This idea came to me in early spring, and so far it has worked well for making sure my writing projects get face time at least once a week, if not (ideally) daily.
Have you ever been sitting with seven to fifteen minutes to kill before work/yoga/meeting/store opens/bedtime and asked yourself, what could I be doing right now?
I propose to you, that you create a list of answers to this question; an inventory of quick-fixes you need to make in a take-your-pick fashion. I call them Quickies.
Say that you realized at the end of your last big writing chunk (however long ago it was) that there was a conflict in description, or you realized what a better line would have been for your furious character on her warpath, or thought of something else to add/change that begged the resigned after-thought, I'll do it later.
These tiny tasks can add up, and leave a lot of work and edits to be done that feel heavy and are easily procrastinated. But what is important to remember is that they are little things, Quickies, and keeping an inventory of them will give you small ways to feed and water your novel/memoir/epic poem, even when the universe is being a time Nazi.
Depending on your level of organizational needs, you could estimate time needed for each Quickie under columns. For example, you could have a <1 minute, 5ish minutes, and 10+ minutes space to identify each fix or addition you have, so you have more time (when the time comes) to pick one from the appropriate space and go!
The other great thing about a list taped to your cabinet/television/fridge/bathroom mirror, is that not only are you slowly chipping marble from the big masterpiece, but you are preventing your project from collecting dust, from sinking between the metal spirals of the back burner and creating a funny smell inside your life goals that sets off unhappiness smoke alarms. It keeps your characters and messages with you even when time isn't, and that way when you do have a larger chunk of time, your writing endeavors are likely to have more visible frantic hands waving over the top of Netflix/Pinterest/buying more jalapeno pretzels.
They don't have to make sense to anyone but you. Some items on my Quickie list:
Adventure rustling
The binoculars are red!
Lee's bedroom?
Marvin needs a face!
Make use of your time-holes! Make your Quickie lists and tell me all about them!
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspiration. Show all posts
Monday, June 4, 2012
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Why Writers are Heroes
he·ro
A person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal. (Via dictionary.reference.com)
A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability. (Via Mirriam-Webster.com)
A person noted for special achievement in a particular field. (Via TheFreeDictionary.com)
Of course there are people who love books. There are people who love both reading and writing, who love stories and morals and symbolism, but how many people have stopped to consider writers as heroes?
- Bravery and DedicationFor centuries, writers have been publishing truth in the face of controversy and control. They have done this in a journalistic fashion, the way Martin Luther posted his 95 thesis on the church door, and the unforgettable way that reporters today hunker down in battlefields and journalist-hating countries to help bring clarity to unaware readers. As the beloved banned book week many libraries celebrate will tell us, unwanted truths are written into fiction as well. These truths range from the underlying hatred and control that Arthur Miller spent his entire writing live trying to unveil, to the crude truths Holden Caufeild shows us about real people, and how they call prostitutes and use the F word. Writers have had their books banned, and put them selves in physical danger to share their thoughts and grievances. We may have come a long way from tar-and-feathering, but modern prosecution of a writer is still a noteworthy risk.
- Facilitating comfort, “Coming to the rescue”The biggest reason there is to love reading or writing is the security blanket we find in realizing how universal our problems and feelings are. Taking this fact into focus, have we ever thought about the mental power it takes to demonstrate how all of us, from accountants in Japan to Mounties in Canada to Hemp farmers in California, are all the same in so many deep and emotional ways? Good books have helped dry tears, offer fresh perspective, and have even saved lives. I once knew a girl with severe facial scars from an accident, who said that her self-loathing was unbearable until she found a character in literature with the same affliction, who reflected the same dark questions and brooding fears. She told me if it had not been for books showing her that everyone is as afraid as her, “I know I wouldn't have made it to college.”
- Book = Time capsuleHistorians may remember where general So-and-so lead the forces of Where-ever-ville, and anthropologists may remember how many molars the men fighting in the war were thought to have and what gods they prayed to at the bottom of their foxholes, but who remembers the people? Who thinks about what it was like reading expressions of terror on the faces of comrades, or what it feels like to find your ally full of holes, and suffering? It is the imagination and empathy of writers that preserves day-to-day culture. They sift through the historian's journals and the anthropological articles, and then connects that data with human spirit, and folklore. Literature and documents make the difference between re-watching humanity, and reliving it.
This post may be a little fluffy, but I bring all this up because I want writers who are in doubt about their stories, or who are afraid of the things they have to say, to realize where they are. There are many people who fear writing as equally as public speaking, and public speaking as much as death, and for viable reasons.
But in the words of Stephen King, “Do not come lightly to the blank page.” The work we carry on is in good and noble company, and provides something priceless. We are writers: purveyors of humanity, beacons of truth, and heroes.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Good uses for old books
Even when my father found boxes of old, musty books no one reads in storage, it made me sad when he threatened to burn them. Books hold a certain energy and magic to them before we even get to read them, especially when old fonts and elaborate hardcovers are involved, but if the fact of the matter is that your bookshelves are full and these old tomes are going unused, what are some good ways to keep them in our lives, or the lives of others?
- Donate themWhether to an old library for archives or a theater or portrait photographer for props, there are lots of places that may still value those books exactly as they are. Think about organizations or people in your community that could take the time to preserve them, or who would make use of them in their current condition.
- Writing prompts/writing gamesIf the chapters inside are doomed to go unread, perhaps there is use to be made of the words. Roll a die and select words from that page to build a new scene. Create censorship poetry by blacking out certain lines/words and leaving others, so the pages say something new. Use them when you need a name or place quickly. Play with the language in them to enhance your own.
- Editing practiceAs many writing students may learn the hard way, writing that was considered great for its time is not always to be replicated today. Although ideas from older works were profound and universal, sentences have gotten tighter, and pages have gotten livelier. Perhaps the old fashioned pages in your attic could be a practice field for some good red-penning. How would you develop that character if it were your novel? How would you rewrite a beginning, or and ending, if you could? What can you learn about stronger language based on the wording in those books that may be hard to get through?
- Hollow them outYou know I had to bring this up. How cool are the secret hiding places found in books? If this is the kind of sleuthy storage you've longed for, here are some links that explain the process:
- Crafting materialSince we know that older books often have a more ornamental quality to them, why not reuse their beauty? Cut out old illustrations and paste them for homemade greeting cards, or bookmarks. Snip out words in graceful fonts to spell out your favorite quotes, or to write someone a friendly letter.Additionally, there is decoupage to consider. Why not recover old furniture, or any creative surface? It could give your home a more literary feel, or make some great gifts for your bookworm friends!Old paper products and candy wrappers have been used for some creative weaving as of late, to create products like handbags, or belts. Could there be a pretty penny to be made on your pretty texts?Literary pinatas for bookish parties are also a possibility. For a paper maché recipe, go there: http://ultimatepapermache.com/paper-mache-recipesMore about Paper weaving: http://www.origami-resource-center.com/weaving-patterns.html
- SculptureThis kind of goes along with crafting, but is in a way, more elaborate. Sculpting with old books has been in the news lately due to Edinburgh's Library phantom: http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2011/12/05/magical-paper-sculptures-from-the-library-phantom-photos/?pid=3333#slideshow but this literary hero is not the first person to turn a work of writing, into visual art. Here are some other examples of this tedious and glorious art form you may enjoy:
- Become a Library PhantomAnd as long as you're fighting to keep books used and beautiful, why not make a statement with what you make? The library phantom is leaving presents in Scotland that stand for literature and finding of “words, stories, ideas..” and that simple anonymous drop is inspiring awe around the world. What can you make that will ignite awareness around what you love?
- At-home bankingIt was not uncommon in times of financial crisis for people to store their money between book pages, as a back up in case banks didn't pull through, or as a replacement for banks entirely. The hiding place is inconspicuous, and also hard to discover, as searching through every page is hard unless you already know where they are. Put a bill at every page with your favorite number, so you remember where you left your rainy day stash!
- Flower pressingStacks of books are a common and even traditional tool for saving flowers you would otherwise see die. Pressed flowers can be used in jewelry, matted and framed, or made into book marks and other gifts. Pressing is also used for preserving/drying herbs for tea and medicine. For more tips, go here: http://preservedgardens.com/how-to-press.htm
- AestheticAs we've established, there is something about the presence of an old book that has power. If you can't bring yourself to cut up or scribble on them, why not bring them out of storage and let them hand around? Use them as door-stoppers, or a centerpiece, or to fill an otherwise dead/boring corner of your home. I hear they're nice housemates.
- Rock-it launcher (Fallout 3)For any of you familiar with gaming, specifically the post-apocalyptic Fallout Series, you know that the wasteland is covered in ruined or destroyed books that accomplish nothing. You can not read, sell, or even sculpt with them. You can, however, kick ass with them. The game offers the chance for you to build your own junk-weapons, one which propels junk into the faces of your adversaries. Whenever I build the rock-it launcher, I pick over old teddy bears and toasters, to always fight with literature. To see the famed gun in action, watch here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbvBihpZ_Do
- Read ThemIf all these solutions seem unacceptable, you may as well get busy reading them. It is, after all, the reason they were printed however many eons ago, and there is always something new to gain from them.
For more ideas on reusing old books, visit: http://www.wikihow.com/Reuse-Books
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Writers for Writers: Wes McNair's Rules for Poetry Line Breaks
Recently crowned with the title of Maine's Poet Laureate (What some argue is the only good decision made by governor Lepage), and who is also the founder of UMaine Farmington's BFA creative writing program, Wes Mcnair often meets with UMF students in his retired years in a workshop or one-shot lecture format to offer his sage advice.
This semester, Wes visited to discuss his new thinking, among other things, about why and how to select one's poetic line breaks. He eluded to having a longer list, but please enjoy the ten thoughts he shared with us.
For more about Wes McNair, see: http://blackwidow.umf.maine.edu/~wesmcnair/
Rules for Line Breaking
1. Break to suggest central action and its unfolding, to create anticipation
Let words stick out of your lines that connect to the poem's heart. Also, let the lines create tension, as professor Jeff Thompson would put it. Make the reader chase you to the next line to find out what fell, or who chased her, or whatever have you.
2. Break for interplay between line and sentence; This is free verse's rhyme & meter equivalent
In other words, as Wes was once advised: The line is Buddha, the sentence is Socrates
Buddha is content to be were he is, as he is, the way a line, on its own, its simple, perhaps pretty or cryptic, but calm. Socrates is always asking, wanting, and hungry. You follow the entire sentence line to line to find out what, who, or why, jumping from Buddha to Buddha until your questions are answered. When line breaking, be aware of how you answer Socrates's questions effectively, but also create graceful pauses in your lines, to enjoy the moment.
3. To create a graph of feeling
Playing with jagged margins, or waves, or open space to illustrate a reflection of the poem's feeling. Using shorter lines for riddles and unknowns also plays with what isn't said.
4. Break to emphasize related sounds
Is there a song to your poem? Find the music. See if there is a sense of metronome, or words you can link together at the poem's pauses to create a resonance. This can be done with or without rhyme.
5. The word at the end of the line is most important.
Use Nouns, verbs, and their describers. All sentences have and, the, or but. They are less important, only connectors. End on the words that need to stand out of the poem, let them linger with the reader on the end of the line before they continue through your poem, or follow them through their day after they put your poem down.
6. Break to show the stresses of meditation
Listen to people around you as they speak. It was Wes Mcnair's observation that people speak in line breaks as well as can write in them. People pause for thought, for continued meditation, at places in their sentences that are their own, and make their voice. He advises to play with this in our poetry.
7. When breaking, be aware of stanza form: Do you use regular, or irregular stanzas?
You'd better know, and have done it on purpose.
8. "Let me learn the rules so I can break them"
In the days of rhyme and meter, rhythm would be broken in choice places in order to bring attention to a message. This rule was not abandoned in the days of free verse. Create a theme, pattern, or message, and then obscure it. Play with capital letters or punctuation at the end of lines in a way that brings focus to a contrary feeling or ironic concept.
9. Find the second story
It isn't really a secret of the trade that poems about waltzes, or red wheelbarrows, or horses at night, rarely stop at just creating those everyday images. There is always a "second story," or rather, a reason for why the initial object was worth writing about, a discovery that is made along the way.
Additionally, putting this much though into how one writes their poetry makes you a stronger reader. You will pay more attention to these choices as they are made by other poets, and take this play into consideration when you absorb their work.
This semester, Wes visited to discuss his new thinking, among other things, about why and how to select one's poetic line breaks. He eluded to having a longer list, but please enjoy the ten thoughts he shared with us.
For more about Wes McNair, see: http://blackwidow.umf.maine.edu/~wesmcnair/
Rules for Line Breaking
1. Break to suggest central action and its unfolding, to create anticipation
Let words stick out of your lines that connect to the poem's heart. Also, let the lines create tension, as professor Jeff Thompson would put it. Make the reader chase you to the next line to find out what fell, or who chased her, or whatever have you.
2. Break for interplay between line and sentence; This is free verse's rhyme & meter equivalent
In other words, as Wes was once advised: The line is Buddha, the sentence is Socrates
Buddha is content to be were he is, as he is, the way a line, on its own, its simple, perhaps pretty or cryptic, but calm. Socrates is always asking, wanting, and hungry. You follow the entire sentence line to line to find out what, who, or why, jumping from Buddha to Buddha until your questions are answered. When line breaking, be aware of how you answer Socrates's questions effectively, but also create graceful pauses in your lines, to enjoy the moment.
3. To create a graph of feeling
Playing with jagged margins, or waves, or open space to illustrate a reflection of the poem's feeling. Using shorter lines for riddles and unknowns also plays with what isn't said.
4. Break to emphasize related sounds
Is there a song to your poem? Find the music. See if there is a sense of metronome, or words you can link together at the poem's pauses to create a resonance. This can be done with or without rhyme.
5. The word at the end of the line is most important.
Use Nouns, verbs, and their describers. All sentences have and, the, or but. They are less important, only connectors. End on the words that need to stand out of the poem, let them linger with the reader on the end of the line before they continue through your poem, or follow them through their day after they put your poem down.
6. Break to show the stresses of meditation
Listen to people around you as they speak. It was Wes Mcnair's observation that people speak in line breaks as well as can write in them. People pause for thought, for continued meditation, at places in their sentences that are their own, and make their voice. He advises to play with this in our poetry.
7. When breaking, be aware of stanza form: Do you use regular, or irregular stanzas?
You'd better know, and have done it on purpose.
8. "Let me learn the rules so I can break them"
In the days of rhyme and meter, rhythm would be broken in choice places in order to bring attention to a message. This rule was not abandoned in the days of free verse. Create a theme, pattern, or message, and then obscure it. Play with capital letters or punctuation at the end of lines in a way that brings focus to a contrary feeling or ironic concept.
9. Find the second story
It isn't really a secret of the trade that poems about waltzes, or red wheelbarrows, or horses at night, rarely stop at just creating those everyday images. There is always a "second story," or rather, a reason for why the initial object was worth writing about, a discovery that is made along the way.
Additionally, putting this much though into how one writes their poetry makes you a stronger reader. You will pay more attention to these choices as they are made by other poets, and take this play into consideration when you absorb their work.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tameri Guide for Writers' Latin Phrases
This is is taken from:
http://www.tameri.com/write/coollatin.html
It is not mine, but I'm sharing their knowledge for its value. =)
Latin Phrases
http://www.tameri.com/write/coollatin.html
It is not mine, but I'm sharing their knowledge for its value. =)
Latin Phrases
It’s a matter of taste and style, but not long ago American writers attempted to demonstrate their credentials to the world by including Latin and French phrases within works. A dash of Latin was expected of the moderately educated throughout the Western world.
annus mirabilis - wonderful year
arbiter elegantiae - judge of the elegant; one who knows the good things in life
bona fides - good faith; credentials
carpe diem - sieze the day; enjoy the present
casus belli - cause justifying a war
caveat emptor - buyer beware
cui bono? - for whose advantage?
de facto - of fact; it is
de gustibus non est disputandum - no disputing tastes; there is no accounting for taste
Dei gratia - by the grace of God
Deo gratias - thanks to God
Deo volente - God willing
dis aliter visum - it seemed otherwise to the gods
Dominus vobiscum - Lord be with you
dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - sweet and seemly it is to die for one’s country
ecce homo - behold man
ex cathedra - with authority
ex more - with or according to customs
exempli gratia - for example (e.g.)
genius loci - spirit of the location
hic et ubique - here and everywhere
hinc illae lacrimae - hence, those tears
humanum est errare - to err is human; human is to err
id est - that is (i.e.)
in extremis - at death
in hoc signo vinces - by this sign, you conquer
in loco parentis - in place of the parent
in medias res - into the middle of things; the heart of the matter
in omnia paratus - prepared for all; ready for anything
in perpetuum - forever; perpetually
in propia persona - in person; in one’s own life or words
in statu quo - as things were
in toto - entirely; in total
ipso jure - the law itself
jure divino - Divine law
labor omnia vincit - labor conquers all things; effort results in victory
laborare est orare - to work is to pray
laus Deo - praise God
loco citato - in the location cited
loquitur - he speaks
mens sana in corpore sano - of sound mind in a healthy body
meum et tuum - mine and yours
modus operandi - mode of operating
morituri te salutamus - we who are about to die, salute you
motu proprio - of one’s own accord; on your own
multum in parvo - there is much in little
nemo me impune lacessit - no one attacks me with impunity
nil admirari - wondering at nothing
nolens volens - willing or not
Nota Bene - note well; pay special attention to
omnia vincit amor - love conquers all
opere citato - in the volume cited; in the book cited
otium cum dignitate - leisure with dignity
passim - here and there
pater patriae - father of his country
pax vobiscum - peace be with you
persona non grata - unwelcome person
primus inter pares - first among equals
pro bono publico - for the public good
pro Deo et ecclesia - for God and the Church
pro forma - as a matter of form; standard
quod erat demonstrandum - which was demonstrated; that which was shown
requiescat in pace - rest in peace
sic - thus; so it was
sic passim - so throughout
sic semper tyrannis - thus always to tyrants
sine die - some day; not a particular time
sine quo non - without which, nothing; it is essential
tempus fugit - time flies
timeo Danaos et dona ferentes - I fear the Greeks, even when they bear gifts
verbatim et literatim - word for word, letter for letter
Friday, March 18, 2011
Quotes on Writing
An extraction from my collection, correlating distinctly with this blog: Quotes and advice pertaining directly to the writing world:
"A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us." ~Franz Kafka
"You know you have read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as though you have lost a friend." ~Paul Sweeney
"Writing is an exploration. You start form nothing and learn as you go." ~E.L. Doctorow
"Do not come lightly to the blank page." ~Stephen King
"Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity." ~Hermann Hesse
"Creativity is making the complicated simple." ~Charles Mingus
"The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar, and familar things new." ~Sam Johnson
"I only know one story. But oftentimes small pieces end up being stories themselves." ~Patrick Rothfuss
"Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential." ~Jessamyn West
"All words are pegs to hang ideas on." ~Henry Ward Beecher
"Sometimes, if there's a book you really want to read, you have to write it yourself." ~ Ann Patchett
"Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality--Its a way of understanding it." ~Lloyd Alexander
"The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think." ~Edwin Schlossberg
"We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out." ~Ray Bradbury
"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter--it is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." ~Mark Twain
"I write because I have women living inside me who lay alone on their deathbeds." ~Natasha Nelson
"Every great and original writer, in proportion as he is great and original, must himself create the taste by which he is to be relished." ~William Wordsworth
"If you go into a room...full of books--even without taking them from the shelves they seem to speak to you" ~William Ewart Gladstone
"A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us." ~Franz Kafka
"You know you have read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as though you have lost a friend." ~Paul Sweeney
"Writing is an exploration. You start form nothing and learn as you go." ~E.L. Doctorow
"Do not come lightly to the blank page." ~Stephen King
"Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity." ~Hermann Hesse
"Creativity is making the complicated simple." ~Charles Mingus
"The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar, and familar things new." ~Sam Johnson
"I only know one story. But oftentimes small pieces end up being stories themselves." ~Patrick Rothfuss
"Talent is helpful in writing, but guts are absolutely essential." ~Jessamyn West
"All words are pegs to hang ideas on." ~Henry Ward Beecher
"Sometimes, if there's a book you really want to read, you have to write it yourself." ~ Ann Patchett
"Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality--Its a way of understanding it." ~Lloyd Alexander
"The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think." ~Edwin Schlossberg
"We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out." ~Ray Bradbury
"The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter--it is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." ~Mark Twain
"I write because I have women living inside me who lay alone on their deathbeds." ~Natasha Nelson
"Every great and original writer, in proportion as he is great and original, must himself create the taste by which he is to be relished." ~William Wordsworth
"If you go into a room...full of books--even without taking them from the shelves they seem to speak to you" ~William Ewart Gladstone
Monday, February 28, 2011
Defeating Writer's Block: A Tip
This is what I like to do when I'm stuck. I am sharing with you because, because. I'm not an authority on the matter, but where would writers be without other writers to throw rescue ropes into our word pits? =)
Writer’s block, as many of us are anguishly aware, is often when we have the desire or need to write, but nothing is occurring to us. If only the beginning of an idea could show itself, we may know where to go.
One thing we can do rather than leave ourselves to entire sentences, is start with the baby-step of filling in the blank.
Step 1: Look up famous first lines, famous last lines, find a line in a random book near you, get a favorite quote—start somewhere, and take a line out of context entirely.
Step 2: Take the line you’ve chosen, and find a way to fill it with blanks. Take only the first half, or remove all the verbs, or take the end of the line and plan to end up there, or use any other method of diminishing you can think of.
Examples of steps one and two completed:
For the seventh time, …
As he fumbled to ____________, he looked up and saw….
One thing that ___________ never was, so they said, was….
…and lay in a crumpled heap at the feet of his _________.
Her ________ was/were wide, and his was/were __________.
Step 3: Have a field day. Even if lines like these don’t lead you to accomplish your task at hand, they tend to break the embargo that kept dramatic and enticing words from reaching you.
Writer’s block, as many of us are anguishly aware, is often when we have the desire or need to write, but nothing is occurring to us. If only the beginning of an idea could show itself, we may know where to go.
One thing we can do rather than leave ourselves to entire sentences, is start with the baby-step of filling in the blank.
Step 1: Look up famous first lines, famous last lines, find a line in a random book near you, get a favorite quote—start somewhere, and take a line out of context entirely.
Step 2: Take the line you’ve chosen, and find a way to fill it with blanks. Take only the first half, or remove all the verbs, or take the end of the line and plan to end up there, or use any other method of diminishing you can think of.
Examples of steps one and two completed:
For the seventh time, …
As he fumbled to ____________, he looked up and saw….
One thing that ___________ never was, so they said, was….
…and lay in a crumpled heap at the feet of his _________.
Her ________ was/were wide, and his was/were __________.
Step 3: Have a field day. Even if lines like these don’t lead you to accomplish your task at hand, they tend to break the embargo that kept dramatic and enticing words from reaching you.
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