Sorry sorry sorry. I've been MIA ever since I left for Kenyon. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I left. I ended up not coming straight home from the conference and instead went to my sister's house for four days since our kitchen wasn't done being remodeled yet. Came home for oh, about 36 hours to do laundry before packing up again and heading to Canada to visit my mom for a week. So I've been back for eight days in my own home, suitcases unpacked, new refigerator stocked with food again and trying to sort through all that I experienced at Kenyon. I'm sure I will be writing about it many more times in the coming months but let me start here.
First of all I worked my ass off. Five, six, seven hours a day of writing outside of the classroom in addition to attending readings, eating, sleeping and socializing. It was both exhilerating and draining. I slept for twelve solid hours my first night back. So much got churned up for me regarding my own writing process and it still has yet to settle. It feels like I have layers upon layers that I need to sift through and will continue to do for a long time. It's hard to pinpoint the one big thing I learned. It feels so intangible. It was just the experience of being immersed in my writing and having Ron Carlson be so incredibly generous in sharing his own process.
Below is an inventory of the work I did in a week:
Kenyon Review Fiction Workshop with Ron Carlson
Inventory of New Work
100 Word Chapter Novel
“Love is a Ripe Green Pepper” • 1200 words
ABC Story
“Barely There” • 495 words
6 Space Breaks
“Dead Deer Bingo” • 3697 words
Person, Place, Song
“What Sixteen Looks like” • 744 word
The Pet Store story
“Off Season” • 1191 words
The Ticking Clock
“Big Glove” • 1191 words
Fairy Tale Monologue
“The Giant’s Wife” • 994 words
Scenes
“Wrong number” • 450 words
“Dialogue on Park Bench in Rittenhouse Square” • 140 words
Five of these pieces I plan on revising. So one concrete thing I learned is that I will never run out of ideas. Each day new characters appeared in new settings with new stories. I didn't think I was afraid of that but maybe I was. I remember that Annie Dillard quote about shooting it all, spending it all every time you write and not hoarding it for another story and I think I did hoard tiny things but not anymore. Every piece I wrote at Kenyon was brand new.
I learned I can write at night. I've gotten into such a routine at home. I write in the morning and afternoon while the girls are in school. Night time is family time but often it's just spent watching TV. I think a different energy emerges at night too so it might be worth exploring.
I learned where I quit in a story. I get to that part where I don't know and I lose steam. Ron says the whole point is to write yourself out to that point in the ocean of your story where you can no longer touch bottom, the sky and water seem to merge and you don't know which way is up. You're out of breath and there's that slight panic building and all you want to do is grab a life preserver in the form of a cigarette, cup of coffee, donut or even cleaning the crud from the sides of the fridge but the writer is the person who stays out there a little longer, 20 minutes should do it and the story itself becomes the life preserver. In that 20 minutes you find that one small piece of inventory, that one detail you can grab onto and keep yourself afloat.
That's about all I can process for the moment.
QUOTE
"The writer is the person who stays in the room when she doesn't know what's going to happen." - Ron Calson
Friday, July 13, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
It's a Love/Hate Thing
I love summer vacation now as much as I did when I was a kid. I love having no schedule to follow, no homework to review, projects to oversee, papers to sign, no special time to get up. Then again part of me hates summer, mostly because there is no schedule to follow and with no schedule my writing gets sidelined quite a bit. Although I did manage to get a draft together for my group before I leave this morning. Yes, after months of writing and talking about it I finally leave for the Kenyon Review fiction worksop with Ron Carlson today. I spent last night printing out stories I want to work on and getting notebooks together and copying work onto a CD and selecting reading material ( always the most crucial aspect for a writer going on vacation). Here's what I'm taking:
2 library books that will be due a couple days after I return: "Be Mine" by Laura Kasischke and "The God of Animals: A Novel" by Aryn Kyle both of which are on my never-ending list of books to read
"Five Skies" by Ron Carlson
"The New Yorker" summer fiction issue
"Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen
"Glimmer Train" summer issue
"Now You Love Me" stories by Liesel Litenburger (which has aslo been on my list for quite a while)
I'm hoping that there will be much more writing going on that reading but I'm covered either way.
Not sure how much I will be generating new work versus revising existing drafts but I brought the current projects that are hot for me right now:
- "Learning Curve" a novel-in-stories
- 2 of my best stories so far that are part of a collection
- a draft of the novel I wrote in thirty days last November. Might be a good chance to sit down and just read it through and see what I've got.
The latest issue of "The Writer" has an interview with Ron Carlson in it and reading it just reaffirmed my decision to do this. I love everything he has to say about the writing process plus I love his own writing. His stories are in my permanent collection that I turn to again and again to show me how to write.
If I have time, I'll blog while I'm there, but if not you'll hear all about when I return.
2 library books that will be due a couple days after I return: "Be Mine" by Laura Kasischke and "The God of Animals: A Novel" by Aryn Kyle both of which are on my never-ending list of books to read
"Five Skies" by Ron Carlson
"The New Yorker" summer fiction issue
"Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen
"Glimmer Train" summer issue
"Now You Love Me" stories by Liesel Litenburger (which has aslo been on my list for quite a while)
I'm hoping that there will be much more writing going on that reading but I'm covered either way.
Not sure how much I will be generating new work versus revising existing drafts but I brought the current projects that are hot for me right now:
- "Learning Curve" a novel-in-stories
- 2 of my best stories so far that are part of a collection
- a draft of the novel I wrote in thirty days last November. Might be a good chance to sit down and just read it through and see what I've got.
The latest issue of "The Writer" has an interview with Ron Carlson in it and reading it just reaffirmed my decision to do this. I love everything he has to say about the writing process plus I love his own writing. His stories are in my permanent collection that I turn to again and again to show me how to write.
If I have time, I'll blog while I'm there, but if not you'll hear all about when I return.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
A Conversation with my Story
WRITING PROCESS
Story: I’ve got it.
Me: Got what?
Story: Martha’s mother. Her name isn’t Helen. It’s Delia.
Me: Um… excuse me?
Story: Yeah yeah yeah… it’s Delia. Helen is her mother. Her and Toby’s.
Me: But the story is almost done and it’s Helen throughout two whole stories. It’s not just a matter of replacing the name, you know. Helen and Delia are two completely different kinds of people.
Story: I know. Isn’t it great?
Me: Great? No, it isn’t great. I’ve worked so hard on this.
Story: Yes and all that hard work is paying off.
Me: For you maybe.
Story: Well. Yeah. That’s all that matters, isn’t it? It’s all about the story that wants to be told not the story you want to tell.
Me: I suppose. But this is huge. You’re suddenly not what I thought what you were about.
Story: Exactly. And that’s when it gets exciting, for both of us.
Me: (Sigh) Where do I start?
Story: Well, start with the find and replace option. That’s a place to start. Just see her real name implanted there in the text in black and white and see what happens. Then do some freewriting in Delia’s voice, maybe on events that you’ve already written about as Helen. Play with it. This is fun.
Me: Yeah, fun. Whooppee…
Story: Trust me.
Me: Do I have a choice?
Story: Sure, you can ignore me, not write, get crabby, not write some more, get crankier, until you finally try it my way and wonder what you were waiting for all that time.
Me: (sigh again) Fine. You win.
Story: It’s not a contest. It’s win win.
Me: Whatever...
Story: I’ve got it.
Me: Got what?
Story: Martha’s mother. Her name isn’t Helen. It’s Delia.
Me: Um… excuse me?
Story: Yeah yeah yeah… it’s Delia. Helen is her mother. Her and Toby’s.
Me: But the story is almost done and it’s Helen throughout two whole stories. It’s not just a matter of replacing the name, you know. Helen and Delia are two completely different kinds of people.
Story: I know. Isn’t it great?
Me: Great? No, it isn’t great. I’ve worked so hard on this.
Story: Yes and all that hard work is paying off.
Me: For you maybe.
Story: Well. Yeah. That’s all that matters, isn’t it? It’s all about the story that wants to be told not the story you want to tell.
Me: I suppose. But this is huge. You’re suddenly not what I thought what you were about.
Story: Exactly. And that’s when it gets exciting, for both of us.
Me: (Sigh) Where do I start?
Story: Well, start with the find and replace option. That’s a place to start. Just see her real name implanted there in the text in black and white and see what happens. Then do some freewriting in Delia’s voice, maybe on events that you’ve already written about as Helen. Play with it. This is fun.
Me: Yeah, fun. Whooppee…
Story: Trust me.
Me: Do I have a choice?
Story: Sure, you can ignore me, not write, get crabby, not write some more, get crankier, until you finally try it my way and wonder what you were waiting for all that time.
Me: (sigh again) Fine. You win.
Story: It’s not a contest. It’s win win.
Me: Whatever...
Friday, May 18, 2007
Think of Trees
WRITING PROCESS & PROGRESS
I may not be writing on this blog but I have been writing elsewhere: morning pages, writing practice and short stories. I just finished the second on efrom my novel-in-stories and sent it out to my writing group for Sunday. It's still not quite right. I'm not sure about the title which means I'm not quite sure what the story is about yet. I've found that the perfect titles emerges when the story has found its focus. Maybe listening to my group discuss the characters and plot might trigger something for me to work on in revision. I just pulled out the next story and re-read it, to refresh my memory. The good thing is that I was intrigued by it- wanted to keep reading to see what happens. The bad thing is that it needs some major rewriting.
One thing I've been hyper aware of lately in my writing is the "viewpoint intruder." I read an article about it in a magazine and now I notice it in my own stories. Martha notices, sees, watches, etc.... Once the POV character is established it's okay to just let the scene unfold without constant viewpoint intrusion.
As part of my writing process lately I've been reading a poem out loud every morning before I start my own writing. Currently I am reading "The Woman I Kept to Myself" by Julia Alvarez. I love getting that language in the air. Sometimes the poem sparks a prompt for me to use in my writing practice. Usually I just listen to the words, so lyrical, so lovely, almost breathing in the writer's own breath.
READING
I've been reading "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" and was hooked by it at first but now am kind of, I don' tknow, annoyed with it. The structure and style feel so self-conscious, always calling attention to the writer's cleverness. And there's this other annoying habit of using so many unusual verb to describe, say, the setting. I know strong verbs can be an amazing strength but in this case, once again, it just seems to call attention to itself. So I have put the book down for now. I am only a few chapters into "Sense and Sensiblity." Not far enough to have an opinion yet. I've been so focused on my own writing that I don't have the concentration needed to read that much. This happened when I took the class at OU and while I was and am currently incredibly productive I do miss my reading or the ability to get lost in another writer's world, perhap because I am so immersed in creating my own fictional world.
QUOTE
"When I think of my death, I think of trees
in the full of summer, a row of them
marking a border, still too far away
for me to name them, posted with rotted boards
everyone but the faint of heart ignores."
- from "Last Trees' by Julia Alvarez
I may not be writing on this blog but I have been writing elsewhere: morning pages, writing practice and short stories. I just finished the second on efrom my novel-in-stories and sent it out to my writing group for Sunday. It's still not quite right. I'm not sure about the title which means I'm not quite sure what the story is about yet. I've found that the perfect titles emerges when the story has found its focus. Maybe listening to my group discuss the characters and plot might trigger something for me to work on in revision. I just pulled out the next story and re-read it, to refresh my memory. The good thing is that I was intrigued by it- wanted to keep reading to see what happens. The bad thing is that it needs some major rewriting.
One thing I've been hyper aware of lately in my writing is the "viewpoint intruder." I read an article about it in a magazine and now I notice it in my own stories. Martha notices, sees, watches, etc.... Once the POV character is established it's okay to just let the scene unfold without constant viewpoint intrusion.
As part of my writing process lately I've been reading a poem out loud every morning before I start my own writing. Currently I am reading "The Woman I Kept to Myself" by Julia Alvarez. I love getting that language in the air. Sometimes the poem sparks a prompt for me to use in my writing practice. Usually I just listen to the words, so lyrical, so lovely, almost breathing in the writer's own breath.
READING
I've been reading "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" and was hooked by it at first but now am kind of, I don' tknow, annoyed with it. The structure and style feel so self-conscious, always calling attention to the writer's cleverness. And there's this other annoying habit of using so many unusual verb to describe, say, the setting. I know strong verbs can be an amazing strength but in this case, once again, it just seems to call attention to itself. So I have put the book down for now. I am only a few chapters into "Sense and Sensiblity." Not far enough to have an opinion yet. I've been so focused on my own writing that I don't have the concentration needed to read that much. This happened when I took the class at OU and while I was and am currently incredibly productive I do miss my reading or the ability to get lost in another writer's world, perhap because I am so immersed in creating my own fictional world.
QUOTE
"When I think of my death, I think of trees
in the full of summer, a row of them
marking a border, still too far away
for me to name them, posted with rotted boards
everyone but the faint of heart ignores."
- from "Last Trees' by Julia Alvarez
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Word by Word
WRITING PROCESS/PROGRESS
So I slogged my way through my story today, showing up although everything else clamored for my attention from the chocolate brownie fudge ice cream in the freezer to the blue skies and the 77º day outside. But I kept my butt in this chair and managed to make some headway. Some days it's just word by word. One trick I learned from Ron Carlson is the 20 minute rule. When you feel the need to get up and indulge in whatever has been clamoring for your attention, stay in your chair for just 20 more minutes. Stay in the room, he says, meaning the room where you write and the room or scene of the story. He promises that almost always it is worth the time. Today it was. A scene that had no focal point at all finally came into focus during that 20 minutes.
I know I sound like a broken record, but really, it's all about showing up. Really. It's the same lesson over and over.
READING
So I am now reading "Sense and Sensbility" as part of my self-designed MFA. It is the second story in "The Master Class in Fiction Writing" and focuses on characterization. I've read chapter 1 so far.
For enjoyment I pulled "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" from my bookshelf and I am hooked.
QUOTE
"In the arts, your weakness becomes your signature. The fact that your work is imperfect makes it interesting. A perfect face isn't interesting. A book's flaws make it less predictable."
- Janet Fitch
So I slogged my way through my story today, showing up although everything else clamored for my attention from the chocolate brownie fudge ice cream in the freezer to the blue skies and the 77º day outside. But I kept my butt in this chair and managed to make some headway. Some days it's just word by word. One trick I learned from Ron Carlson is the 20 minute rule. When you feel the need to get up and indulge in whatever has been clamoring for your attention, stay in your chair for just 20 more minutes. Stay in the room, he says, meaning the room where you write and the room or scene of the story. He promises that almost always it is worth the time. Today it was. A scene that had no focal point at all finally came into focus during that 20 minutes.
I know I sound like a broken record, but really, it's all about showing up. Really. It's the same lesson over and over.
READING
So I am now reading "Sense and Sensbility" as part of my self-designed MFA. It is the second story in "The Master Class in Fiction Writing" and focuses on characterization. I've read chapter 1 so far.
For enjoyment I pulled "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" from my bookshelf and I am hooked.
QUOTE
"In the arts, your weakness becomes your signature. The fact that your work is imperfect makes it interesting. A perfect face isn't interesting. A book's flaws make it less predictable."
- Janet Fitch
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Short Story Immersion
READING
I have been immersed in short stories lately. I just finished "The Dead Fish Museum" by Charles d'Ambrosio last night. The stories are rough around the edges, in a good way. I remember enjoying almost every story as I read them but honestly not one paricular story stands out against the rest. To be fair that could be because of all the other stories I've read lately. Like the entire spring issue of "The Missouri Review." I rarely ever finish an entire issue of any literary journal much less read it cover to cover in two days. But that's what happened this time. I read every story, essay and poem word by word. And there's a great interview with David Sedaris. The theme for the issue is Love and Lonliness. Maybe that appeals to me. For whatever reason, I was immediateley drawn into each and every piece from the couples at the "lifestyle" resort to the father and son who both fall in love to the philosophy student who tries to put his relationship in some kind of context against the back drop of a marathon. I especially enjoyed the two essays so much that they make me want to try my hand at one myself.
I received the new Narrative on-line and read a great new story by Ron Carlson as well as an in-depth profile on Ann Beattie. While meandering blogs in between my own writing I found myself linked to 2 other short stories, both involving hands. One is by Benjamin Percy. You can find it at http://www.storyglossia.com/thirteen/bp_hand.html. Then there is this one by Elizabeth Graver at http://www.pshares.org/issues/article.cfm?prmArticleID=4916. These also inspire me. Now I want to write a story that uses a hand in a surprising way. The there's this new story by Kate Walbert that all moms can relate to: http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2007/03/26/070326fi_fiction_walbert.
I'm thinking I need a break from short stories now. Not sure what is next but I love this feeling of not knowing. I love being in this space in between books and browsing through my shelves at leisure until the next book I am meant to read falls into my lap.
WRITING
With all this reading you'd think writing has taken a backseat but that is so not the case. I finished yet another draft of "Japanese for Butterfly' and am letting it sit for a while as I work on the next story. I hauled out this five inch thick binder yesterday that has all the stories for this book so far. I grabbed the next 2 to get an idea of where I am and saw that much can and should be cut from both and that they are actually one story in different seasons- winter and summer. At one point I had over forty pages strewn across my living room floor as I made a list of all relevant scenes. I worked on it yesterday and the story and characters percolated all day no matter if I was cooking, doing the dishes or watching TV. I had to come back to my office and scribble down notes as new things came to me.
I wrote these stories a couple of yeas ago. The copies I have contain notes from people no longer in my writing group. It's been a humbling and interesting process. So much time has elapsed making it is easy to read with an objective eye. I noticed this embarassing habit I had of writing what I can only call purple prose. I read and crossed out passages with this vague sense anxiety. I knew there was a word for what I was reading but it wouldn't come to me. At some point the term "purple prose" came up in my reading and I googled it and found this: "Purple prose is sensuously evocative beyond the requirements of its context. It also refers to writing that employs certain rhetorical effects such as exaggerated sentiment or pathos in an attempt to manipulate a reader's response." Yep. That's what I did. God, it was excruciating to read. The good news is that I've obviously (uh, hopefully?) grown out of that particular writing pitfall. Oh, I'm sure I'll stumble across many more as I continue.
As part of my writing process, I am filling up pages with writing practice. Yesterday the topic was "Write about a cold snap." I started by writing that this topic does not inspire me at all, blah, blah, blah. But I stuck with it for three pages and the beignnings of a brand new short story with brand new characters emerged. I keep telling myself it's all about just showing up. Apparently that's true.
ART
Made a birthday card for a friend. Took a picture of it. And, yes, I still need to learn how to post photos. But first I need to learn how to get them off my camera.
QUOTE
"With good writing, I think, the most profound response is finally a sigh, or a gasp, or holy silence."
- Tim O'Brien
I have been immersed in short stories lately. I just finished "The Dead Fish Museum" by Charles d'Ambrosio last night. The stories are rough around the edges, in a good way. I remember enjoying almost every story as I read them but honestly not one paricular story stands out against the rest. To be fair that could be because of all the other stories I've read lately. Like the entire spring issue of "The Missouri Review." I rarely ever finish an entire issue of any literary journal much less read it cover to cover in two days. But that's what happened this time. I read every story, essay and poem word by word. And there's a great interview with David Sedaris. The theme for the issue is Love and Lonliness. Maybe that appeals to me. For whatever reason, I was immediateley drawn into each and every piece from the couples at the "lifestyle" resort to the father and son who both fall in love to the philosophy student who tries to put his relationship in some kind of context against the back drop of a marathon. I especially enjoyed the two essays so much that they make me want to try my hand at one myself.
I received the new Narrative on-line and read a great new story by Ron Carlson as well as an in-depth profile on Ann Beattie. While meandering blogs in between my own writing I found myself linked to 2 other short stories, both involving hands. One is by Benjamin Percy. You can find it at http://www.storyglossia.com/thirteen/bp_hand.html. Then there is this one by Elizabeth Graver at http://www.pshares.org/issues/article.cfm?prmArticleID=4916. These also inspire me. Now I want to write a story that uses a hand in a surprising way. The there's this new story by Kate Walbert that all moms can relate to: http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2007/03/26/070326fi_fiction_walbert.
I'm thinking I need a break from short stories now. Not sure what is next but I love this feeling of not knowing. I love being in this space in between books and browsing through my shelves at leisure until the next book I am meant to read falls into my lap.
WRITING
With all this reading you'd think writing has taken a backseat but that is so not the case. I finished yet another draft of "Japanese for Butterfly' and am letting it sit for a while as I work on the next story. I hauled out this five inch thick binder yesterday that has all the stories for this book so far. I grabbed the next 2 to get an idea of where I am and saw that much can and should be cut from both and that they are actually one story in different seasons- winter and summer. At one point I had over forty pages strewn across my living room floor as I made a list of all relevant scenes. I worked on it yesterday and the story and characters percolated all day no matter if I was cooking, doing the dishes or watching TV. I had to come back to my office and scribble down notes as new things came to me.
I wrote these stories a couple of yeas ago. The copies I have contain notes from people no longer in my writing group. It's been a humbling and interesting process. So much time has elapsed making it is easy to read with an objective eye. I noticed this embarassing habit I had of writing what I can only call purple prose. I read and crossed out passages with this vague sense anxiety. I knew there was a word for what I was reading but it wouldn't come to me. At some point the term "purple prose" came up in my reading and I googled it and found this: "Purple prose is sensuously evocative beyond the requirements of its context. It also refers to writing that employs certain rhetorical effects such as exaggerated sentiment or pathos in an attempt to manipulate a reader's response." Yep. That's what I did. God, it was excruciating to read. The good news is that I've obviously (uh, hopefully?) grown out of that particular writing pitfall. Oh, I'm sure I'll stumble across many more as I continue.
As part of my writing process, I am filling up pages with writing practice. Yesterday the topic was "Write about a cold snap." I started by writing that this topic does not inspire me at all, blah, blah, blah. But I stuck with it for three pages and the beignnings of a brand new short story with brand new characters emerged. I keep telling myself it's all about just showing up. Apparently that's true.
ART
Made a birthday card for a friend. Took a picture of it. And, yes, I still need to learn how to post photos. But first I need to learn how to get them off my camera.
QUOTE
"With good writing, I think, the most profound response is finally a sigh, or a gasp, or holy silence."
- Tim O'Brien
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Editing My Dreams?
RANDOM MUSINGS
I must be a "real" writer if I'm editing my word choice in my dreams. Last night I dreamt that I interviewed Jack Nicholson. I notice how blue his eyes are and scribble that in my notes and try to come up with a word less cliché than piercing or penetrating. I mean Jack deserves better than a tired ciché, doesn't he?
I read two books from the library and they are due back today but I had to note this weird similarity between them. They both have characters with the same name. "Skylight Confessions" has a female protagonist named Arlyn. "The Ghost at the Table has a minor male character named Arlen. Do character names go through popularity cycles like baby names?
WRITING
I'm thrilled to say that I am back in some sort of writing groove. I worked steadily on a story everyday this week, even last night at the ice cream social at school. I am trying to cut it down to 7500 words from 8100 since that seems to be a pretty basic maximum for many journals and I am already trying to place a 10,000-word story.
Not only did I write on my story for several hours each day but I also did morning pages everyday and three pages of writing practice several times throughout the week. When I took a fiction class at OU one of the requirements was at least three 20-minute writing sessions each week in addition to having a new story or revision ready. I even did one now and it's Saturday.
READING
Finished "Reading Like a Writer" by Francine Prose and I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that she has changed the way I read. As I revise my story "Japanese for Butterfly" I am reading the entire piece out loud for the third time and each time I find a word that isn't right or words I can cut. It's fun. Reading out loud illuminates where the prose is clunky but it also slows me down which is one of the main lessons I learned from F.P.
Still reading the "Dead Fish Museum" by Charles D'Ambrosio and just read the line that explains where the title comes from... perfect.
QUOTE
"Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.
- Kurt Vonnegut
I must be a "real" writer if I'm editing my word choice in my dreams. Last night I dreamt that I interviewed Jack Nicholson. I notice how blue his eyes are and scribble that in my notes and try to come up with a word less cliché than piercing or penetrating. I mean Jack deserves better than a tired ciché, doesn't he?
I read two books from the library and they are due back today but I had to note this weird similarity between them. They both have characters with the same name. "Skylight Confessions" has a female protagonist named Arlyn. "The Ghost at the Table has a minor male character named Arlen. Do character names go through popularity cycles like baby names?
WRITING
I'm thrilled to say that I am back in some sort of writing groove. I worked steadily on a story everyday this week, even last night at the ice cream social at school. I am trying to cut it down to 7500 words from 8100 since that seems to be a pretty basic maximum for many journals and I am already trying to place a 10,000-word story.
Not only did I write on my story for several hours each day but I also did morning pages everyday and three pages of writing practice several times throughout the week. When I took a fiction class at OU one of the requirements was at least three 20-minute writing sessions each week in addition to having a new story or revision ready. I even did one now and it's Saturday.
READING
Finished "Reading Like a Writer" by Francine Prose and I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that she has changed the way I read. As I revise my story "Japanese for Butterfly" I am reading the entire piece out loud for the third time and each time I find a word that isn't right or words I can cut. It's fun. Reading out loud illuminates where the prose is clunky but it also slows me down which is one of the main lessons I learned from F.P.
Still reading the "Dead Fish Museum" by Charles D'Ambrosio and just read the line that explains where the title comes from... perfect.
QUOTE
"Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style.
- Kurt Vonnegut
Thursday, May 03, 2007
My 10 Favorite Short Stories
So I saw this out in the blogosphere and thought that it would be fun. Not sure if there are any parameters to follow but I decided to only list the short stories that I remember. No leafing through books to jog my memory. I can only check for titles and or spelling. So here goes... my favorite top ten stories in no particular order.
1. "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolff
2. "Milk" by Ron Carlson
3. "The Potato Gun" by Ron Carlson
4. "Bocci" by Renée Manfredi
5. "Who Do You Love" by Jean Thompson
6. "In the Event" by Christopher Coake
7. "Howard Johnson's House" by Mary Clyde
8. "People Like That Are the Only People Here" by Lorrie Moore
9. "A Small, Good Thing" by Raymond Carver
10. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Oates
These are all stories that have stuck with me, haunted me even. I am looking at the list to see if there is a particular theme or pattern that emerges. Several involve parents confronting the relative powerlessness we can feel in the face of our children's lives. Several star adolescents on the verge of discovery and danger. I don't know, but for these characters and their stories to stand out in spite of my voracious reading habit says something. And instead of being daunted, I actually am inspired to keep writing in hopes that I write a story so true and raw that it stands out for somebody, somewhere, sometime, someday.
1. "Bullet in the Brain" by Tobias Wolff
2. "Milk" by Ron Carlson
3. "The Potato Gun" by Ron Carlson
4. "Bocci" by Renée Manfredi
5. "Who Do You Love" by Jean Thompson
6. "In the Event" by Christopher Coake
7. "Howard Johnson's House" by Mary Clyde
8. "People Like That Are the Only People Here" by Lorrie Moore
9. "A Small, Good Thing" by Raymond Carver
10. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" by Joyce Oates
These are all stories that have stuck with me, haunted me even. I am looking at the list to see if there is a particular theme or pattern that emerges. Several involve parents confronting the relative powerlessness we can feel in the face of our children's lives. Several star adolescents on the verge of discovery and danger. I don't know, but for these characters and their stories to stand out in spite of my voracious reading habit says something. And instead of being daunted, I actually am inspired to keep writing in hopes that I write a story so true and raw that it stands out for somebody, somewhere, sometime, someday.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Baby Steps
READING
I am about halfway through "Reading Like a Writer" by Francine Prose. She is really helping me to slow down and savor the sentences and word choices in my reading and my writing. And she is adding to my ever growing list of books to read, some by writers I've never heard of. Henry Green, anyone?
I just finished "The Knitting Circle" by Ann Hood. I felt rather voyeuristic as I read this novel, knowing how closely it mirrors her own experience. Her five-year-old daugher, Grace, died unexpectedly from complications from strep a few years ago. In the book a young daughter also dies and it is told from the perspective of the mother who finds herself learning to knit. The author also learned to knit when the usual comfort she found in writing and reading and language in general had left her after the loss of her daughter. I am not the sort of person who cries easily while reading but this one did it. It's every mom's worst nightmare. I've attempted to write stories that deal with the loss of a child in hopes of some kind of writerly magic preventing it from happening in reality as Kate Braverman once said but it is just too huge to grapple with. It gives such a raw incite into the grieving process that I read it almost with one eye closed, unable to watch it full on.
"Moral Disorder" by Margaret Atwood is another stunning book by this author. It is a series of interconnected stories that reveal the life of Nell as a child and adolescent into young adulthood through a complex relationship with Tig. The stories are structured in this sweeping arc of time that envelopes their lives. Carefully rendered, closely observed- trademarks of this writer.
Currently reading "The Dead Fish Museum," a story collection by Charles D'Ambrosia.
POETRY
On the last day of National Poetry Month I took my youngest to a poetry reading at our library by Keith Taylor. One line that struck me was "dancing under the temporary stars." In the car my daughter asked me what my favorite poem had been. I was embarassed to realize that they had all kind of run together for me but she had a list of her favorites which once she began numerating then jogged my own memory.
ART
I went to make a card for a friend's 30th birthday the other day. Once I got into my art space I started finding objects that all went together and ended up creating a wall hanging as a present. I do have a photo and I really must learn to transfer it off my camera, onto my computer and onto my blog. Really, it's on my list of things to do. It was so much fun to create. I had no real expectations, or very low ones- just gonna make a little card. No big deal. I'm thinking that low or no expectations might serve me in many other areas of my life too.
WRITING
I'm in the middle of another huge rewrite of this story, "Japanese for Butterfly." I thought I was at the point of reading it out loud and fine tuning the prose but earlier today it came to me that I need another scene which happens to be one I wrote in the first story. So I am merging the old story and new story into an even better story I hope. My goal is to finish it this week so I can start on the next story so I can have it ready for my writing group by May 20. I also want to make a list of journals to submit 3 different stories to, one that is 10,000 words. I thought I'd make a list one day, write cover letters the next, print out stories the next, label, stuff and mail the next. Baby steps since I really hate this part of the process.
QUOTE
"You can't write seriously without reading the greats in that particular way that writers read, attentive to the particularities of the language, to the technical turns and twists of scenemaking and plot, soaking up narrative strategies and studying various approaches to that cave in the deep woods where the human heart hibernates."
- Alan Cheuse
...that cave in the deep woods where the human heart hibernates... I love this!
I am about halfway through "Reading Like a Writer" by Francine Prose. She is really helping me to slow down and savor the sentences and word choices in my reading and my writing. And she is adding to my ever growing list of books to read, some by writers I've never heard of. Henry Green, anyone?
I just finished "The Knitting Circle" by Ann Hood. I felt rather voyeuristic as I read this novel, knowing how closely it mirrors her own experience. Her five-year-old daugher, Grace, died unexpectedly from complications from strep a few years ago. In the book a young daughter also dies and it is told from the perspective of the mother who finds herself learning to knit. The author also learned to knit when the usual comfort she found in writing and reading and language in general had left her after the loss of her daughter. I am not the sort of person who cries easily while reading but this one did it. It's every mom's worst nightmare. I've attempted to write stories that deal with the loss of a child in hopes of some kind of writerly magic preventing it from happening in reality as Kate Braverman once said but it is just too huge to grapple with. It gives such a raw incite into the grieving process that I read it almost with one eye closed, unable to watch it full on.
"Moral Disorder" by Margaret Atwood is another stunning book by this author. It is a series of interconnected stories that reveal the life of Nell as a child and adolescent into young adulthood through a complex relationship with Tig. The stories are structured in this sweeping arc of time that envelopes their lives. Carefully rendered, closely observed- trademarks of this writer.
Currently reading "The Dead Fish Museum," a story collection by Charles D'Ambrosia.
POETRY
On the last day of National Poetry Month I took my youngest to a poetry reading at our library by Keith Taylor. One line that struck me was "dancing under the temporary stars." In the car my daughter asked me what my favorite poem had been. I was embarassed to realize that they had all kind of run together for me but she had a list of her favorites which once she began numerating then jogged my own memory.
ART
I went to make a card for a friend's 30th birthday the other day. Once I got into my art space I started finding objects that all went together and ended up creating a wall hanging as a present. I do have a photo and I really must learn to transfer it off my camera, onto my computer and onto my blog. Really, it's on my list of things to do. It was so much fun to create. I had no real expectations, or very low ones- just gonna make a little card. No big deal. I'm thinking that low or no expectations might serve me in many other areas of my life too.
WRITING
I'm in the middle of another huge rewrite of this story, "Japanese for Butterfly." I thought I was at the point of reading it out loud and fine tuning the prose but earlier today it came to me that I need another scene which happens to be one I wrote in the first story. So I am merging the old story and new story into an even better story I hope. My goal is to finish it this week so I can start on the next story so I can have it ready for my writing group by May 20. I also want to make a list of journals to submit 3 different stories to, one that is 10,000 words. I thought I'd make a list one day, write cover letters the next, print out stories the next, label, stuff and mail the next. Baby steps since I really hate this part of the process.
QUOTE
"You can't write seriously without reading the greats in that particular way that writers read, attentive to the particularities of the language, to the technical turns and twists of scenemaking and plot, soaking up narrative strategies and studying various approaches to that cave in the deep woods where the human heart hibernates."
- Alan Cheuse
...that cave in the deep woods where the human heart hibernates... I love this!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
My Own Self-Guided MFA
WRITING
Well, it's a good thing I gave myself permission to not write one word while on vacation since that's basically what I did. Or what I didn't do. I admire the concept of writing everyday even at the beach or the ski slopes or wherever your vacation happens to take you. But in reality, sometimes I just need a break from it and am willing to suffer the consequences of that which is that I have to slog my way back into a piece of writing. Although sometimes I come back completely refreshed. Usually it's a combination of the two.
I find myself in this vicious cycle of having a really productive writing day then completely slacking off the next day. Not sure what that is about at all. I even leave myself a note on where to pick up the next day but still I avoid my desk for hours until I get so disgusted with myself that I finally pick up a pen or the mouse just to scribble something even if it's about how disgusted I am that I haven't written all day and lo and behold I am suddenly writing and back in the groove. It's a crazy crazy way to live which makes me believe in having to write and not just wanting to.
I did manage to finish a draft of a story for my group last weekend. It was supposed to be the second story in my collection but it is now the first and it just fits so perfectly there. This is easily the 14th or 15th revision of this particular story and I can tell that although it is very close to being done I probably have another 2 or 3 to go. But these are the fun revisions. It's the polishing of each paragraph and each sentence and validating each word choice. I am currently reading "Reading Like a Writer" by Francine Prose and she has me totally enraptured with language again- both my own and in the writing of others. She opens reading up into this whole new dimension. Which brings me to my current project. This is something I've been meaning to do for a while. It's my own self-guided MFA.
This is the plan. But first a little background...
I came to writing long after I already had a degree in art and began working as a graphic designer. Just when I decided to go back to school to pursue an English degree I found out that I was finally pregnant after trying for two years. So, of course, school gets put on hold. I kept a very tenuous thread connected to writing while my children were little through various workshops and classes. My life line ended up being a workshop through the Writers Voice called "MothersWrite." We gathered each week for two hours to write, talk about writing and how to combine that with motherhood. And they provided childcare. It was a dream come true. Once my youngest had entered precshool I took myself to the Starbucks around the corner and wrote for those 2-3 hours, filling notebooks with tons of what Natalie Goldberg calls writing practice. Characters began to emerge along with possible stories but I wasn't concerned with that, just with showing up to the page.
My real commtitment came once the girls entered school full time. Suddenly there were these seven hours a day that I had to myself. Much of the stories I have finished happened since then. Ron Carlson says that the first 20 stories you write are your apprenticeship. I have 29 that I can recall. Periodically I consider going back to school but that just isn't feasible now that we have two daughters, one only five years away from graduating high school and going off to college herself. So I ask myself what would an MFA give me besides the degree and the connections. 1. Time to write. I've already established that I have that. It's just a matter of using it much more productively than I currently am. 2. Feedback on my work. Well, I have that too. I am part of a committed writing group who provide not only encouragment but incredibly insightful and thoughtful comments that make me want to make my work even better. 3. Reading lists that lead to provocative discussions of classic and contemporary writers. Now I have that too. At least the reading list part. I went online and printed out a couple of MFA Reading Lists then cross checked it against my own extensive collection and came up with a reading plan that should keep me busy for quite awhile.
The plan is to finish the Francine Prose book. (Oh, how I wish I had her leaning over my shoulder as I read, pointing out every nuance of every sentence and word choice.) My hope is that by reading her book it will help make me a more careful reader. The next book will be "Master Class in Fiction Writing" by Adam Sexton. It's broken into elements of fiction accompanied by the story that helps illustrate that particular element of craft.
Story Structure: "Araby"
Characterization: "Sense and Sensibility"
Plot: "The Secret Sharer"
Description: "Rabbit, Run"
Dialogue: "A Severed Head"
POV I- Participant Narrators: "As I Lay Dying"
POV II- Exclusively Observant Narrators: "Beloved"
Style, Voice: "A Farewell to Arms"
The World of Story: "Lolita"
That should keep me busy for the next couple of years since I also plan on continuing with my own reading for pleasure. The main thing I am learning so far is to read much more slowly. To savor the sentences. When I was in art school I was great at the gesture drawings- sketches of live models that we did in one minute increments to warm up. I sturggled when it came time to develop those drawings, layer them with texture and details- very similar to writing. I've filled close to forty notebooks with writing practice which is a bunch of timed writings done- you guessed it- really fast. Now it's time to slow down in both my reading and my writing.
Well, it's a good thing I gave myself permission to not write one word while on vacation since that's basically what I did. Or what I didn't do. I admire the concept of writing everyday even at the beach or the ski slopes or wherever your vacation happens to take you. But in reality, sometimes I just need a break from it and am willing to suffer the consequences of that which is that I have to slog my way back into a piece of writing. Although sometimes I come back completely refreshed. Usually it's a combination of the two.
I find myself in this vicious cycle of having a really productive writing day then completely slacking off the next day. Not sure what that is about at all. I even leave myself a note on where to pick up the next day but still I avoid my desk for hours until I get so disgusted with myself that I finally pick up a pen or the mouse just to scribble something even if it's about how disgusted I am that I haven't written all day and lo and behold I am suddenly writing and back in the groove. It's a crazy crazy way to live which makes me believe in having to write and not just wanting to.
I did manage to finish a draft of a story for my group last weekend. It was supposed to be the second story in my collection but it is now the first and it just fits so perfectly there. This is easily the 14th or 15th revision of this particular story and I can tell that although it is very close to being done I probably have another 2 or 3 to go. But these are the fun revisions. It's the polishing of each paragraph and each sentence and validating each word choice. I am currently reading "Reading Like a Writer" by Francine Prose and she has me totally enraptured with language again- both my own and in the writing of others. She opens reading up into this whole new dimension. Which brings me to my current project. This is something I've been meaning to do for a while. It's my own self-guided MFA.
This is the plan. But first a little background...
I came to writing long after I already had a degree in art and began working as a graphic designer. Just when I decided to go back to school to pursue an English degree I found out that I was finally pregnant after trying for two years. So, of course, school gets put on hold. I kept a very tenuous thread connected to writing while my children were little through various workshops and classes. My life line ended up being a workshop through the Writers Voice called "MothersWrite." We gathered each week for two hours to write, talk about writing and how to combine that with motherhood. And they provided childcare. It was a dream come true. Once my youngest had entered precshool I took myself to the Starbucks around the corner and wrote for those 2-3 hours, filling notebooks with tons of what Natalie Goldberg calls writing practice. Characters began to emerge along with possible stories but I wasn't concerned with that, just with showing up to the page.
My real commtitment came once the girls entered school full time. Suddenly there were these seven hours a day that I had to myself. Much of the stories I have finished happened since then. Ron Carlson says that the first 20 stories you write are your apprenticeship. I have 29 that I can recall. Periodically I consider going back to school but that just isn't feasible now that we have two daughters, one only five years away from graduating high school and going off to college herself. So I ask myself what would an MFA give me besides the degree and the connections. 1. Time to write. I've already established that I have that. It's just a matter of using it much more productively than I currently am. 2. Feedback on my work. Well, I have that too. I am part of a committed writing group who provide not only encouragment but incredibly insightful and thoughtful comments that make me want to make my work even better. 3. Reading lists that lead to provocative discussions of classic and contemporary writers. Now I have that too. At least the reading list part. I went online and printed out a couple of MFA Reading Lists then cross checked it against my own extensive collection and came up with a reading plan that should keep me busy for quite awhile.
The plan is to finish the Francine Prose book. (Oh, how I wish I had her leaning over my shoulder as I read, pointing out every nuance of every sentence and word choice.) My hope is that by reading her book it will help make me a more careful reader. The next book will be "Master Class in Fiction Writing" by Adam Sexton. It's broken into elements of fiction accompanied by the story that helps illustrate that particular element of craft.
Story Structure: "Araby"
Characterization: "Sense and Sensibility"
Plot: "The Secret Sharer"
Description: "Rabbit, Run"
Dialogue: "A Severed Head"
POV I- Participant Narrators: "As I Lay Dying"
POV II- Exclusively Observant Narrators: "Beloved"
Style, Voice: "A Farewell to Arms"
The World of Story: "Lolita"
That should keep me busy for the next couple of years since I also plan on continuing with my own reading for pleasure. The main thing I am learning so far is to read much more slowly. To savor the sentences. When I was in art school I was great at the gesture drawings- sketches of live models that we did in one minute increments to warm up. I sturggled when it came time to develop those drawings, layer them with texture and details- very similar to writing. I've filled close to forty notebooks with writing practice which is a bunch of timed writings done- you guessed it- really fast. Now it's time to slow down in both my reading and my writing.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Apparently Walter Mosley Knows his Stuff
WRITING
Okay,okay, so Walter Mosley is on to something with this writing everyday thing so that the "continent of thought below your conscious mind" can work on the story. The book was available earlier than the date I saw on amazon. I ended up buying it a week and half ago and pretty much finished it in one sitting. It is a slim volume but full of sage advice from a writer who works at his craft. I found the third person narrative section especially helpful since that is an element I am curently struggling with. He states that "...we are viewing the world through the prism of the intelligent eye perched on Brent's shoulder, an intelligence without emotional response." That pretty much echoes what my writing group came up with when I read a passage from a short story that swings from a ten-year old girl's thoughts to an objective narrative voice within the same paragraph. They suggested that for it to work in my particular story that when the narrative voice is on, it can't include any of my usual metaphorical language. It's hard for me to do but it makes complete sense. I've been working on my story, even when I don't feel like it and finally it has fallen into some shape that feels right. And once that happened things from the first story fell into place. I'd wake up and think,"Oh, it's Barbie dolls in that scene, not baby dolls. And this scene needs to be moved from the second story to the first." And so on. So I am waking up like he said, further along in my story than when I left it the day before.
He also suggests that there is no vacation from writing. Literally. That you should write on the beach or wherever you happen to be. If you get a tooth pulled then put your character in a dentist's chair. Well... I leave for vacation tomorrow and I can pretty much guarantee you that I will not be writing everyday. Or maybe any day. I'll bring my notebooks and if I write anything that's something since I am giving myself permission to just not write for the next week. Does that make sense? With the pressue off, I am certain I will probably write at some point. Whereas if I demanded that I write everyday, well, that just wouldn't happen and I'd have the guilt on top of it.
READING
I am stunned that Oprah chose "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Thrilled but stunned. It is not her usual woman truimphs in the end sort of novel. Not by a long shot. I read this the day it came out practically and pretty much in one sitting. Could not put it down. I even underlined sentences as I read... they are that breathtkaing. Anyway, now that it's out in paperback, everyone should read it. Really, go buy. Read it. It's amazing.
Another book I couldn't put down was "Awake in the Dark" by Shira Nayman. These are short stories and a novella that explore the deeply held secret life of holocaust survivors, what they endured, what they had to do to survive and the toll it took on them and their children as the secrets eventually surface. Highly recommended.
I am currently reading "Moral Disorder" by Margaret Atwood. Will write on it when I finish. So so good...as usual.
NEWS
My piece is now on http://estellabooks.blogspot.com/2007/04/three-hundred-and-ninety-three-and.html. There are also interviews with a some great writers- Billy Collins, Sara Gruen.
The Altercations conference in Ann Arbor is open for registration today. I went last year and ended up creating two beautiful collages that are now hanging in my house. This year I am interested in two classes. One in image transfer and the other in painting and mixing colors to get vibrant lush backgrounds.
Just finished a logo and sign for a church out in Arizona. And my sister and I also designed some logo ideas for our other sister in Florida. That was fun.
We are off to Connecticut and Philadelphia tomorrow for spring break. It's not a warm beach but it is family and our daughters seem to prefer that. So, no more posts until the week of April 15. Now I get to go pick my books for the trip. I love that part of packing.
QUOTE
"The reader is always looking for two things in the novel: themsleves and transcendence."
- Walter Mosley
Okay,okay, so Walter Mosley is on to something with this writing everyday thing so that the "continent of thought below your conscious mind" can work on the story. The book was available earlier than the date I saw on amazon. I ended up buying it a week and half ago and pretty much finished it in one sitting. It is a slim volume but full of sage advice from a writer who works at his craft. I found the third person narrative section especially helpful since that is an element I am curently struggling with. He states that "...we are viewing the world through the prism of the intelligent eye perched on Brent's shoulder, an intelligence without emotional response." That pretty much echoes what my writing group came up with when I read a passage from a short story that swings from a ten-year old girl's thoughts to an objective narrative voice within the same paragraph. They suggested that for it to work in my particular story that when the narrative voice is on, it can't include any of my usual metaphorical language. It's hard for me to do but it makes complete sense. I've been working on my story, even when I don't feel like it and finally it has fallen into some shape that feels right. And once that happened things from the first story fell into place. I'd wake up and think,"Oh, it's Barbie dolls in that scene, not baby dolls. And this scene needs to be moved from the second story to the first." And so on. So I am waking up like he said, further along in my story than when I left it the day before.
He also suggests that there is no vacation from writing. Literally. That you should write on the beach or wherever you happen to be. If you get a tooth pulled then put your character in a dentist's chair. Well... I leave for vacation tomorrow and I can pretty much guarantee you that I will not be writing everyday. Or maybe any day. I'll bring my notebooks and if I write anything that's something since I am giving myself permission to just not write for the next week. Does that make sense? With the pressue off, I am certain I will probably write at some point. Whereas if I demanded that I write everyday, well, that just wouldn't happen and I'd have the guilt on top of it.
READING
I am stunned that Oprah chose "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. Thrilled but stunned. It is not her usual woman truimphs in the end sort of novel. Not by a long shot. I read this the day it came out practically and pretty much in one sitting. Could not put it down. I even underlined sentences as I read... they are that breathtkaing. Anyway, now that it's out in paperback, everyone should read it. Really, go buy. Read it. It's amazing.
Another book I couldn't put down was "Awake in the Dark" by Shira Nayman. These are short stories and a novella that explore the deeply held secret life of holocaust survivors, what they endured, what they had to do to survive and the toll it took on them and their children as the secrets eventually surface. Highly recommended.
I am currently reading "Moral Disorder" by Margaret Atwood. Will write on it when I finish. So so good...as usual.
NEWS
My piece is now on http://estellabooks.blogspot.com/2007/04/three-hundred-and-ninety-three-and.html. There are also interviews with a some great writers- Billy Collins, Sara Gruen.
The Altercations conference in Ann Arbor is open for registration today. I went last year and ended up creating two beautiful collages that are now hanging in my house. This year I am interested in two classes. One in image transfer and the other in painting and mixing colors to get vibrant lush backgrounds.
Just finished a logo and sign for a church out in Arizona. And my sister and I also designed some logo ideas for our other sister in Florida. That was fun.
We are off to Connecticut and Philadelphia tomorrow for spring break. It's not a warm beach but it is family and our daughters seem to prefer that. So, no more posts until the week of April 15. Now I get to go pick my books for the trip. I love that part of packing.
QUOTE
"The reader is always looking for two things in the novel: themsleves and transcendence."
- Walter Mosley
Thursday, March 29, 2007
An All Around Excellent Day
It's been an excellent writing day. Finally, finally, finally this second story in my collection fell into place. All the scenes fell into a new order that makes so much more sense and it feels inevitable. That has to be good, right? I just need to smooth out a few scenes, fill in a few gaps and send it off to my writing group for our next meeting. I'm sure they'll be grateful to see a new story. Same character but new story.
It's been an excellent library day. I checked out "Awake in the Dark" by Shira Nayman. It's a story collection that I've been eyeing at the bookstore for a while. And "Blind Submission" by Debra Ginsberg which is a novel set in the bookstore/publishing business.
And it's been an excellent bookstore day. I got the new CD by Amy Winehouse. It's playing now. She has this great phrase in the third song "What kind of f**kery is this?" I think it could catch on... Plus a book called "Writer Mama" by Christina Katz which I think is probably aimed at moms with kids younger than mine but it looks like she has some great tips for breaking into magazine writing which is something I want to do. I also bought the latest issue of a magazine out of the UK called "Psychologies." It's one of the few magazines where I read practically every aricle.
And I cleaned up our art studio in the basement. Now that it's a bit more organized maybe that will entice to go make some art.
So, yes, all in all an excellent day so far... Bring on the evening of homework, dinner and negotiating the inevitable sibling rivalry...
It's been an excellent library day. I checked out "Awake in the Dark" by Shira Nayman. It's a story collection that I've been eyeing at the bookstore for a while. And "Blind Submission" by Debra Ginsberg which is a novel set in the bookstore/publishing business.
And it's been an excellent bookstore day. I got the new CD by Amy Winehouse. It's playing now. She has this great phrase in the third song "What kind of f**kery is this?" I think it could catch on... Plus a book called "Writer Mama" by Christina Katz which I think is probably aimed at moms with kids younger than mine but it looks like she has some great tips for breaking into magazine writing which is something I want to do. I also bought the latest issue of a magazine out of the UK called "Psychologies." It's one of the few magazines where I read practically every aricle.
And I cleaned up our art studio in the basement. Now that it's a bit more organized maybe that will entice to go make some art.
So, yes, all in all an excellent day so far... Bring on the evening of homework, dinner and negotiating the inevitable sibling rivalry...
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Update
Not only was it a productive morning but I already heard back from the editor of the blog where I submitted my piece and they loved it. It will appear at http://www.estellasrevenge.com in April. Very cool... I am becoming more of a believer in just showing up and writing regardless of my current frame of mind- or lack thereof.
Well, that was productive
It is now 9:08. I wrote my morning pages which actually helped shed some light on why I haven't been writing like I want to. I finished the mysteries piece and submitted it to the blog editor. And I've been working on the second story in my novel-in-stories. I just scratched out a rough outline of a new sequence of scenes and it looks like I might end up combining the first two stories into one. I tried doing that before but something always prevented it. It still might but it feels good to be working on it. And the voice seems to be coming through this time. We'll see... it's way to soon to tell at this point.
Anyway... all in all quite a productive morning so far.
Anyway... all in all quite a productive morning so far.
Something New Today
I read on a blog, which is now on hiatus, about this writing accountability group. They all signed on at say 7 pm after posting their goal for that writing period earlier in the day. They all then proceeded to write for the allotted time, maybe 2 hours then checked back in with their results. It looked quite successful. So I am trying that this morning. It is 7:24 and I am committing to writing for at least the next hour. Longer if my daughter sleeps in. The only reason I can do this now is because she is home sick again. She's missed the whole week of school. My goal is to write my 3 morning pages and revise my "It's a Mystery" piece. I'll post again when I am done.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
This Thing They Call Process
I've been a bit obsessed about this thing referred to as the creative process.( Just ask my writing group.) It probably stems from the fact that I haven't been truly engaged in it in a while. I came to that conclusion because the days seem to slip though my fingers without me ever picking up a pen or tapping these keys. But I mull it over, this whole process thing. A lot. So my look on the bright side, the glass is half full new conclusion is that these black holes of non-productivity are actually part of my process. Not a part I necessarily enjoy but a part nonetheless. And this blog which is here to reflect on the creative process- well the black holes between entries tell a story in themselves, don't they? You could assume that I am furiously writing my way through my novel-in-stories when, in fact, I am totally stumped by the first story. And I do mean stumped. (Again, just ask my writing group.) I am trying to write in a third person voice of an eight-year-old girl but also have this objective narrator available for those things that she just isn't able to tell in her own voice. If anyone has any reading suggestions for that I am totally open. The only story I've come across so far is "Bocci" by Renee Manfredi and I am dissecting it line by line.
Another thing that leads to this not writing business is that I do not have to work outside the home. I have been beyond blessed in that regard. I do some freelance graphic design work but for the most part my days are wide open, except for days like this week when my daughter is home sick. I have put this pressure on myself that a real writer with a day wide open like mine will slide effortlessly toward her computer and sit there for a good 5-6 hours writing her novel. I don't know where I got this idea. I have met one writer who claims to do that. I won't mention her by name because I do enjoy her books but still, I think we are allowed to hate her just a bit. But all the other writers I know and have read interviews with, well, that's just not reality. All the blogs I find, they discuss this dark side of writing and I realize that if I am to keep an honest account of my creative life, then I need to disclose this side too. And accept that it is just part of living a creative life.
NEWS
Received form email rejection from "The Missouri Review" for "Being Franny's Sister"- Kind of disappointing since I have gotten some very encouraging handwritten notes from them in the past and this is my best story to date.
Walter Mosley has a new book coming out on April 3 called "This Year you Write Your Novel"- It looks amazing. There's an excerpt in the current issue of "Poets & Writers." I plan on reading it on our 12 hour road trip to CT over Easter.
Anne Lamott has a new book that came out yesterday. More spiritual essays. Can't wait to read it.
GOALS
• Send out "Being Franny's Sister" and "Small Gestures of Violence" to five journals each before my writing group meets again on April 22.
• Revise the second story in my collection "Japanese for Butterfly" for April 22.
• Revise and submit piece on mystery for http://www.estellabooks.blogspot.com/ by March 25.
QUOTE
"The first and most important thing you have to know about writing is that it is something you must do everyday...Some days you may be rewriting, rereading, or just sitting there scrolling back and forth through the text. This is enough to bring you back into the dream of your story. What, you ask, is the dream of a story? This is a mood and a continent of thought below your conscious mind; a place that you get closer to with each foray into the words and worlds of your novel. You may have only spent an hour and a half working on the book, but the rest of the day will be rife with motive moments in your unconsciousness; moments in your mind, which is mulling over the places your words have touched. While you sleep, mountains are moving deep within your psyche. When you wake up and return to the book, you are amazed by the realization that you are farther along than when you left off yesterday. If you skip a day or more between your writing sessions, your mind will drift away from these deep moments of your story. You will find that you'll have to slog back to a place that would have been easily attained if only you wrote everyday."
From Walter Mosely's new book. I printed it out and taped it over my desk.
Another thing that leads to this not writing business is that I do not have to work outside the home. I have been beyond blessed in that regard. I do some freelance graphic design work but for the most part my days are wide open, except for days like this week when my daughter is home sick. I have put this pressure on myself that a real writer with a day wide open like mine will slide effortlessly toward her computer and sit there for a good 5-6 hours writing her novel. I don't know where I got this idea. I have met one writer who claims to do that. I won't mention her by name because I do enjoy her books but still, I think we are allowed to hate her just a bit. But all the other writers I know and have read interviews with, well, that's just not reality. All the blogs I find, they discuss this dark side of writing and I realize that if I am to keep an honest account of my creative life, then I need to disclose this side too. And accept that it is just part of living a creative life.
NEWS
Received form email rejection from "The Missouri Review" for "Being Franny's Sister"- Kind of disappointing since I have gotten some very encouraging handwritten notes from them in the past and this is my best story to date.
Walter Mosley has a new book coming out on April 3 called "This Year you Write Your Novel"- It looks amazing. There's an excerpt in the current issue of "Poets & Writers." I plan on reading it on our 12 hour road trip to CT over Easter.
Anne Lamott has a new book that came out yesterday. More spiritual essays. Can't wait to read it.
GOALS
• Send out "Being Franny's Sister" and "Small Gestures of Violence" to five journals each before my writing group meets again on April 22.
• Revise the second story in my collection "Japanese for Butterfly" for April 22.
• Revise and submit piece on mystery for http://www.estellabooks.blogspot.com/ by March 25.
QUOTE
"The first and most important thing you have to know about writing is that it is something you must do everyday...Some days you may be rewriting, rereading, or just sitting there scrolling back and forth through the text. This is enough to bring you back into the dream of your story. What, you ask, is the dream of a story? This is a mood and a continent of thought below your conscious mind; a place that you get closer to with each foray into the words and worlds of your novel. You may have only spent an hour and a half working on the book, but the rest of the day will be rife with motive moments in your unconsciousness; moments in your mind, which is mulling over the places your words have touched. While you sleep, mountains are moving deep within your psyche. When you wake up and return to the book, you are amazed by the realization that you are farther along than when you left off yesterday. If you skip a day or more between your writing sessions, your mind will drift away from these deep moments of your story. You will find that you'll have to slog back to a place that would have been easily attained if only you wrote everyday."
From Walter Mosely's new book. I printed it out and taped it over my desk.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
The Process of Dead Ends
WRITING PROCESS
Much more reading than writing lately. Although I have been writing. Working on the same first story of my novel-in-stories. After doing about eleven revisions where I was sure that the first two stories needed to be together I finally realized that, in fact, they did not belong together. At all. not even close. A huge lesson in dead ends and process. It really has to be about enjoying the process of dreaming up these characters and becoming completely fascinated by what they will do next even if they lead me on ten wild goose chses so that I end up almost exactly where I started. At one point I had index cards with scenes from both stories spread out all over the floor of my office trying all different sequences. It was then that I ralized tha everytime I hit a wall it was when I tried merging the stories. So I sent them off to their separate corners and feel like i am back on track. Good thing too since I need to submit something to my group this week.
We had a snow day last week and my new "Poets & Writers" showed up. Perfect timing. There is an article in there by Wlater Mosely on the importance of writing every day. All writers have their opinion on this. Some are on board, others scoff and others are militant in their committment. I believe in the theory but do not necessarily practice it. But I do believe it is a huge help. This is why: it keeps you connected to your story. To your characters. To your voice. I know that when I go days without writing my voice feels rusted, stiff, and oh so tentative. And I spend much of my writing time berating myself for falling off the wagon in the first place. Also, it's a matter of effort. Think of how much energy it takes to launch a rocket versus just letting it do its thing out in space. If I keep writing, every day, I don't have to re-launch my voice or story every single time I sit down to write. The other little perk is that once you work on your story that day, and this means actually writing down words, sentences, even paragraphs, then your mind is open to the story even when you aren't at your desk. I find this happens all the time. Once I am in that writing groove then the characters are with me constantly, as I work out, run errands, do the laundry or dishes and most importantly in those in twilight zones between sleep and wakefulness.
READING
Yes. Lots and lots of reading lately. Not only did we have a snow day but we had a four day weekend for President's Day. "The Long Haul" was amazing. I read it in less than a day. We have the girlfriend telling the story of her realtionship with her boyfriend only referred to as "The Alcoholic." They are both lost and broken and try so hard to be together until it becomes impossible.
My youngest daughter is reading historical fiction for a book report so I read that in a day just so I could help her if needed. It was "Lily's Crossing" set in WWII.
I read all three memoirs by Jennifer Lauck. The first two, "Blackbird" and "Still Waters" tell the story of her childhood and the devestating losses she endured. She tells it in the first person, present tense. The last one, "Show Me the Way" is about motherhood and she weaves together her experiences as a mother with her childhood memories. If you want a book about motherhood that tells the truth, then this it. It reminds me of "Operating Instructions' by Anne Lamott.
"Life As We Knew It" is a young adult book about the end of life as we know it. A meteor has hit the moon and knocked it out of orbit causing cataclysmic weather patterns that result in tsunamis that wipe out both coasts, long dormant volcanoes erupt filling the air with a thick gray ash and it goes on from there. Gas is twelve dollars a gallon. School is closed. The story is told in journal entries by 16-year-old Miranda who yearns for normalcy and struggles with her family in this new world wondering if this is a new kind of normal.
"Happiness" (it is trademarked) is a hilarious and astute satire of publishing and the whole self-help industry. The premise began with the question "What if a self-help book finally worked?" Well, in this book, one does and the results are not what you'd expect which leads me to wonder what is the point of all the self-help and self-actualization. What if we do reach whatever vague promise of our best selves is out there, then what? Isn't life all about the process including all the messiness. Especially the messiness? It's ironic that I read this just after reading the latest self-help phenomenon, "The Secret." It's all about the Law of Attractions and how we are all just energy and energy attracts like energy. If you send out good energy you get good stuff back. Bad energy gets you bad stuff. That's a simplistic version but there it is. it's intriguing and the book is filled with examples of people who have literally changed their lives with a new thought pattern, even curing themsleves of disease. The problem I have with that is what about those who don't cure themselves? Does that mean they are weak minded? That they brought it on themselves through their thoughts? Do they really need to blame themselves on top of everything else they are going through? I don't know.... there is something fascinating in the theory but also slightly disturbing.
CREATIVITY
Katie and I went to Scrap Tales yesterday. I wasn't going to buy anthing but that's like me going into a bookstore and not buying a book. It's happened but not very often. I don't scrapbook but I find lots of supplies for my collages. They had some special paper and gel for doing transfers which I've been trying to do for a year now. Hopefully this technique works. Once I decided to buy that I began looking for more cool stuff and I found it. Lots of beautiful papers and stamps and rub on transfers. So instead of watching TV last night, the girls and I went down to our art studio in the basement and made some art. I pulled out my artist journal and was saddened to see that the last page I did was in October. What I love about it is that I do enjoy the process. Usually, I am not creating these collages for anyone but me. It's interesting to start with nothing and just let my intuition guide me. What I don't like about it is trying to keep track of all my supplies and finding what I need when I need it.
Made a big pot of vegetable soup with Katie. She decided we should add some chicken to it so she sauteed some in olive oil with garlic and seasoned it with smoked paprika, rosemary and just a pinch of cinnamon she said. So cute. And so helpful to have a daughter who likes to cook.
NEWS
I got into the Kenyon Review Workshop in advanced fiction with Ron Carlson. I am so so excited. He is an amazing writer and teacher. It is for seven days in June.
My story, "You Are Here' is now in the archives at literarymama.com.
Received a rejection from MAR for "Small Gestures of Violence." That is the story that got me into the Carlson workshop. Not sure if I will just send it out again or maybe wait for his comments.
I need to check on the status of a submission at "The Missouri Review."
I leave for Phoenix in eight days. Just me, staying at my best friend's house out there in the sunshine and warmth for about six days. Can't wait!!
My sister is selling beautiful hand made jewelry at etsy.com. Look for her at hiptomylu! I'll have to post a photo of the bracelet she made just for me at Christmas. I told her that if I had seen a thousand bracelets that would have been the one I selected myself.
QUOTE
"I find that I have to write in order to discover my ideas. I think you could allow yourself to never get started if you tried to guess in advance what was going to inspire you." - Jay McInerney
Much more reading than writing lately. Although I have been writing. Working on the same first story of my novel-in-stories. After doing about eleven revisions where I was sure that the first two stories needed to be together I finally realized that, in fact, they did not belong together. At all. not even close. A huge lesson in dead ends and process. It really has to be about enjoying the process of dreaming up these characters and becoming completely fascinated by what they will do next even if they lead me on ten wild goose chses so that I end up almost exactly where I started. At one point I had index cards with scenes from both stories spread out all over the floor of my office trying all different sequences. It was then that I ralized tha everytime I hit a wall it was when I tried merging the stories. So I sent them off to their separate corners and feel like i am back on track. Good thing too since I need to submit something to my group this week.
We had a snow day last week and my new "Poets & Writers" showed up. Perfect timing. There is an article in there by Wlater Mosely on the importance of writing every day. All writers have their opinion on this. Some are on board, others scoff and others are militant in their committment. I believe in the theory but do not necessarily practice it. But I do believe it is a huge help. This is why: it keeps you connected to your story. To your characters. To your voice. I know that when I go days without writing my voice feels rusted, stiff, and oh so tentative. And I spend much of my writing time berating myself for falling off the wagon in the first place. Also, it's a matter of effort. Think of how much energy it takes to launch a rocket versus just letting it do its thing out in space. If I keep writing, every day, I don't have to re-launch my voice or story every single time I sit down to write. The other little perk is that once you work on your story that day, and this means actually writing down words, sentences, even paragraphs, then your mind is open to the story even when you aren't at your desk. I find this happens all the time. Once I am in that writing groove then the characters are with me constantly, as I work out, run errands, do the laundry or dishes and most importantly in those in twilight zones between sleep and wakefulness.
READING
Yes. Lots and lots of reading lately. Not only did we have a snow day but we had a four day weekend for President's Day. "The Long Haul" was amazing. I read it in less than a day. We have the girlfriend telling the story of her realtionship with her boyfriend only referred to as "The Alcoholic." They are both lost and broken and try so hard to be together until it becomes impossible.
My youngest daughter is reading historical fiction for a book report so I read that in a day just so I could help her if needed. It was "Lily's Crossing" set in WWII.
I read all three memoirs by Jennifer Lauck. The first two, "Blackbird" and "Still Waters" tell the story of her childhood and the devestating losses she endured. She tells it in the first person, present tense. The last one, "Show Me the Way" is about motherhood and she weaves together her experiences as a mother with her childhood memories. If you want a book about motherhood that tells the truth, then this it. It reminds me of "Operating Instructions' by Anne Lamott.
"Life As We Knew It" is a young adult book about the end of life as we know it. A meteor has hit the moon and knocked it out of orbit causing cataclysmic weather patterns that result in tsunamis that wipe out both coasts, long dormant volcanoes erupt filling the air with a thick gray ash and it goes on from there. Gas is twelve dollars a gallon. School is closed. The story is told in journal entries by 16-year-old Miranda who yearns for normalcy and struggles with her family in this new world wondering if this is a new kind of normal.
"Happiness" (it is trademarked) is a hilarious and astute satire of publishing and the whole self-help industry. The premise began with the question "What if a self-help book finally worked?" Well, in this book, one does and the results are not what you'd expect which leads me to wonder what is the point of all the self-help and self-actualization. What if we do reach whatever vague promise of our best selves is out there, then what? Isn't life all about the process including all the messiness. Especially the messiness? It's ironic that I read this just after reading the latest self-help phenomenon, "The Secret." It's all about the Law of Attractions and how we are all just energy and energy attracts like energy. If you send out good energy you get good stuff back. Bad energy gets you bad stuff. That's a simplistic version but there it is. it's intriguing and the book is filled with examples of people who have literally changed their lives with a new thought pattern, even curing themsleves of disease. The problem I have with that is what about those who don't cure themselves? Does that mean they are weak minded? That they brought it on themselves through their thoughts? Do they really need to blame themselves on top of everything else they are going through? I don't know.... there is something fascinating in the theory but also slightly disturbing.
CREATIVITY
Katie and I went to Scrap Tales yesterday. I wasn't going to buy anthing but that's like me going into a bookstore and not buying a book. It's happened but not very often. I don't scrapbook but I find lots of supplies for my collages. They had some special paper and gel for doing transfers which I've been trying to do for a year now. Hopefully this technique works. Once I decided to buy that I began looking for more cool stuff and I found it. Lots of beautiful papers and stamps and rub on transfers. So instead of watching TV last night, the girls and I went down to our art studio in the basement and made some art. I pulled out my artist journal and was saddened to see that the last page I did was in October. What I love about it is that I do enjoy the process. Usually, I am not creating these collages for anyone but me. It's interesting to start with nothing and just let my intuition guide me. What I don't like about it is trying to keep track of all my supplies and finding what I need when I need it.
Made a big pot of vegetable soup with Katie. She decided we should add some chicken to it so she sauteed some in olive oil with garlic and seasoned it with smoked paprika, rosemary and just a pinch of cinnamon she said. So cute. And so helpful to have a daughter who likes to cook.
NEWS
I got into the Kenyon Review Workshop in advanced fiction with Ron Carlson. I am so so excited. He is an amazing writer and teacher. It is for seven days in June.
My story, "You Are Here' is now in the archives at literarymama.com.
Received a rejection from MAR for "Small Gestures of Violence." That is the story that got me into the Carlson workshop. Not sure if I will just send it out again or maybe wait for his comments.
I need to check on the status of a submission at "The Missouri Review."
I leave for Phoenix in eight days. Just me, staying at my best friend's house out there in the sunshine and warmth for about six days. Can't wait!!
My sister is selling beautiful hand made jewelry at etsy.com. Look for her at hiptomylu! I'll have to post a photo of the bracelet she made just for me at Christmas. I told her that if I had seen a thousand bracelets that would have been the one I selected myself.
QUOTE
"I find that I have to write in order to discover my ideas. I think you could allow yourself to never get started if you tried to guess in advance what was going to inspire you." - Jay McInerney
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Once there was a plan....
I had a plan. A plan that had me reading from my stacks at quite a steady pace. The momentum came from the fact that I was reading books that although I enjoyed them, they didn't have a place in my permanent library. So my husband was going to take them out to Arizona with him in his truck and trade them in at my most favorite independent bookstore in the country- Changing Hands in Tempe. Since I am going out there at the end of February I could then use my store credit to- yes- buy more books. Which I know kind of defeats the whole purpose of reading from my stacks. Alas, the plan was not to be. Due to the freaky winter weather that has zapped much of the country, my husband did not drive out to Arizona but instead he flew out which did nothing to further my whole book scheme. But I am still reading from my stacks. An update:
"Red Plaid Shirt" by Diane Schoemperlen- I loved the unique structure of these short stories. The title story is written in parts, each starting with an item of clothing and going into memories surrounding it, in a second person voice. Each one ends with a kind of stream of consciousness medition on the color. Every story has its own structure that holds it together. It gave me many ideas to try in my own writing.
"Sugar Cage" by Connie May Fowler- I remember buying this shortly after her other novel had been chosen for the Oprah Book Club but I never got around to reading it. I thought it would be end up being a typical Oprah book but it was not. The story hums with magic and a certain lushness that places you in Florida during turbulent political times when Matin Luther King rises and falls. Each chapter is told through a different voice and through each story you come to see how they are connected. I love the empathy she shows for each character whether it's a reluctant seer of tragedies or a man who cheats and abuses his wife.
"The Novelist" by Angela Hunt- I know some writers who dismiss books about writers out of hand. Not me. I am drawn to them. So obviously a book titled "The Novelist" would catch my attention. I didn't realize at the time that she is a Christian novelist. I know some would also dismiss such a book on that basis alone but I chose to stick with it and read it. I am trying to stretch my reading this year beyond my usual comfort zone. It ended up being a story within a story. Or rather a parable within a story. I can appreciate that structure. The novel led me to think about how we conceive of our characters or stories. I tend to start with characters and I discover what their stories are. This book felt like she had a theme she wanted to explore so she invented characters that could do that for her. Not necessarily my way of writing but hey, she has 17 books under her belt. Gotta respect that. One thing I took away was the idea of using a JC Penny or Sears catlog to get a visual of your character. Sometimes I picture actors as my characters. Having a concrete image of your character can only help the story.
I am also reading "The Best Short Stories of the Century." A few each week.
And I am reading "The Sincerest Form, Writing Fiction by Imitation" by Nicholas Delbanco. I think this could possibly be the best book on writing I've come across- and I've come across hundreds.
"Red Plaid Shirt" by Diane Schoemperlen- I loved the unique structure of these short stories. The title story is written in parts, each starting with an item of clothing and going into memories surrounding it, in a second person voice. Each one ends with a kind of stream of consciousness medition on the color. Every story has its own structure that holds it together. It gave me many ideas to try in my own writing.
"Sugar Cage" by Connie May Fowler- I remember buying this shortly after her other novel had been chosen for the Oprah Book Club but I never got around to reading it. I thought it would be end up being a typical Oprah book but it was not. The story hums with magic and a certain lushness that places you in Florida during turbulent political times when Matin Luther King rises and falls. Each chapter is told through a different voice and through each story you come to see how they are connected. I love the empathy she shows for each character whether it's a reluctant seer of tragedies or a man who cheats and abuses his wife.
"The Novelist" by Angela Hunt- I know some writers who dismiss books about writers out of hand. Not me. I am drawn to them. So obviously a book titled "The Novelist" would catch my attention. I didn't realize at the time that she is a Christian novelist. I know some would also dismiss such a book on that basis alone but I chose to stick with it and read it. I am trying to stretch my reading this year beyond my usual comfort zone. It ended up being a story within a story. Or rather a parable within a story. I can appreciate that structure. The novel led me to think about how we conceive of our characters or stories. I tend to start with characters and I discover what their stories are. This book felt like she had a theme she wanted to explore so she invented characters that could do that for her. Not necessarily my way of writing but hey, she has 17 books under her belt. Gotta respect that. One thing I took away was the idea of using a JC Penny or Sears catlog to get a visual of your character. Sometimes I picture actors as my characters. Having a concrete image of your character can only help the story.
I am also reading "The Best Short Stories of the Century." A few each week.
And I am reading "The Sincerest Form, Writing Fiction by Imitation" by Nicholas Delbanco. I think this could possibly be the best book on writing I've come across- and I've come across hundreds.
Monday, January 15, 2007
A slightly dysfunctional relationship
I am in a slightly dysfunctional relationship. It's not with my husband, kids, family or friends- well, most of the time it's not. No, it's with publishing my writing. I work so hard at my craft and spend so much time researching journals to submit my work to so I obviously want this, right? And the few acceptances I've gotten- well, my family has come running into my office to see what all the commotion was about.
So I had this story posted on www.iterarymama.com last week. I spent all day checking to see if it was up yet although I knew it wouldn't be until much later in the evening so obviously there's some excitement going on. Then, finally it's there. There's my name with a link to my story. I click on it and there it is on the freakin' world wide web, for the whole freakin' world to see. What was I thinking? I felt like I was caught outside naked or worse, in high school naked. It's this odd other side of writing. As a writer I am a fairly private person. I mean I sit in a room basically daydreaming all day and trying to get those daydreams down onto paper or the screen. But when a piece is published suddenly all those private thoughts are plastered out there for anyone to see and interpret as they see fit. It's a little disconcerting. A tad unsettling. Especially when people read things into it that I hadn't intended or I apparently reveal things I hadn't intended. I'm not whining or complaining, really. I am beyond grateful to those editors who saw something in my stories that made them want to publish them. I guess I am still struggling to navigate this tricky balance between public and private.
So I had this story posted on www.iterarymama.com last week. I spent all day checking to see if it was up yet although I knew it wouldn't be until much later in the evening so obviously there's some excitement going on. Then, finally it's there. There's my name with a link to my story. I click on it and there it is on the freakin' world wide web, for the whole freakin' world to see. What was I thinking? I felt like I was caught outside naked or worse, in high school naked. It's this odd other side of writing. As a writer I am a fairly private person. I mean I sit in a room basically daydreaming all day and trying to get those daydreams down onto paper or the screen. But when a piece is published suddenly all those private thoughts are plastered out there for anyone to see and interpret as they see fit. It's a little disconcerting. A tad unsettling. Especially when people read things into it that I hadn't intended or I apparently reveal things I hadn't intended. I'm not whining or complaining, really. I am beyond grateful to those editors who saw something in my stories that made them want to publish them. I guess I am still struggling to navigate this tricky balance between public and private.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
An Infinitesimal Dent
That's what I've made in my stacks and stacks of books. Here's a quick recap of the books I've read lately which I guess means since my last post, which was, yes, almost a month ago:
"Blue Water" by A. Manette Ansay
"Reasons to Live" by Amy Hempel (reminds me of Raymond Carver)
"The Winter Without Milk" by Jane Avrich (lush, dark and magical)
"Grayson" by Lynne Cox
"Grass Roof, Tin Roof" by Dao Strom (beautifully structured)
"The Breakdown Lane" by Jacquelyn Mitchard
"Me & Emma" by Elizabeth Flock
"As Simple as Snow" by Gregory Galloway (good story)
"The Big Book of Bright Ideas" by Sandra Kring (a little too predicatble for me)
"Parasites Like Us" by Adam Johnson (oddly creepy especially in this age of bird flu)
"What to Wear to See the Pope" by Christine Lehner
That's actually a lot of reading when you throw in the holidays and, you know, life and stuff.
My writing group decided to lay out some writing/publishing goals for the year so that we can encourage/support/nag each other into accomplishing them. It ended up being a great exercise for me. I have tons of stories that have been workshopped over the last few years but need that final revision before sending them out into the world. The biggest project is this novel-in-stories. So I mapped out a month-by-month plan to revise, workshop, revise again and send out the stories one by one. It takes me all the way to November at which point I plan on looking for an agent.
The other part of my goals involved daily, weekly and monthly quotas. Three morning pages a day. A new story or draft every two weeks. Filling a notebook a month with writing practice. So far, so good. I was able to cross the first thing off my list which was finally finishing "Being Franny's Sister" and sending it out. I did that on Monday. Now I'm working on the first story in my collection. It's turning out to be a major revision.
My story "You Are Here" should be posted to www.literarymama.com sometime today. Check it out- the story and the whole site.
"Blue Water" by A. Manette Ansay
"Reasons to Live" by Amy Hempel (reminds me of Raymond Carver)
"The Winter Without Milk" by Jane Avrich (lush, dark and magical)
"Grayson" by Lynne Cox
"Grass Roof, Tin Roof" by Dao Strom (beautifully structured)
"The Breakdown Lane" by Jacquelyn Mitchard
"Me & Emma" by Elizabeth Flock
"As Simple as Snow" by Gregory Galloway (good story)
"The Big Book of Bright Ideas" by Sandra Kring (a little too predicatble for me)
"Parasites Like Us" by Adam Johnson (oddly creepy especially in this age of bird flu)
"What to Wear to See the Pope" by Christine Lehner
That's actually a lot of reading when you throw in the holidays and, you know, life and stuff.
My writing group decided to lay out some writing/publishing goals for the year so that we can encourage/support/nag each other into accomplishing them. It ended up being a great exercise for me. I have tons of stories that have been workshopped over the last few years but need that final revision before sending them out into the world. The biggest project is this novel-in-stories. So I mapped out a month-by-month plan to revise, workshop, revise again and send out the stories one by one. It takes me all the way to November at which point I plan on looking for an agent.
The other part of my goals involved daily, weekly and monthly quotas. Three morning pages a day. A new story or draft every two weeks. Filling a notebook a month with writing practice. So far, so good. I was able to cross the first thing off my list which was finally finishing "Being Franny's Sister" and sending it out. I did that on Monday. Now I'm working on the first story in my collection. It's turning out to be a major revision.
My story "You Are Here" should be posted to www.literarymama.com sometime today. Check it out- the story and the whole site.
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