Write On Wednesday: Writing Style Meme

I was a strange little girl - I loved homework.  I still recall the bitter disappointment on my first day of kindergarten when the teacher did not give us books to take home or a homework assignment to complete.  This week's Write On Wednesday is to placate my inner child, who's been awakened by all the back to school advertising and the plethora of school supplies in every store. It's an assignment!  Answer the following questions about your writing habits/style.

Goodie!

Wait, I have to get some clean paper... and sharpen my pencil...hang on, maybe I'll use this notebook instead, the one with the pretty purple cover...

O-kaaay...I'll get to work now.

1. Do you write fiction or non-fiction?  Or both?  I actually do write both, although I've always considered myself more of a non-fiction writer.  I have fun dabbling in fiction, especially at NaNoWriMo time!
2. Do you keep a journal or a writing notebook?  I write morning pages quite religioiusly, and use ordinary spiral notebooks you buy in the Walgreen's.  I kept a separate notebook for the last novella I wrote, with divided sections for research, ideas for plot and character development.
3.  If you write fiction, do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing? Do you find books on plotting useful or harmful?  In the two novellas I've written, I had a pretty good idea of the characters goals and motivations.  As I wrote, some rather surprising things turned up, and they were so interesting I decided to use them.
4.  Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?  Sigh.  Mostly a procrastinator.  But when I do make it to the page, I can go on for hours.
5. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time? .  See above.  However, if I'm pressed for time, sometimes I get a lot done because I know I don't have the luxury of doodling around.
6. Are you a morning or afternoon writer? Definitely morning.  Or late night.  Not much in between, which is usually reserved for the detritus of everyday life.
7. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?  I really need SILENCE.  Have to have it.
8. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?) Mostly good old Microsoft word.  If I write longhand, I get going so fast the writing becomes illegible.
9. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One?  Or do you let the story evolve as you write?  I ususally think I know the ending - but it seems like it often surprises me!
10. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?  Not really.  I think I write the kind of things I like to read, in my fiction and non-fiction - stories about real women facing real life situations and emotions. 
11. Editing/Revision - love it or hate it?   Hate it.  Scared to death of it.  Desperately need help with it.  Sigh.

If you'd like to be part of the class, go on over to Write On Wednesday and join in :)

Writing Style Meme

The first day of school is fast approaching, isn't it?  The stores are full of shiny new notebooks and pens, and I find it hard to resist scooping up huge assortments of everything I see. In fond memory of school days, with homework pages of questions to answer, this week's Write On Wednesday is in the form of a questionaire.  So, take out a fresh sheet of paper, (don't forget to put your name and today's date in the top right hand corner!) and answer these questions please.  Completed assignments may be posted on your blog, or in the comments below.

Begin!

1. Do you write fiction or non-fiction?  Or both?
2. Do you keep a journal or a writing notebook? 
3.  If you write fiction, do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing? Do you find books on plotting useful or harmful?
4.  Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
5. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time? .
6. Are you a morning or afternoon writer? 
7. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?
8. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)
9. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One?  Or do you let the story evolve as you write?
10. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?
11. Editing/Revision - love it or hate it?

Group Effort

Earlier this summer I listented to an audio book called Hidden Talents, a novel about a rather disparate bunch of people who come together via a little writer's group at a local bookshop.  Over the course of a year or so, not only do they become better writers (one even gets a book published!), but they become fast friends, learning from each other about plot and characterization, but also about life, love, and family relationships. So I've been thinking longingly about a writer's group, wishing I could find such a band of hearty souls with whom to share words and wisdom.  Now, don't be offended - of course all my blogging friends are priceless! But actually meeting face to face with other writers would add an entirely new dimension to the experience. I've never had a writing friend, but I've certainly had lots of musical friends.  Working together creatively to achieve a common goal is exciting and energizing, and I'd really love to bring that dynamic into my writing practice.

So I was quite excited earlier this week when I saw a flyer posted in my favorite local coffee house:

First Cup  Writer's Group, Sunday 2:30 p.m.

Open to all fledgling writers

Bring 2-3 pages of something you're working on to share

We'll also be discussing Elmore Leonard's book, Rules for Writing

Yes! I thought, initially filled with enthusiasm.  I certainly have some pages I could share.  And I love First Cup - my favorite barista, Amy, is a writer, so I assumed she was responsible for starting this group.  Then the doubts set in.  But what if they're all much better than I?  What if they're pompous and sarcastic and nitpicky and mean...

When Sunday afternoon rolled around,  I had talked myself in and out of going about five times.  As I was dithering around the house, my husband wisely suggested I casually head over to First Cup as I often do on a Sunday afternoon, and spy on quietly observe  the group.  

Superb advice.  The "group" turned out to be three teenagers and the "leader," a woman of about 35.  (I overheard someone say that Amy wasn't coming, since she couldn't get a babysitter.)  In the 30 minutes I listened in, the "discussion" was interrupted three times by cell phone calls, and the topics ranged from the troubles of another member who was apparently having a nervous breakdown, problems getting babysitters, the perfect shade of blue for bedroom curtains, and what classes to register for during your first semester at college.  I did hear one member read about two paragraphs of her story, about which no one had any comment. The "leader," with much preparatory disclaiming, proceeded to read a bit of her "work in progress."  However, at just that moment a customer ordered two pounds of coffee beans "ground fine," so the incessant buzz of the grinder put paid to hearing any of this masterpiece.

Needless to say, I came home very glad I hadn't let myself in for any of that, and pleased as punch I had taken my husband's advice and "laid low" for the first meeting.

But the experience started me thinking about what I would want in a "real" writing group, things like these:

• Size: It should be small - five or six people at most;
• Rules: There should be definite rules about critique, at least in the beginning.  Comments should be time limited, and only one person talks at a time.  Perhaps a critique form should be followed ~ what works/doesn't work about the selection, what does the reader need to know more about, what details or sentences are particularly effective~rather than just blanket statements;
• Genre Specific: The group members should be writing the kinds of things they appreciate reading.  I'm not sure if I could be competently critique a science fiction, fantasy, or western writer, because I don't read those genres.

And perhaps the most important question - what do I really want to gain?  Do I want honest feedback from other writers, people who aren't quite editors, but whose realistic and honest opinion could be helpful in honing my work.  Or do I want, as Anne Lamott puts it, to "hang out with all these other people, maybe with another  writer you respect, to get and give response and encouragement, and to hear how other people tell their stories."  (Bird by Bird)

Thinking back to the characters in Hidden Talents, the most appealing thing about their group was the sense of camraderie which developed as they worked at their craft, the relationships which helped them become better writers, that encouraged them to keep working and take pride and satisfaction in the process, not just in whether their work was published.  Having a supportive writing group or partner allows ideas to fly around the room like sparks from a holiday sparkler.  It helps you see things differently.  It helps you keep going when the words start to dry up.  A group something like this one that Lamott describes:

There are four people, three women and one man, who met in one of my classes and who have been meeting as a group for four years.  I see them together in bookstores or cafes, where they sit at tables with wine or coffee and go over each other's work, offer criticism and encouragement, ask questions, and figure out where to go next.  They do not actually edit each other's drafts, but they listen to each other's work and help each other keep at it.

They've gone from being four tense, slightly conceited lonely people who wanted to write to one of those weird little families we fashion out of whoever's around us.  They're very tender with one another.  They still look forward to their meetings after all these years.  They are better writers and better people because of their work with each other.

They are better writers and better people because of their work with each other.  What could be a better goal for a writing group - or any group for that matter? 

How about you? Have you ever belonged to a writer's group? Did it work? Why (or why not?)  What would be your criteria for the perfect writer's group?

Writing for Real

 I'm never quite sure how to answer when people ask what I "do."  Of course, I know they'e really asking what I do for a living, so I usually take the easy way out and say I'm an adminisrative assistant, or perhaps I'll say I'm an admin and a musician. I never say I'm a writer.

Why is that?  Since I began blogging a couple of years ago, I've logged nearly as many hours at this keyboard as I have at my office computer, and certainly more than I've spent at the ivories.  I've written over 600 blog posts, completed two novellas, and dozens of poems and haiku.

But none of my friends (aside from all of you) and only a few of my family members have any idea that I've been doing all this scribbling in my spare time.

So why am I hoarding this little secret? 

Is it because I don't consider myself a "real writer?"  What does it take to be a "real writer"?

In the past, it's been easier for me to define myself as a musician, because people listen to my music. The reward of playing for an audience is immediate and intoxicating. You see their reaction in the smiles on their faces, you feel their involvement in the energy that pervades the room, you hear their enjoyement in the excited applause. I admit that I love that instant reaction, that feeling of providing the audience with something that entertains and enlightens them.  But I've recently curtailed a lot of my musical activities, and for the first time in many years, I'm going into the fall season without any musical responsibilites other than my church choir.  Cutting back on my musical involvement was deliberate, a way to give myself more time to pursue other activities- like writing.

The writer's "product"~the essay, the story, the poem~is "consumed" somewhere else. The feedback is rarely immediate, and sometimes doesn't come at all.  We often must be content with a private sense of accomplishment, the satisfaction of a story well told or a metaphor perfectly placed.  The "real world" rewards - recognition and financial success - are few and far between.

The internet, and specifically the experience of blogging, has changed this scenario.  Suddenly our words can be read by someone, somewhere, who might find them meaningful. However, there are those who don't consider blogging "real writing," decrying it is nothing more than glorified journal keeping.  Personally, I'm thrilled that the internet has provided writers like us with a place to share our stories, our perspective, our experiences, and ~even more exciting~ to engage in a dialogue with other writers. At least in this space, I find myself much more comfortable saying that I am a writer.

Perhaps, some day, I'll be able to say it to the rest of the world as well.

  How about you?  Do you consider yourself a writer? Do you think blogging is "real writing?" What does it take to be a "real writer"?

Coming Alive

Don't ask yourself what the world needs.

Ask youself what makes you come alive, and then go do it.

Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.

~Harold Thurman Whitman

Each time I come across these words, I feel an electric shock run down my spine.     

                                  

They remind me that the world, myself included sometimes, is filled with people going through the motions of their days, finding no joy, no deep indwelling sense of satisfaction or accomplishment, nothing that created the feeling of life abundantly lived.  So these words prod and poke me, nudge me to search for the things that generate a creative spark in my soul.

They confronted me this morning when I opened my copy of Foolsgold, by Susan G. Woolridge (author of Poemcrazy).  Another day in my office beckons, a day of paper shuffling and organizing, a day of sifting through piles of medical records and information.  Nothing about the prospect of this day makes me come alive.

But I recognize that I'm luckier than most~I've achieved half the battle to follow that credo.  I, at least, have found the things that make me come alive.

Certainly, writing is one of them.

Foolsgold promises to help me "find the artist within by cultivating a creative lifestyle that will not only expand and inspire you, but may also ground and heal you."  A "creative lifestyle" is what interests me here.  In the past months, as I've come to realize how much writing means to me, I've allowed it to play a bigger role in my inner life.  Yet I keep it tucked in the cupboard of my lifestyle, afraid to let it play in the daylight hours, only taking it out when I've completed all the other, less livening activities. 

Perhaps in order to start living that "fully alive" life the world needs, I must allow creativity to permeate my entire lifestyle, not just those few "off hours" when the regular work is done.

What does that mean in practical terms? I'm not sure. It could mean branching out in my writing activities, going "beyond the blog" and taking a creative writing class or reading a poem on poetry night at my local coffee house.  Maybe it means looking for other avenues of musical expression - learning a new instrument or joining a new group.  Perhaps it could be taking up a new activity entirely - working with paper crafts or collage.  I'm quite sure it means taking another step outside the safe little box I've erected around my current creative efforts.

"Coming alive" also means "paying attention," being aware of those things that startle you with their beauty or meaning.  Sometimes they're as simple as the wind rushing through the trees in your own backyard, or as complex as a perfectly crafted poem by Keats or the intricate movement of a fugue by Bach.  It means being aware and being reverent to the world around us, and, for those of us who write, attempting to convey that sense of wonder to our readers.

It will be a journey, this "coming alive" process.

I'll keep you posted.

How about you? How do you cultivate creativity in your life?  Have you found the things that make you come alive? Are you doing them? Shouldn't you be?

 

*wordpress is being very creative (and stubborn!) with the fonts in this post...enjoy the variety, because there seems to be nothing I can do about it!