Entries Tagged as 'Writing First'

When a Project is Over, What Next?

The book is out! The Right Sisters was published in June and our book launch is August 14 in Sonora.

Ever since the project was finished in late April and the manuscript went to the publisher, I have felt strangely afloat. At first, I told myself it was OK to just write in my notebook each morning. Giving myself permission to write about anything was fun– for a while–but rather quickly it wasn’t enough. I wanted more focus. I tried writing to prompts. I followed guidelines in some writing books. I liked the results, but I still had the sensation that I was on raft floating aimlessly on a big wide ocean.

So I applied for some freelance jobs. I got every job. One involves writing web content for sites like eHow and Answerbag. Another involves writing longer research pieces for clients. The third is an online writing tutor gig. Meanwhile, I still have my local assignments to write theater reviews and feature articles for regional magazines.  I also write for KleenSlate Concepts–the company run by my writing buddy Julia with whom I partnered on The Right Sisters. Now I feel spread too thin. I have piles on my desk, and I’m confused about which task should take priority.

I think I need another project! What about you writers? Are you project oriented or do you prefer more freedom, like that found in daily notebook writing, or do you enjoy the challenge and variation offered by freelance writing?

Tags: Free Write, Writing First by ph
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Making A Writing Retreat


Since it is not always possible to secure a wonderful retreat at some place like Norcroft or Soapstone (one place I’ve been, the other I’ve applied to), I often make my own writing retreats. That means securing a place of seclusion to write for at least 3 days and preferably 5-10. I’ve rented cabins, stayed in hotel rooms, and housesat for friends in order to secure the necessary seclusion.

This past week, I rented a cabin in the High Sierra for 5 days to work on the Right Sisters. I packed food, my lap top, a few sweatshirts for cooler nights and left home for the cabin. This retreat did not turn out to be the Walden adventure I envisioned when planning it, i.e quiet all but wind in the pines, musky scent of hot decaying forest earth, simple living in a sparsely furnished Forest Service cabin.

Instead I faced

  • a generator that ran 24 hours a day blocking the noises of nature (necessary for electricity);
  • the pungent odor of a skunk wafting intermittently through the cabin floor from an abandoned nest under the cabin;
  • a floor so slanted that my computer tilted on the little kitchen table where I sat to work;
  • a noisy critter that visited every night biting into anything edible that I left out (see banana picture) and waking me 4-5 times a night with his raucous presence.

bananaThe good news is that despite the sensual assaults and strange discomforts, I got tons of work done. Perhaps it is true that a little suffering is good for the work.

Still I recommend a little more investigation regarding the space you choose to stay when making your own writing retreat! Anyone have suggestions for us writers looking to retreat?

Tags: From Whence We See, Writing First by ph
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Writing Retreat-Supporting the Process

Last week I spent four days writing in a motel room. The opportunity for deeply focused work is certainly a luxury I can’t afford very often, either in terms of time or money. But I’m committed to finding ways to retreat so that I can write.

A retreat needs to be a minimum of 3 days and preferably a week. My longest retreat was a month, and I’ve also enjoyed 10 day and 2 week long retreats.  Focused writing allows me to delve into the core of my subject matter.

 

There were times last week when I looked up from the computer screen and did not know where I was. I wrote from 6:30am until 10pm each day, stopping for brief respites called for by my shoulders and bottom. I’d circle the small flower garden at the center of the motel or walk toward the beach in the damp fog with the voices of my characters still conversing in my head. Almost without knowing, I’d turned back toward Room 125, unable to stay away long.

.Room 125

I believe a retreat supports my relationship to the writing process. When I was teaching, I talked to my students about 3 stages in the process: creating, composing, and revision.

Creating is the messiest stage. My mind leaps here and there, thinking about my subject while bathing, driving, clearing dishes, and in the fertile place between wakefulness and sleep. I scribble notes and freewrite; I read about the topic and suddenly see relevance everywhere. But the creation remains a jumbled mess.

Composing is the hardest part for me–taking the mess to the page, crafting a shape and making meaning. This is the part of the process that is best served by a retreat.  For me, composing anything worthwhile requires an extended period of time, ideally several days. Usually, I can only muster a stretch of several hours.

Revision is my favorite part. I love playing with the piece that has arrived on the page. Suddenly it is obvious where big changes and additions are needed. Tinkering with the smaller stuff like word choice and detail is pure delight. Revision is something I can do in small snatches of time, a half hour in the morning before work or sitting with a hard copy of the piece in a waiting room or during a boring meeting.

 

My relationship to the process never wavers. I recognize that I need to retreat to compose, something that is not necessarily easy to accomplish and so always feels like a gift.  Garden

Tags: Writing First by ph
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Writers Conferences & Festivals: Why Go?

Yesterday, I put together a registration form for the 2009 Medocino Coast Writers Conference. This morning I read an article in Poets & Writers (May/June 2009) entitled “Conferences, Festivals Taking a Hit.” The juxtaposition helped me answer a question I’d been asking myself: Why do I need to go to yet another writers conference?

Conferences tend to be an expensive venture, what with registration fees, travel and accommodation costs. Why put out all the money, especially when finances are tight, so tight that many conference organizers are canceling this year because they can’t pull together sufficient funding to offer a quality conference?

Wouldn’t my time be better spent staying at home and WRITING? Shouldn’t I simply focus on practicing my art, cultivating the craft? What more can I learn from mentors and teacher? Shouldn’t I “put writing first?”

These are the questions that come up every time I think about going to a conference. However, the thought that the economic situation might curtail the option to go to conferences put these questions in perspective.

Going to a conference puts me in touch with other writers, a connection that fertilizes my motivation to write and offers essential nutrients for growth. I’ve gone to conferences alone. I gone with a writer friend and once my entire writing group attended a conference together. I’ve been to conferences that were one day, three days, or a full week! I’ve signed up for festivals where I have worked with a single teacher in a workshop context and others where there were a variety of presentations to choose from. Sometimes presenters were big names like Natalie Goldberg or Dorothy Allison, but more often they were lesser known writers who had published one or two genre books or had been successful getting published in literary magazines. I’ve even taken my turn as a workshop presenter. Conferences usually have a bookstore venue and and most important, there are social gatherings, like a dinner, a tour, or a wine tasting.

I come home from such engagements energized and motivated. The subsequent spurt of the productivity and growth is exciting. I have made new friends, and the expansion of my writers network has more than once offered unforeseen assistance in later endeavors. My notebook is filled with new ideas, techniques, and books to read.

My registration for the Mendocino Conference is in the mail.  Yes, I’m ready for time among writers. In fact, I think the time is overdue.

Tags: Community, Going Public, Teachers, Writing First by ph
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Time to Write: 5 Suggestions

The other day when I went for my physical, the nurse practitioner asked how my book was doing. After listening to my report, she said that when she retired, she was going to write. She said she had all kinds of ideas for a book. “Why wait?” I asked. She had the usual reasons, all of which boiled down to not having the time right now.

Time is an issue the comes up again and again among writers. Yesterday, I listened to a teleconference on book promotion with Jack Canfield (Chicken Soup for the Soul) and Steve Harrison (Radio-TV Interview Report). Jack told the story about the round tuit. A motivational speaker carries a round, wooden token in his pocket with the word TUIT printed on both sides, and when folks complain about not getting around to it with regard to their dreams, he hands them the token and says, “Now you have a ROUND TUIT. Get busy!”

This morning, I woke to a Write Free Newsletter in my email inbox. The focus of this month’s newsletter is how to make time for our creative lives. There is a cool advertisement in the newsletter for a planner called “Plenty of Time.”The truth is that we all have the same amount of time, and it’s up to each individual how he/she uses that time.

spectacles.gifI can’t say that I’m an expert at making time to write, but here are FIVE suggestions that work for me.

  1. “Put Writing First!” I heard these words at a writing conference years ago, and they are seared in my brain. I can’t remember who said them. It could have been Natalie Goldberg or maybe Carolyn See or maybe someone less well known.  It doesn’t really matter! Remembering to write BEFORE I do anything else ensures that I make time for writing. Each morning, after I set the tea to steep, I grab my notebook or boot up the computer so I can write.
  2. Blogging, email, and letter writing COUNT! It’s OK with me if I don’t work on one my creative writing projects as long as I write something every day and first thing. To be good at anything, you have to practice, so I make sure that every time I write, I give attention to craft. Does the piece flow? Are there vivid examples? Am I using sensory detail? Have I managed to slip in some figurative language?
  3. Join or start a writers group and meet regularly.  Membership in a writers group means that I have to get something ready for submission every two weeks. Sometimes I start working on my submission the night before it’s due, but I always make time to get something ready.
  4. Write reviews. Every time I read a book, I write a short review to post on both GoodReads and Amazon. Writing a review forces me to think about the artistic merit of a book and articulate my thoughts in words. This is writing practice as well as a consideration of what makes for good writing. Writing the review becomes a study of craft.
  5. Make my own greeting cards.  Rather than buy a birthday or anniversary card, I make cards for friends and family. I keep a collection of construction paper, glue, stickers and old cards to cut up. Designing the card is a creative exercise, and I always write a personal message inside. Sometimes it’s a poem, but it may simply be a few well-thought sentences to honor the person and the occasion.

What do you do to make time for writing?

Tags: Writing First by ph
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Why he writes . . . He being Paul Lisicky

I know I lucked out in graduate school when I ended up in a seminar lead by Paul Lisicky. The man is not only an exceptional writer, he simply rocks as a teacher. I learned so much from him that I felt it was imperative to note his influence in the acknowledgments when writing my book.

mfa_lisicky.jpg I religiously read his blog because he takes me places that I’ll never otherwise go . . . especially to the streets of New York City and to a music scene that is simply foreign to my ear (except for when he digresses on Joni Mitchell). Recently, he was in the Bay Area and he did a photo collage on his blog of a bunch of Eichler homes that tickled me to death because I dream of having a atrium like those in the buildings this real estate developer designed in the 1950s. Paul is really into buildings which is pretty obvious by the title of his second book, a memoir called Famous Builder.

But what I really want to share with you is one of his recent blog entries called “Alive with Current” in which he addresses the question: why I write! Please go read it . . .

It’s spectacular writing! It will make you feel alive! It will make you want to sit down and write.

Tags: Writing First, blog-land by ph
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Writer’s Critique Group–Guidelines

I’m a huge believer in the writer’s critique group. Near the end of my first writing workshop about 20 years ago, the facilitator talked about writing groups and encouraged us to hook up with one another to continue sharing and responding to one another’s work. During the workshop I had realized the merit of hearing a reader’s response, so I took the initiative to form a group. I’ve been a self-designated writing group coordinator ever since.

Admittedly, this can be a discouraging role as folks definitely ebb and flow in their commitment to belonging to a critique group. Life intervenes! People move away! A writer quits writing for a time. Another decide she needs to put all discretionary time toward the act of writing rather than using time for group work.

A writing group requires a time commitment, and I think that’s the biggest deterrent to ongoing participation. But for me, the dialogue and the feedback serve as motivation. And there is the deadline. Getting work ready for and submitted to the group in a timely fashion keeps me moving forward with my writing when I might otherwise let it slide.

ph-wrtg-grp.jpg

It also takes time to figure out workable guidelines. Having been a writing group coordinator for a long time, I also serve as the keeper of the guidelines . . . AND I have to admit, I think our critique group guidelines are terrific. Here they are:


Our protocol for responding to pieces is as follows:

 

  1. Readers come to group having read each piece in advance and prepared written commentary to offer the writer to supplement verbal critique.
  2. Readers discuss each piece for a predetermined amount of time while the writer listens and takes notes after which the writer is invited to participate.
  3. Readers discuss the piece saying the writer or the narrator or the writer’s name, but not using the pronoun you.
  4. Responses begin with what is working in the piece, specific places where language is exciting or full of energy, images that are sparkling, writing that is fluid, etc. Sufficient time should be given to discussing the merits of the piece before turning to critique.
  5. When pointing to places that don’t work well in a reader’s opinion, the reader is as specific as possible. We offer suggestions with the clear understanding that the writer ultimately decides what will work in her piece.
  6. Writers listen carefully to the opinion of others, recognizing that this is simply one opinion in many and that others, including the writer, may view the work differently. Writers take what is useful and leave the rest.
  7. Writers needn’t defend content, style, or word choice. Critique is simply meant to give one reader’s response. The impulse to defend comes from protectiveness around our work but can also be a signal that something deeper needs to be communicated on the page.

  8. We are not an emotional support group. Our discussions come from a writerly perspective. We agree that if a conflict among members arises it will be managed with honest self-examination and one-to-one communication as the first option and a separate full group business meeting as a last resort.


  9. We agree to keep our criticism fresh, focused, honest, and generous.

Next post, I’ll talk about bring a full lenght book to the critique group. Until then, put writing first,

ph

Tags: Writing First by ph
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Write into 2009- 15 blog prompts and a few other ideas.

Bloggers everywhere having been posting resolutions for 2009 for over a week. This post–eleven days into the new year–and the lack of posts for about 8 weeks, decries the need for a writing resolution, or more specifically a blogging resolution.

I recently worked on the content for my friend Cherie’s business web sit–The Yoga Loft. I gave her a package with edited content for each page as well as suggestions about design. I also suggested that she revitalize her site’s blog and gave her a list of ideas to get her writing. It was a pretty good list, if I do say so myself. Here are the suggestions:

yoga loft door


Post at least once a week, preferably 3 times a week.

Write short posts, a paragraph is plenty.

 

Here are ideas about what to write:

·       Recommend a yoga related book you are reading;

·       Explain an insight you had from your reading;

·       Post a quote, like the ones you read in class, with a citation;

·       Write about the focus of your yoga instruction during a week;

·       Quote a student;

·       Post a link to an Internet site and explain why you think it is relevant;

·       Announce an upcoming yoga event, both ones you are going to and ones you wish you could attend;

·       Post a picture from class, name the student and describe what’s happening;

·       Discuss an insight you got from a piece of music, your kitties, a swim workout, your garden, etc.;

·       Write about a trip out of town, a visit to your mother, your nephew, a hike—especially when you have to cancel class, students want to know what you are up to.

·       Write about food, the co-op, your chicken’s eggs, the terrific meal you had at someone’s house or a restaurant;

·       Write about how eating effects your practice for better or worse;

·       Define terms;

·       Tell a story about when you were first learning yoga, something you learned from a teacher. Pass on the knowledge (story telling is the BEST tone for a blog);

·       Anytime you have the urge to send a message to several friends via email, consider posting it on your blog, even if you are simply forwarding a site, copy the link and explain why you think it’s important, interesting, or funny.

As I was reviewing the list with Cherie, I realized that it would behoove me to listen to my own advice. And though the list was for a yoga blog, it was easily adaptable for my own purposes.

But I still didn’t start posting on my blog again. Then I had one more idea.  I’d invite Cherie to be my blog buddy. I’d say:

“Let’s agree to post at least once a week. Then we can encourage/support/cajole/shame each other into posting regularly. What do you say Cherie? Are you game?”

Tags: Free Write, Writing First, blog-land by ph
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Words Per Day

transparent_roseAccording to Chris Baty, the creator of NaNoWriMo, “The biggest thing separating people from their artistic ambitions is lack of a deadline.”  That’s why the plan to write a novel in a month works so well. The event creates a deadline. To reach the deadline and the goal of a 50,000 word novel, you have set the pragmatic goal of 1667 words per day.

This is my second year signing up for NaNoWriMo and the power of the deadline is what brought me back. In early October, NaNoWriMo popped into my head as the perfect solution to help me through a considerable layer of procrastination.  I needed to get started on a book-length project I had agreed to work on. My friend Julia had done a great deal of research on modern women inventors and I had agreed to worked the material into a cohesive package. It occurred to me that I could create the book she was looking for if I sat down and organized the material at a rate of 1667 words per day–the daily rate when one signs up for NaNoWriMo.

I’m working outside the box of NaNo this year because I’m not writing a novel; I’m working on a non-fiction piece. The contest is so personal that it allows such freedom.  Nobody is watching me to say I’m breaking the rules because the entire motivation for this event is intrinsic. Just because I signed up, I feel a compelling urge to write at least 1667 words every day. Though I know people who have not signed up but are working as if they had, it took the formal step of logging on to the NaNoWriMo site to call this urge forth in me.

Many successful writers operate under the principle that they simply have get their bottom in the chair each day and write. Some writers set a goal of X number of pages. During the month of November, there are 125,000 writers who set a goal of 1667 words per day.

The goal is not magical; it’s practical. But the experience of typing those 1667 words day after day is definitely awesome! Having a deadline really works!


Tags: Free Write, Word Wise, Writing First by ph
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Showing up

 Eighty percent of success is showing up.
–Woody Allen

I often feel like I don’t have the time I want or need to focus on my writing. That’s why it works for me to stay connected with other writers who never cease to provide pointed reminders about how I can put writing first in my life.

This week’s reminder came from Rebecca Lawton in the October issue of her newsletter Write Free. I met Lawton four years ago at a weekend writing retreat up in Philo.

Rebecca LawtonLawton suggests making a pact with yourself to show up at your desk at least three days a week, ten minutes a day. Trick yourself into starting in on your creative project du jour by saying, “It’s just ten minutes. When I’m done, I can head off to other tasks.”

I immediately took on this assignment and had marvelous results. I’d been putting off a freelance project for days, telling myself I didn’t have a enough time to give to it fully. But Saturday, I told myself to give it just 10 minutes. Amazingly that was enough. I worked longer than 10 minutes because once I got started I didn’t want to stop AND when I had to stop to deal with some necessary chores, I continued to think about the project and returned to finish it later in the day because I had indirectly been engaged with it all day.

Lawton also connected the idea of showing up to the November election. Though I hesitate to regard myself as political, I long ago came to understand what the second wave feminists promoted, that is “the personal is political.” As Carol Hanisch said in an essay dated March 1969: “One of the first things we learn in the [encounter] groups is that personal problems are political problems.” So allow me, like Lawton, to move the idea of showing up in a political direction. fighton-cover-72.jpeg

Lawton wrote: “Showing up also counts when it comes to our democratic process–something much in the minds of American voters today.” One of my favorite bloggers, Tuckova, posted this great video about showing up: Five Friends

Give yourself 5 minutes to watch the video and then spend 10 minutes on a writing project.That’s a total of 15 minutes. Surely you have that to spare.

I’d be delighted if you’d write a few sentences in the comment section about how you spent 10 minutes writing.

Tags: That's Personal, Writing First by ph
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