How to Love Writing

Here is some advice from a columnist who has a different perspective on the process of writing:

10,000 Words a Week

12 Truths: Wisdom from Anne LaMotte

One of my favorite writing and general life-skills gurus is Anne LaMotte.  Her insights and kindness never fail to inspire me. 

This bit resonated the most with me today -- I think it summarizes why we are all here, in these funky little basement rooms, sharing our deepest thoughts:

"You're going to feel like hell if you wake up someday and you never wrote the stuff that is tugging on the sleeves of your heart: your stories, memories, visions and songs -- your truth, your version of things -- in your own voice. That's really all you have to offer us, and that's also why you were born."

I strongly urge you to go to the web site and   Read the whole thing!

 Write on!

A "Triggering Town"

One of the powerful gifts of writing is that it allows us to explore things that resonate with us or intrigue us.  Some might call these our obsessions. A less ominous term for them is "triggers."  They are the things that make us go "hmmm..." 

Here is the essay I was referencing in class:  A Triggering Town. 
 It comes from the Poetry Foundation web site, which I visit a lot for poetry and information about poets and poetry theory. 

The prompt for this week was to write about your own "triggering town". 

Something to think about

Vulnerability — what does that mean to us as writers?  What do we share, and how much do we reveal of our deepest selves?  Here is a blog post that I thought did a good job of discussing these issues:  https://witanddelight.com/2019/07/do-writers-have-to-be-vulnerable-to-succeed/

I’d like to hear your thoughts on this, either as comments here or in class.

Here’s another item of interest from Writers’ magazine:

We’re on the hunt for the best short fiction.

Submit your best fictional work in 2,000 words or less to our annual fall short story contest and you could win $1,000 and publication in our magazine! Any genre is fair game as long as it’s a work of fiction – no essays, memoir chapters, or poetry, please. 

Need some inspiration before you submit? Take a look at our vast collection of writing prompts, or dive into our fiction-writing archives to read expert tips from the pros.

You can also read these past short story winners to see examples of fiction that’s wowed us in the past:

• “Gazelle” by Shannon Skaff

• “Doors” by Claire Mulligan

• “Hunger” by Leila Springer

• “The Dance” by Kate MacNamara

• “Pieces of Echo” by Brent van Staalduinen

• “The House They Built” by Signe Bergstrom

• “Leviathan” by Jim Lewis

Don’t wait too long to submit, however: The deadline for this contest is December 2nd. 

Submit now!

What do you do when the well runs dry?

Most people have busy lives.  We spend so much of our time attending to our "to do" lists and our daily routine.  Within that routine, how can we find time for the peace of mind that nurtures our creativity?  The creative process requires incubation as well as inspiration. If we don't make time for both in our lives, we may find ourselves facing a drought in our creativity.

If this sounds like you, try a new approach. Take a break from your routine and make space for some peace and quiet to fill your tank. Here's a suggestion for using poetry and meditation to loosen your creative "muscles."

Poetry as Meditation

Sculpting your thoughts and emotions into a poem can take you on a journey into your inner universe where your conscious mind is momentarily cast adrift.

Like other forms of meditation, writing poetry requires that you stay fully present during the process, rather than focusing on any outcome. In doing so, you release any inhibitions or ideas of "what needs to happen," so that your thoughts can flow freely through you. When you write poetry, you are able to see the reflections of your innermost self, imprinted on a page.

If you'd like to experience poetry as a meditation practice, you might want to try this exercise:

Set aside twenty minutes where you can be alone in a quiet space. You may want to look at poems other people have written to see if there is a style of poetry you would like to try. You can also try writing in freeform. The structure of the poem will then organically reveal itself to you. When you are ready, sit down with pen and paper and let the words flow. Don't think about what you are going to say next, and don't worry about spelling, grammar, or logic. Instead, be as descriptive, visually precise, rhythmic, or lyrical as you want to be. When you feel complete, put the pen down, and read over what you've written. Appreciate this work of art you have created. You may even find that thoughts and emotions you had repressed before are now making themselves known so you can process and release them. Writing poetry as a form of meditation lets you slow down your mind long enough for you to get out of your own way, so that your soul can freely express its deepest yearnings.

--Madisyn Taylor, DailyOM

 Please let me know if you try this and how it works for you! 

Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash

Here we go!

It's the start of Spring Quarter and we are off and running.  Welcome, or welcome back, everyone!  As a little teaser before tomorrow's class, here is a piece from a tech entrepreneur on good writing. 

Paul Graham is a programmer, writer, and investor. He has an AB from Cornell and a PhD in Computer Science from Harvard, and studied painting at RISD and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. I would be interested to hear whether you agree or disagree with his position!

Yeah, we knew that!

Writer, artist, and poet Julia Cameron is probably best known for her book on creativity, The Artist's Way.  In 2016 she published another book, It's Never Too Late to Begin Again,
 which is specifically written for folks like us -- those who are in the second or third act of our lives.  From this book, here is a list of principles, which I plan to adopt as my personal manifesto for this chapter of my life.

Basic Principles for Creativity Recovery

Julia Cameron

1. Creativity is the natural order of life.  Life is energy -- pure, creative energy.
2. There is an underlying, indwelling creative force infusing all of life -- including ourselves. 
3. When we are open to our creativity, we open ourselves to the creator's creativity within us and our lives.
4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity by being creative ourselves.
5. Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God. 
6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.
7. When we open ourselves to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves to God:  good, orderly direction.
8. As we open our creative channel to the creator, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected. 
9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity. 
10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. 
11. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.

I am planning to work through her book, which is intended as a 12-week course.  I look forward to sharing additional inspirations with you as I do.


I'm also looking forward to seeing you all when the Writer's Workshop resumes on April 9.  Happy Spring!