review on Salon.com is worth commenting on even though I have yet to read "The Rise and Fall of the Bible" by Timothy Beal. The book, written by a Christian, is an argument against reading the Bible as the "infallible" Word of God, but encourages us instead to read it as a "work of art--that is, as a text permitting multiple interpretations and as a spur to further thought and self-examination rather than as the last word on all of life's enigmas."
Saturday, February 19, 2011
You Can't Handle the Truth: Fact vs. Fiction and the Fuzziness of Truth in Literature
In one of my weekly strolls through the New York Times, I stumbled across several articles that grabbed my attention.
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against President Jimmy Carter and Simon & Schuster--who published Carter's "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid" in 2006--alleging that the book was "falsely marketed as an accurate account of peace negotiations in the Middle East." David Schoen--the attorney who filed the suit--remarked that "You cannot market it as the absolute truth on something when it's not."
Kathryn Stockett--the author of the best-selling novel, "The Help," is being sued by Ablene Cooper--a 60-year-old woman--who alleges that "one of the book's principal characters, Aibileen Clark, is an unauthorized appropriation of her name and image, which she finds emotionally distressing."
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against President Jimmy Carter and Simon & Schuster--who published Carter's "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid" in 2006--alleging that the book was "falsely marketed as an accurate account of peace negotiations in the Middle East." David Schoen--the attorney who filed the suit--remarked that "You cannot market it as the absolute truth on something when it's not."
Kathryn Stockett--the author of the best-selling novel, "The Help," is being sued by Ablene Cooper--a 60-year-old woman--who alleges that "one of the book's principal characters, Aibileen Clark, is an unauthorized appropriation of her name and image, which she finds emotionally distressing."
Friday, February 18, 2011
Finding God
I just posted my one-act play, Finding God, on my other blog and a few things came to mind. I was enrolled in a playwriting workshop at the University of Montana - Western when I wrote this play over the course of that class. We had a reading in the campus coffee shop--The Cup--and later staged it in the One Act Play Festival on campus. Besides my embarrassing attempt at portraying the play's protagonist, it went rather well. On re-reading it before posting it to my blog--despite having written it over twelve years ago--I still enjoyed it.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
You Say You Want a Revolution?
While I'm just as sad as the next book lover that Borders has filed bankruptcy--and as a result, is closing many of its stores--I am not surprised. The publishing industry has been on the decline for some time now...and had plenty of time to stop it. I imagine I'm not the only one who has grown weary of walking into a bookstore (Barnes & Noble, Borders etc.) and seeing the same titles and authors shoved in my face--with the best shelf space reserved for the houses with the deepest pockets--telling me what's hot and what's not...and rarely giving me the time to find out for myself. Frankly, I enjoy a trip to Half Price Books just as much because I never know what gem I'm going to find (even though I'm a little annoyed that they won't give me jack for the books I sell) but who knows how long even they'll stay in business.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
From Your Valentine (for Christie, with love)
Spent a good part of the afternoon writing Christie a Valentine. Nothing better than posting it on your public blog before you even let her see it. ;)
Thursday, February 10, 2011
The Learning Curve
My students are reading "The Learning Curve" by David Sedaris. An essay from his hilarious book Me Talk Pretty One Day, "The Learning Curve" follows his misadventures as a teacher of a writing workshop. "Like branding steers or embalming the dead, teaching was a profession I had never seriously considered. I was clearly unqualified, yet I accepted the job without hesitation, as it would allow me to wear a tie and go by the name of Mr. Sedaris. My father went by the same name, and though he lived a thousand miles away, I liked to imagine someone getting the two of us confused." Love it!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Manners of Dying
I just finished a remarkable short story by Yann Martel--author of Life of Pi--called Manners of Dying. A story broken up into nine sections, Manners of Dying is an epistolary tale featuring letters from the Warden of Cantos Correctional Institution to the mother of a recently executed prisoner. Each section is a different version of the events of the last day of her son. One word: remarkable.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Poetry of Protest
According to The Daily Beast, "protesters throughout the Middle East are using famous poetry as subversive chants against the government." Check it out.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Dropping Bella
I assigned my college English composition class their first essay, and I thought it only fair that I write my own. I've been wanting to write this essay for some time. And the title has been in my head for several years. Check it out here.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Most Fascinating Person in the Room
I'm an instructor at a local college and we're starting a new quarter tomorrow. My students' first assignment is to tell me why they are the most fascinating person in the room. And of course, I'll start things off by telling them a little about myself: I was a professional clown, I'm forty years old, I have a four-year-old daughter, and I write books for other people.
I'll tell them that I hope they learn as much about themselves as they learn about "writing." And that's the truth. There are so many people in this world who know very little about themselves. They don't know their passions. They don't know their beliefs. They don't know what makes them tick.
That's the amazing thing about writing: it gives you the chance to learn about yourself and the world around you. If I can encourage just one person in the classroom (and on this blog) to dig a little deeper, that will be enough. Why are you the most fascinating person in the room? What is your passion? What are your beliefs? What makes you tick?
I'll tell them that I hope they learn as much about themselves as they learn about "writing." And that's the truth. There are so many people in this world who know very little about themselves. They don't know their passions. They don't know their beliefs. They don't know what makes them tick.
That's the amazing thing about writing: it gives you the chance to learn about yourself and the world around you. If I can encourage just one person in the classroom (and on this blog) to dig a little deeper, that will be enough. Why are you the most fascinating person in the room? What is your passion? What are your beliefs? What makes you tick?
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Weird Mental Processes of Tim Burton
So I was reading an article on Tim Burton, and his new "self published" book "The Art of Tim Burton," described by latimes.com as "a lavish art book featuring more than 1,000 images, some of which go back to childhood," and it made me want to rush out and pick up a copy.
I was curious for several different reasons. For one, I'm a huge Tim Burton fan. I love his quirky visuals and his artistic world view. It's hard to explain, but I see him as a kindred spirit. Everything he has ever done--with few exceptions--has inspired me to create something.
I was curious for several different reasons. For one, I'm a huge Tim Burton fan. I love his quirky visuals and his artistic world view. It's hard to explain, but I see him as a kindred spirit. Everything he has ever done--with few exceptions--has inspired me to create something.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849)
The RavenOnce upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door--
Only this, and nothing more."
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; -- vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow -- sorrow for the lost Lenore--
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore--
Nameless here for evermore.
Monday, January 17, 2011
I Have a Dream
You can't have a blog called Sacred Word, without featuring perhaps one of the greatest speeches of all time on a day that we honor Martin Luther King, Jr.
I Have a Dream
by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
I Have a Dream
by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
You Are Here
I have many fond memories of going to Six Flags when I was a kid; there wasn't anything better. And of course, we had a list of rides we wanted to ride, shows we wanted to see etc. etc. Whenever we were finished with a ride, we would walk up to the Six Flags map--usually in front of the bathrooms--and decide what we were going to ride next. There was always a bright red X on the map with the words "You Are Here" typed underneath. Just in case you didn't know where you were.
We've been house-sitting for the past three weeks and we just got finished unloading our car and we're trying to settle into a routine. I feel out of sorts, discombobulated...it's like I don't know where I am.
There's no better way to be in the here and the now...than when you are writing. Even when things aren't going especially smooth, creating has a way of putting you in the moment. And the moment is really all you have anyway, so it's nice to be present.
We've been house-sitting for the past three weeks and we just got finished unloading our car and we're trying to settle into a routine. I feel out of sorts, discombobulated...it's like I don't know where I am.
There's no better way to be in the here and the now...than when you are writing. Even when things aren't going especially smooth, creating has a way of putting you in the moment. And the moment is really all you have anyway, so it's nice to be present.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Being in Your Element
I'm reading "The Element" by Ken Robinson, Ph.D. The subtitle of the book is How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything. It couldn't be more appropriate. With the arrival of the new year, I am realizing more and more that we have to be led by our passions; we have to believe in who we are; and we have to promote our personal brand with that very same passion. And doing less than those three things is a disservice to who we are and to everyone around us.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
But What Do You Do for a Living?
Before I left the corporate world, one of my major frustrations was that I felt like I had lost my identity. And it wasn't the corporate world (although this can be argued) that took it. I don't know how many times (when I identified myself as a writer) that new acquaintances asked me "But what do you do for a living." Naturally, this was after I revealed that none of my novels had been published. I finally quit telling people I was a writer. Instead, I gave them the same old schtick that I worked in "Office Services" (code for mailroom) for a rather large corporation and I crocheted in my free time.
I can't be alone in this.
It was only after I "edited" a few books for other people and left the corporate world to "write for a living" that I rescued my true identity and didn't feel like a fraud when I identified as a writer. Keep in mind, my novels still remained unpublished. And one could argue (and my wife would be one of those people:) that I wasn't really "writing for a living"...because money was tight and our new lifestyle barely qualified as "living."
While it can be argued that I "write" more now that I don't have another "job to pay the bills," I don't know if that would be accurate. I just go to bed earlier now. When I was in the corporate world, I still wrote...I just wrote after working a ten-hour day sorting mail and making sure the back office was running smoothly.
I tell that really long story to serve as an example of what "NOT" to do.
It's all about branding. If you write (whether you are paid or not, published or not, renowned or not) you're a writer. If you're a writer, identify as a WRITER. Join an organization. Join a writer's group. Dump your unpublished fiction onto a blog. Start building your brand. And do whatever you have to do to pay your bills. There is no guarantee that you'll ever be able to "write for a living." But I can assure you that if you quit identifying as a writer...if enough years go by, you'll stop writing. And that would be bad for all of us.
I can't be alone in this.
It was only after I "edited" a few books for other people and left the corporate world to "write for a living" that I rescued my true identity and didn't feel like a fraud when I identified as a writer. Keep in mind, my novels still remained unpublished. And one could argue (and my wife would be one of those people:) that I wasn't really "writing for a living"...because money was tight and our new lifestyle barely qualified as "living."
While it can be argued that I "write" more now that I don't have another "job to pay the bills," I don't know if that would be accurate. I just go to bed earlier now. When I was in the corporate world, I still wrote...I just wrote after working a ten-hour day sorting mail and making sure the back office was running smoothly.
I tell that really long story to serve as an example of what "NOT" to do.
It's all about branding. If you write (whether you are paid or not, published or not, renowned or not) you're a writer. If you're a writer, identify as a WRITER. Join an organization. Join a writer's group. Dump your unpublished fiction onto a blog. Start building your brand. And do whatever you have to do to pay your bills. There is no guarantee that you'll ever be able to "write for a living." But I can assure you that if you quit identifying as a writer...if enough years go by, you'll stop writing. And that would be bad for all of us.
Starbucks: Too Sexy for Their Name?
Okay, I'm sure you've heard this by now, but the new Starbucks logo has changed. And it no longer includes the words: Starbucks Coffee. I can't imagine what genius had that idea; perhaps the genius that thinks Starbucks should start making bluejeans and doesn't want "coffee" on their bluejeans. I'm thinking it's not the best idea. Turns out that the Gap had the same idea just recently and changed their logo. There was such a backlash that they reverted back to their old logo within the week. I'm guessing that we may very well see the old Starbucks logo reappear and the genius who came up with the idea will probably be having a lot of conversations with the guy who decided to change the Gap logo.
But all of this talk about logos got me thinking about branding...and writers...or branding and creative types in general. As a whole, we're not good at it. And we should make it our business to start getting good at it. While I have plenty more to learn, I've been thinking about "personal branding" in connection with my writing for some time.
I've been known to "ghostwrite" a book or two (or three or four) and have had the offer for my name to appear alongside my client's name on more than one occasion. At this point--outside of sharing writing credit on a screenplay--the answer has always been a very polite "no thank you."
And it's not because I was ashamed of the project at hand; I can truthfully say that I have been extremely proud of every project that I have been involved with. What concerns me about putting my name on a project that is not 100% my own is BRANDING. I am a novelist. I am a poet. I am a short-fiction writer. I am a BRAND. And while I don't have the kind of brand recognition that I hope to have in the future...it is definitely something I think about. And it's something that we will continue to explore.
But all of this talk about logos got me thinking about branding...and writers...or branding and creative types in general. As a whole, we're not good at it. And we should make it our business to start getting good at it. While I have plenty more to learn, I've been thinking about "personal branding" in connection with my writing for some time.
I've been known to "ghostwrite" a book or two (or three or four) and have had the offer for my name to appear alongside my client's name on more than one occasion. At this point--outside of sharing writing credit on a screenplay--the answer has always been a very polite "no thank you."
And it's not because I was ashamed of the project at hand; I can truthfully say that I have been extremely proud of every project that I have been involved with. What concerns me about putting my name on a project that is not 100% my own is BRANDING. I am a novelist. I am a poet. I am a short-fiction writer. I am a BRAND. And while I don't have the kind of brand recognition that I hope to have in the future...it is definitely something I think about. And it's something that we will continue to explore.
Monday, January 3, 2011
A Little Sacrifice Goes A Long Way
Needless to say, when I quit my corporate job to write full time, I had to make sacrifices. No paid vacations. No sick days. No taking it easy...at least without having to pay the price for it. And my young family had to make sacrifices as well. I could argue...and my wife most certainly would...that they've sacrificed more than I have.
But let's not kid ourselves, if you're going to make sacrifices, do it for something you love. How many times do we find ourselves sacrificing our time and our resources for something we don't love to do in the first place? I would argue...PLENTY.
If you can do one thing for yourself in this new year, make the sacrifices that pay off. Sacrifice something you do because you've always done it, to take that risk. Sacrifice your old life, your old habits, your old ideas...and trade them for a year that you are going to do things differently. Frankly, that's a sacrifice that we can't afford NOT to make.
But let's not kid ourselves, if you're going to make sacrifices, do it for something you love. How many times do we find ourselves sacrificing our time and our resources for something we don't love to do in the first place? I would argue...PLENTY.
If you can do one thing for yourself in this new year, make the sacrifices that pay off. Sacrifice something you do because you've always done it, to take that risk. Sacrifice your old life, your old habits, your old ideas...and trade them for a year that you are going to do things differently. Frankly, that's a sacrifice that we can't afford NOT to make.
Writing What You Know...and Then Some
I'm a big fan of writing "what you know." With that said, I write mostly fiction. I DO NOT write autobiography. Writing would be boring if I just stuck with what I know, but I ALWAYS use it as a jumping off place. I also write from true emotions. I write from true feelings. I write from my own experience. But it doesn't end there. That's where I turn it up a notch and then I turn it up some more. And then I turn it up some more. And then I let the story take me where it wants to take me. While this is evident in my short fiction, it is even more true in my novels.
My books practically write themselves. I start off with a brief character sketch and maybe a scene and then my characters practically take a life of their own. The protagonist of my novel "The Anguish of Angus Bluefeet" is virtually my opposite. At least on the surface. Angus Bluefeet is a 35 year old actuary at a life insurance firm who is married and has two kids and who loses a child in a freak accident. And he also plays a major role in an ABC reality series.
My books practically write themselves. I start off with a brief character sketch and maybe a scene and then my characters practically take a life of their own. The protagonist of my novel "The Anguish of Angus Bluefeet" is virtually my opposite. At least on the surface. Angus Bluefeet is a 35 year old actuary at a life insurance firm who is married and has two kids and who loses a child in a freak accident. And he also plays a major role in an ABC reality series.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
It's All Just Practice
One of the perks of posting over ten years of your fiction and poetry is that you get to read it again. While I didn't change anything from its original form, I reread each piece for any glaring typos etc., and then dumped it onto the blog to let the readers take it or leave it. But it's been nice (mostly) to revisit these old pieces.
Several of the old stories found their way into my novels without my recollection. Linda--the woman in "The Things We Wish For"--is a precursor to Betty Bluefeet, the wife of my protagonist in my first novel "The Anguish of Angus Bluefeet." And the unnamed protagonist of that same story ("The Things We Wish For") has the same experience of running through the house wondering if his beloved has taken their own life. There are several descriptive sentences which seem duplicated almost verbatim. To my knowledge, (it HAS been ten years or so) I never lifted pieces of this story for my novel. It just happened.
I'm a firm believer in the idea that we write what we are ready to write at a particular time...and not a moment before. And everything we write today allows us to write what we are going to write tomorrow. That's why--even while I have pieces that will never see the light of day--nothing is a wasted effort. Everything I write always serves me down the line. What I write today makes me the writer I am tomorrow.
Which takes me back to the idea of William Stafford's "writing as vocation." I'll tackle THAT one at another time. ;)
Several of the old stories found their way into my novels without my recollection. Linda--the woman in "The Things We Wish For"--is a precursor to Betty Bluefeet, the wife of my protagonist in my first novel "The Anguish of Angus Bluefeet." And the unnamed protagonist of that same story ("The Things We Wish For") has the same experience of running through the house wondering if his beloved has taken their own life. There are several descriptive sentences which seem duplicated almost verbatim. To my knowledge, (it HAS been ten years or so) I never lifted pieces of this story for my novel. It just happened.
I'm a firm believer in the idea that we write what we are ready to write at a particular time...and not a moment before. And everything we write today allows us to write what we are going to write tomorrow. That's why--even while I have pieces that will never see the light of day--nothing is a wasted effort. Everything I write always serves me down the line. What I write today makes me the writer I am tomorrow.
Which takes me back to the idea of William Stafford's "writing as vocation." I'll tackle THAT one at another time. ;)
Lack vs. Abundance
My spiritual path keeps leading me to the subject of lack...which is ALWAYS connected to fear. If I look around me and see lack, LACK is what I get; if I look around and see abundance, I get ABUNDANCE.
The same goes with writing. How often do we get the idea that once we've written the first novel, we'll never be able to duplicate its success with the second? You'd be surprised as to how many people have that fear before they've even finished that first book. Or that first story. Or that first poem. They have to produce the perfect piece their first time out.
And of course, we all know that that is crazy making. We should stay concerned with the here and now. We should stay in the present. We shouldn't bother ourselves with perfection, and just show up to the page. I alluded to this in an earlier blog when I mentioned "lowering your standards."
When it comes to writing, all that matters is that one sacred word in front of us. Let that one out and wait for the next to follow. One word at a time. One sentence at a time. One paragraph at a time...etc. And by sacred, I don't mean perfect. Lose the idea of perfection. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder and I'm not the one to make that call. I'm just the creator. Of course, if you want to go a little deeper, it's all perfect...even the imperfect...but it's less convoluted when you see the practice of writing as nothing more than sacred...just getting it all down one word at a time.
The same goes with writing. How often do we get the idea that once we've written the first novel, we'll never be able to duplicate its success with the second? You'd be surprised as to how many people have that fear before they've even finished that first book. Or that first story. Or that first poem. They have to produce the perfect piece their first time out.
And of course, we all know that that is crazy making. We should stay concerned with the here and now. We should stay in the present. We shouldn't bother ourselves with perfection, and just show up to the page. I alluded to this in an earlier blog when I mentioned "lowering your standards."
When it comes to writing, all that matters is that one sacred word in front of us. Let that one out and wait for the next to follow. One word at a time. One sentence at a time. One paragraph at a time...etc. And by sacred, I don't mean perfect. Lose the idea of perfection. Perfection is in the eye of the beholder and I'm not the one to make that call. I'm just the creator. Of course, if you want to go a little deeper, it's all perfect...even the imperfect...but it's less convoluted when you see the practice of writing as nothing more than sacred...just getting it all down one word at a time.
Born to Write
I have mixed feelings on whether or not writing can be taught. I think writing is one of those things that you learn on your own. Not that you don't read a crapload of other people's stuff and then read a crapload of writing about writing but the actual "practice" itself...I think writers eventually either do it or they go crazy. And sometimes they do both. :)
While I have reservations on whether writing can be taught, it can--without a doubt--be nurtured. It can be encouraged. It can be drawn out. And sadly it can be squelched. Naturally, there are writers who don't give a flip what you say to them...they'll write regardless because they don't know how to do otherwise. However, I do think there are those who replay the voices of disgruntled teachers and misguided parents etc. etc.--you're not good enough, smart enough--and they keep their desire to create deep within them somewhere...just waiting to get out.
If I can do anything in this New Year, I hope I can encourage just one person to get back to doing what they were born to do. There's nothing quite like sitting down to a blank page and breathing life into it.
While I have reservations on whether writing can be taught, it can--without a doubt--be nurtured. It can be encouraged. It can be drawn out. And sadly it can be squelched. Naturally, there are writers who don't give a flip what you say to them...they'll write regardless because they don't know how to do otherwise. However, I do think there are those who replay the voices of disgruntled teachers and misguided parents etc. etc.--you're not good enough, smart enough--and they keep their desire to create deep within them somewhere...just waiting to get out.
If I can do anything in this New Year, I hope I can encourage just one person to get back to doing what they were born to do. There's nothing quite like sitting down to a blank page and breathing life into it.
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