A Quote from Thomas Mann

Hi everyone, I was looking for a bit of inspiration today to help me keep on writing through and came upon this quote by Thomas Mann.  Thought I’d share it with you:

 

Thomas Mann

“The task of a writer consists of being able to make something out of an idea.”

Thomas Mann

SURPRISE! A writing prompt from Marisa

Hi, everyone, I didn’t ask permission to make a guest appearance, but here I am anyway. Earlier this semester, I assigned the essay “Speak, Hoyt-Schermerhorn”* by Jonathan Lethem for my intermediate-level creative nonfiction classes to discuss. Their reactions to the essay were mixed, so if you want to read it, I’ll start there. It’s about a subway station in Brooklyn. No, it’s about Lethem’s memories of the subway station. No, it’s about crime. No, it’s about change. No, it’s about the history of the subway system in New York City. No, it’s about…. It’s about all of those things. I rather enjoyed the piece, though it’s exposition-heavy.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I’ll get to the prompt. When I read the first sentence of Lethem’s essay, I stopped and let the memories rise. Then I resumed reading his essay. So here’s the first sentence. If you’re looking for something to write about, maybe this’ll stir something for you:

“When you’re a child, everything local is famous.”

I hope everyone got something of benefit from Writer’s March. I know I did. And I’d like to thank Sam and Randi and the guest contributors for their work on the blog and, more than that, the inspiration to get busy. Wishing you all the best–Marisa.

*My student Matt who’s from NY said it’s pronounced Hoyt-Skermerhorn, if you care about such things (as I do).

Thirty-first and final daily compost of bittersweet, grapefruit-like happiness.

What better time for a little end-of-march plot line humor?

Sweet partings fellow marchers. T’was everything I needed it to be plus some. Whether you’ve found the daily composts useful, amusing, irritatingly clever, or just irritating, I’ve enjoyed being your compost turner for all days but say, six or so. Here we are at the doorstep of April and I should sign off before I start making manure jokes.

Here’s to you and your battle-worn pen,

Your friendly neighborhood literary poop expert, Randi.

(with emergency guest composter extraordinaire, Sam)

Final Writer’s March Poll

Choose up to TWO!

Thanks everyone!

Are We There Yet?

Wow. A month of committed writing.  In that time the trees have started to turn green, my allergies have kicked in full force, and I feel like I made significant progress in this thing called writing life.

I think I’m supposed to say something really significant on this last day of March, but for me, it is not the last day of my Writer’s March…   it is the beginning, at least the beginning of a new chapter (I think it’s called April).

What I’ve learned (or was reminded of) this month:

1. Five hours a day, every day is too much!  Perhaps this will change if I have more “business” of writing to take care of, but the actual writing, the getting inside my head, digging around in there for treasures to put down on the page…  can’t do it consistently for five hours a day.

2. I’m okay with number 1.   You see the old Jennifer would have allowed one day’s failure to slow her down. She would have gone back in to her head thinking, mostly beating herself up, and not writing.  And even though the five-hour-a-day-goal includes actual writing, staring at the computer screen, journaling, staring out the office window, and reading as long as it’s in service of the writing, the new Jennifer can say What the heck was I thinking? She can re-assess and re-envision the goal and make it not only attainable, but sustainable.

3. I can accomplish a goal even if I don’t do it in as big a way as I had envisioned (like in five hour a day increments)….  in other words, I finished the second draft of my comps!  I took the thin 11 page initial draft, and exceeded my advisors mandate to make it 22 pages, instead growing it to 25 pages. Hah!  as my friend Nari pointed out (via Facebook) “That’s about the longest piece of writing (aside from the book-length memoir as a whole) I’ve heard of you doing, Jenn. You deserve an apple.”

4. Albuquerque New Mexico is the smallest town I’ve ever lived in. Just last week I went to a poetry open mic event called Fixed and Free (it takes place on the fourth Thursday of every month over at The Source).  There I met a woman (Teresa)  who when asked how her writing was going said, “Great! I’ve written 23 poems this month. I’m doing this Writers March thing.”

I said, “I”m ‘Thursdays with Jenn!’”  I couldn’t wait to tell Sam that Teresa was finding success in this group process and couldn’t wait to get home to write another poem.

5. It takes a village…  to do just about anything.  Really, we can’t and shouldn’t expect to do things on our own. It is in allowing other people in to support us that we can accomplish great things.

And so I leave you with this last thought inspired by this card from my Attitude Is Everything deck…

On the flip side it says:

“I Identify the people who pull me up and show them an attitude of gratitude”

I am grateful for so many people, but I’ll keep this to the people who have been supportive of my writing life:

My sister.  She loves to tell people I’m a writer. Admittedly sometimes that feels good, and sometimes that feels intimidating, but it’s nice to know she believes in me. Makes it just a bit easier to believe in myself.

My dissertation advisor/ writing mentor Greg Martin.  Even if he doesn’t end up being a character in my memoir, he will always be a super important part of my development as a writer–maybe even as a human being.  Writing, after all is just about life and while I’ve learned about story structure and having obstacles that are formidable, I’ve also learned to take a closer, more honest look at myself…  of course this wouldn’t apply if I’d only gone the fiction route…

Sam Tetangco…  what can I say.  It’s not just this blog, it’s the friendship and the times spent writing together.  I’m inspired by your dedication, and your positive attitude, and your wisdom.

Randi Beck…  again… more than the blog, the daily compost, I’m inspired by your talent and your enthusiasm!

Cynthia Patton.  We met in 2005 at the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference.  We’ve kept in touch, supporting each other through our memoir writing, and a lot of messy “life” stuff.  You joined the Writers March and although you did not comment on my posts, I could count on you to read them and respond privately, offering support and suggestions…  YOU my friend are a much better writer than you think you are.

Merimee Moffitt, my co-host for DimeStories and my entree into the world of poetry (it’s a scary place!).  Anyway, I am grateful to you for your support, and if I’m stuck here in Albuquerque I am glad you are here to be my friend.

Sorry, I’m gonna lump the rest of you together:  My San Diego writing pals:  Judy Reeves, Amy Wallen, Jill Badonsky and last but not least Karin Zirk.  I’m still not where I am, but I wouldn’t have gotten here without you.

My MFA program colleagues:  Cassie Lopez,  Tanaya Winder, Elizabeth Tannen, Suzanne Richardson, Nari Kirk, Melanie Unruh…  Here I am… I couldn’t have survived it without you.  (and the rest of my colleagues in the program who’ve read and critiqued my work, making me a much better writer and reader).

So how did the Writers’ March work for YOU? and who are you grateful for?

Jour Trente: pretty close to daily compost

Having trouble finishing? Is it perhaps because it feels a little…sudden? A little ruthless? Maybe you, like Truman Capote, believe that

“Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.”

Or perhaps you feel it is slightly more gentle or bittersweet, like William Feather who said that: “Finishing a book is like leaving good friend.”

 

Or maybe you just feel kind of done with what youre writing and you feel more like Oscar Wilde who said that

“Books are never finished, they are merely abandoned.”

(but if you take that stance…beware.)

Whatever the case, all writer’s seem to agree on at least one thing: Finish it.

 

 

The last two miles…(2 days to go)

I’ve heard it said that the last two miles are the hardest two miles.  That after a long drive, accidents happen in the last two miles.  That marathon runners cave in the last two miles.  That so much work falls apart right at the end.  The manuscript that is one draft away.  The poem that needs its final image.  The unfinished sweater, the fingerless gloves, the dishes left undone.  So much of life is leaving the little things unfinished.  And they pile.  And here we are, the end of this march (and the end of March), and the only advice I have to give is the advice that I’m giving myself.  Don’t give up on these last two miles.

For some of us, at the end of March, we’ll relax on our goals.  5 hours/day might turn to 15 minutes might turn to two hours of prime time television might turn to staring at a wall.  I hope that doesn’t happen.  My goal in starting this writer’s march was simple: I wanted to write.  Every day.  To have a goal and finish it.  I will not pretend to be perfect.  I will not pretend that I was able to sustain my 3 hours of writing a day, but I came close.  I’ve written a hundred pages so far, but I have not yet completed the third draft of this novel.  I’ve learned about myself as a writer, what I want/need out of a writing routine, what makes me get out of bed (early) in the morning and work.

Most importantly, I’ve also learned to be gentle (or at least gentler).  To know that writing should be an act of love and as one of my professors told me, if you aren’t enjoying writing it, then people aren’t going to enjoy reading it.  According to him, if you don’t love writing a book, even when it’s published and on the shelves, you won’t feel satisfied.  Writing, no matter what form you do it in, is a journey.  The end result is much more satisfying if you let yourself enjoy the ride.

Tomorrows final post falls on a Thursday, and Jennifer Simpson will wrap up the month.  I plan on keeping up with this blog–though I admit the daily postings will likely go away.  Between now and next year, I’ll work on getting this Writer’s March going again.  Until then, keep at it.  Some people have already told me they’ll continue the daily routine.  I hope you will, too.

It has been a pleasure writing to you every day (more or less) this month.  Thanks for sharing this writing “space” with me.

Until next time,

Sam

Thanks, too, to Jenn Simpson (Thursdays with Jenn), Randi Beck (Daily Compost), and Marisa P., Elizabeth Tannen and Bob Sabatini for guest blogging.

 

 

XXIX: practically daily compost

‘Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old-fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he’ll eventually make some kind of career for himself as writer.’

Ray Bradbury

 

3 tips, 3 exercises, 3 days left

With three days left on this Writer’s March, here are three different writing exercises that I got from Daniel Mueller.

Mueller, a phenomenal teacher/writer, will usually give small writing exercises to the class during his workshops. I used to be very resistant to these writing exercises. I understood that they had a specific purpose (which I’ll list each individual one below), but it took me awhile to understand how to make a writing exercise work for me. And so, for today’s post, here’s “3 Ways to make a writing exercise useful” followed by “3 Mueller writing exercises.”

3 Ways to make a writing exercise useful.

1. Use them to generate an entirely new story
2. Use them for a moment in your story that is lacking. Think of that scene that bores you and try using the writing exercise to spark something new in that scene.
3. Use them to learn something. Think of the word exercise, which according to my Mac’s dictionary is an “activity requiring physical effort, carried out esp. to sustain or improve health and fitness.” Try thinking of them as activities to sustain and improve the health and fitness of your work.

3 Mueller writing exercises

1. The snake in the chest of drawers (I always want to call it a “chester drawer.”) For the life of me, I can’t remember why this is called this. There’s a story that involves a snake in the chest of drawers, but the general idea is that a character (either intentionally or unintentionally) discovers an object that reveals something important about another character. (This one is an exercise in using an object to launch tension)
2. The secret (a two scene exercise). Similar to the one above (or even using the one above). First, write a scene where one character witnesses a second character doing something they are not supposed to do. Second, write another scene where the first character confronts the second character about what they saw, but the second character DOES NOT tell them. (This one is an exercise in sustaining tension.)
3. The bad idea. Write a scene where one character is trying to convince another character of/into something that is a bad idea. (This one an exercise in character conflict.)

#28: nearly daily compost

What no wife of a writer can ever understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window.  ~Burton Rascoe