Editeyes

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.

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 // Add Comment »

Last summer, fellow writer Kate Evans turned me on to GoodReads, a website where readers befriend one another and share book titles and reviews. It’s also a place where authors can maintain a page about their published works and invite friends to events.

Here is a review that I just posted on Good Reads for The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski.

Wroblewski has certainly managed to mix an unusual array of elements in this thoroughly enjoyable book. Employing a setting in the lake country of Northern Wisconsin and a time period some forty years ago, he evokes a sense of displacement–not in the manner of sci-fi but simply offering a time and place that is at once familiar and foreign. The farm where the story is set has a mysterious aura, for the original settler built a wonderful home and barn and then for unknown reasons suddenly departed, selling the place from afar. Then Wroblewski adds a novel breed of dog and a voiceless boy to the mix–a boy who not only communicates non-verbally with the dogs but who also has a strangely believable connection to other spheres as well.

I won’t spoil the story by saying more than that. I’ll just conclude by saying Wroblewski is a fine and compelling story teller as attested to by the huge popularity of this book. I listened to the audiobook version and though it took a bit longer than usual to hook me, by the midway point I was fully invested in the characters’ lives and the intriguing narrative.

Check out GoodReads, and if you do, please invite me to be your friend.

Tags: Books // Add Comment »

Tonight I’ll be reading with fellow writer Kate Evans at Books Inc in the Castro.  I met Kate at a writer’s conference several years ago, and coincidentally our books were published in the same month last year. To learn more about Kate read the interview that I posted here on Editeyes about her book For the May Queen.

Readings are one way of promoting one’s book. Though most authors agree that you don’t sell a slew of books at a reading, one can hope they make the book more visible and then that viral thing happens . . . you know, a friend tells a friend who tells another friend. This post is one of those telling moments: check out Kate’s book at Amazon and buy it.

And while you are there, take a minute to write a review for Between Two Women. There is apparently a pretty good correlation between 5 star reviews and book sales. And if you are any where near San Francisco tonight (2/5), join us at Books Inc at 7:30.

Tags: Going Public // Add Comment »

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.

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 // 1 Comment »

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:

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 // 2 Comments »

According 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 // 1 Comment »

Most writers recognize the value of reading extensively as a means of honing one’s writing skill. I find that I read with two parts of my brain working simultaneously. One part is enjoying and/or learning from the piece I am reading while another part of my brain is studying style, structure, and language.

These processes were heavily at work when I read Atul Gwande’s Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance. Gawande has written a collection of essays that probe skillfully and poignantly into the depths of medical ethics and the performance of doctors. He is a fine researcher and an astute observer who carefully delineates many facets of each issue that he explores, be it washing hands, malpractice concerns, or the Apgar score.

As a non-fiction writer, I was acutely aware of how adept Gawande is at using narrative to illustrate and discuss complex moral and ethical issues. He does not avoid considering controversial notions such as what happens to the soldiers who have been saved from grave injury on the battlefield and come home limbless and with horribly scared faces? Or why hospitals avoid publicizing the results of their effectiveness in treating certain conditions? Gawande’s work is a marvel to read.

At the end of his book, he makes five suggestions about how doctors might make a worthy difference. All of these suggestions make sense for anyone wanting to make a difference. I’m only going to include one in this post with the hope that you’ll get his book and read the others for yourself.

However, one of Gwande’s suggestions hits close to home, so I’m going to quote him. He says, “write something. . . it makes no difference if you write five paragraphs for a blog, a paper for a professional journal, or a poem for a reading group. Just write.”

To this suggestion, I add: Just read!

Tags: Styl'n // Add Comment »

Last year when I did NaNoWriMo, I experimented with writing in public places. I didn’t think I would do well writing away from the privacy and comforts of home, but I was wrong.

I started off with baby steps. First, I took my laptop to the public library and hid away in a little carrel at the back of the stacks. A few days later, I decided to try writing at Starbucks. I was pleasantly surprised at how easily I disappeared into the writing and for the most part was undisturbed by the comings and goings in the shop. The hardest part was when I needed to use the facilities and couldn’t figure out if I should take my laptop with me or ask a nearby coffee drinker to watch it for me.

In the third week of NaNoWriMo, I decided to try something suggested by veteran WriMos: The Write-In.  This is when a group of writers carrying laptops gather in a public place–generally a coffee shop but there are other possibilities.  For a set amount of time, the writers sip caffeinated drinks and clack away on their novels. Two of my WriMo buddies agreed to meet for a Write-In last November, and by the end of the evening we were hooked.

This year, I jumped at the chance to regularly join 6 other WriMos for weekly Write-Ins. Here we are at the kick off event.

And here is a list of the wonders of write-ins:

1. Never underestimate the power of camaraderie in any foolish activity, such as writing a 50,000 word novel in a month. It’s a known fact that kids get into more mischief when there is more than one. Well, the same can be said for writers except that mischief is a good thing when it comes to written expression.
2. When you get blocked regarding a word or the name of an actor, movie, song, car part, kitchen utensil or some other triviality that figures into the scene you are currently writing, you can ask your cohorts, and they–not being invested in your story–  immediately provide the term that is alluding you.
3. I like to ask all the writers for one word at the start of a Write-In. I jot these words in my notebook and then aim to get each one into the story somewhere. These words stretch my thinking in directions I would never have otherwise taken. For example, here’s a list of words I was given at the Write-In pictured above: sizzle, Timbuktu, assassin, mimic, and fiddle.
4. When you are in a public place, you often hear snatches of dialog that wiggle their way into your scene. The same can be said for aromas, textures, tastes, and other sensory data.
5. If you are even a tiny bit competitive, the fact that your neighbor has reached the requisite word count in under 2 hours will spur you on to reach the goal, and more likely motivate you to get a few words more than the eager beaver sitting across from you.
6. The last push to get one more sentence, phrase, or word before departure time sometimes holds the seeds of much better stuff to come.
7. And when you are with friends, you never have to worry about leaving to use the facilities because you can trust your friends to watch your laptop while you are gone and who cares if someones steals the last line you wrote. It won’t look the same in their novel as it does in yours anyway.

So Write-on and Write-in.

Tags: Going Public // Add Comment »