Category Archives: Writing Life

Writing and Building a Chicken Coop

20 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in Inspiration and Creativity, life & living, writing, Writing Life

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Some of you might have noticed that I’ve been posting a bit more on the blog. Here is what happened:

Back in November I received my agent’s response to the first hundred pages of my new novel. She provided detailed feedback, which indicated, quite kindly, that the characters were fuzzy and the novel more or less a convoluted mess. I sought the opinion of a friend with a good eye. The friend gently concurred with the diagnosis: “It reads like it was written with a lot of interruptions.” The situation in a nutshell.

I had to face that my life has changed drastically from when I had hours and hours to myself for ‘moodling time’ as writing teacher Brenda Ueland called it. Hours to focus on nothing but my writing. Today my life and home are filled with people who require my attention daily, and I haven’t seemed to be able to adjust to this change and still write as I used to do. I had to face that maybe my novel writing days were over. I felt crushed, and thoroughly lost.

My husband said to me, “Oh, forget about it and build the chicken coop.”

I looked at him, and I think a light-bulb could have been seen over my head. Perfect timing. I had a new creative goal. And I began to see all the things I could do, if I wasn’t writing.

Only funny thing. I discovered that I can’t stop writing. I find myself scribbling more in my journal, writing emails and comments and posts here on the blog, and wonderful paragraphs in my mind.

Then, as I helped with sawing and measuring and adjusting angles all over the place, I’ve found my mind doing the same adjusting with my novel. The concept is good…I love my characters (of course!)…I must clearly choose a lead character…just a bit of a change of the goal…and she says this, and then does that…

I am a writer, and a writer writes.  This apparently will not change, even though the world around me does. I find I still love writing a novel. When I am writing, I come alive. I’m brought once more to the truth that it isn’t the product but the process. Trust the writing process, and it will take me where I need to go. I write, I adjust, I write a little more. a lot like building this chicken coop.

The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe. ~ Gustave Flaubert

I’m enjoying building the chicken coop and learning about chickens. I’ll be writing about it…and it’s likely going to show up in the novel.

The Joys of Journal Writing

10 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Books, Creativity, Inspiration, Writer on Writing, writers, writing, Writing Life

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If you’ve followed this blog, you know I am a journal writer. A the end of the past year, I decided to gather my journals from the various shelves, nooks, and crannies where they’re tucked and put them all into a plastic container. I want to store them under my bed, an easy place to get to them and begin taking them out one at a time for re-reading.

Tonight I discovered that I had vastly underestimated the size of container needed. I have approximately thirty-five years of journals, and the container I bought that fits under the bed will only hold ten years worth.

Ten years worth of journals, two a year.

I began journal writing in my early twenties. There were no journal writing teachers or classes or gurus like there are now. Nor, as far as I knew, the term journal writer. I thought more in terms of diary, until I read about the journals kept by one of my favorite authors, Catherine Marshall. Mrs. Marshall used simple spiral bound notebooks, and this simple idea inspired me. I had no idea that my compulsive journal writing was a clue to my being a writer.

Day after day, year after year I have written my heart on lined pages. In the first writing course that I took, mystery writer and teacher Carolyn Hart required the class to keep a journal, and to turn it in. There were moans from the younger students around me, but I smiled, eager to do something that came naturally to me. I wasn’t about to turn in my real journal, of course, so I kept a second, far less intimate one.

Sometime in the late 1980s, A friend gave me The Artist Way, by Julia Cameron. Morning pages is Cameron’s famous tool for connecting to creativity. I wanted to keep a second notebook, or just write on legal tablets what was likely to be an abundance of gibberish flowing out, and best thrown away. Yet mostly I wrote in my journals. I discovered that I had pretty much been letting my thoughts flow for years into my journals– my thoughts, my struggles, frustrations, heartaches, and, more and more, my hopes, dreams, and joys. And I never have thrown them away.

If you are a journal writer, you might find interesting the video below, by Christian Baldwin, author and journal writer. She offers some intriguing suggestions to get you started and deepen your journal writing.

Blessings,
CurtissAnn

Cure for Worry– Write About It

06 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in Books and Writing, Creativity, Faith, hope, writers, writing, Writing Life

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I’ve often heard authors tell of taking all their anger about an errant husband, bad divorce, back-stabbing friend and writing a really good book. Theraputic beyond measure to torture and knock off the nasty character in a nasty way. Saves loads of expense for a therapist.

And, yes, I’ve gotten rid of some of my resentment of a few people in my books. For example, the writer who made a snarky remark about my not being a Southern woman or writer, as I was from Oklahoma. I dealt with that bit of stupidity nicely in Chin Up, Honey, and it gave me oh, so much satisfaction. (No, I’m not telling the woman’s name. Funny, I’ve clean forgotten her name, but not her expression of distain. If she’d been in rain, she would have drowned.)

But my point, and I do have one, is that writing is a cure for a myriad of ills.

This morning I was having a very tough time getting going. The day was before me, and I could not apply myself to anything, much less writing. I suddenly had a vision of myself, and saw black birds of worry fluttering around my head. I realized that I could not imagine anything but my worries.

I got my journal and made a list of the worries. You know it only came to four that seemed pressing, and they were all about the same thing–losses that I was afraid might happen. I do not know if they will happen. I was projecting the worst. That is the thing about a writer– we’re very adept at envisioning catastrophe.

The very nice result of writing down my worries, though, was I could see the error in my thinking, was made aware that I could just as well turn to expectation of good, and even make a list of these scenarios. Then I gave it all up to God, “Here you go. I can’t handle any of these situations but You can, thank you very much.”

I’ve been writing like a house afire ever since.

Re-starting the day out right…
Dear God, today when I worry, let me give my worries to You, and focus on the beauty of this day. I have so much precious and beautiful around me today. I will not cloud my vision of it by fears of tomorrow. Just for today, I will live unafraid. Amen. So it is.

Blessings,
CurtissAnn

Listen Here — Word for the Year

02 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Challenges and Opportunities, Creativity, Faith, Writing Life

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Listen – the guiding word I’ve chosen for the new year.

When I was mulling over my choices, and Listen plopped into my brain, I was not enthused. Are you sure? What about Love, or Peace, or Joy…you know, those lofty fruits of the Spirit? I can sure use more of any of those. Or sound attitudes like Acceptance and Letting Go? Each of those attitudes seemed more viable.

But then Shel Silverstein‘s famous poem came to mind. I first heard it from author Jack Bickham, who used to walk around behind us in his writing classes and quote it like a sage:

Listen to the musn’ts, child, Listen to the Don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. List to the never haves, then listen close to me…Anything can happen, child. Anything can be. ~Shel Silverstein

This morning as I was mulling over Listen, I heard precious Big Mama’s voice echo clearly. “Now listen here.” She might say, “Well, I’m gonna tell them, just listen here…” Very often it was to the grandkids, “Now you kids listen here…”

Big Mama had a voice that carried. The sort of voice that I could hear at the kitchen sink when my husband was talking to her on the phone across the room at the table. I guess it carries yet from heaven to my heart. I smile as I write this, hearing it. I listened well to her. Big Mama was a wise woman.

Listen and Learn is the saying. As I wrote this, I realized that to listen encompasses just about everything. It is the listening ear and heart that learns of love, peace, joy, and how to accept and let go.

So this year I Listen.

And I hear dear Sweetie-Pie calling, “Nan–na!” so I’m off. Do let me know what your Word for the year is.

Blessings,
CurtissAnn