Saturday, January 26, 2013

12 steps for Writers

Some of the most successful programs for self improvement in the world are what is know as a twelve step program.  Modeled, I think, after the system used by Alcoholics Anonymous since its inception, the programs are outlines for healing.
So like any good netizen, I googled Twelve steps for Writers.  And yes, there are lots of articles out there. Mostly they appear to be comedic, tongue in cheek articles that are entertaining, but not really helpful. There were some that made sense for article writers, maybe even blog writers. But what we are dealing with here are writers of fiction.  Story telling.

So I thought I'd see if i could come up with twelve steps.  Maybe even helpful steps.  Rather than force myself to come up with all of them in one sitting, I'll do what will necessarily end up on the list, and take my time. In fact, let's make that number 1.

1. Take your time.  Hear the voices.

By this I mean that it is great to stream of consciousness write whatever comes to your head.  Most writers I know do ten minutes of free writing, or three pages or 750 words. Or they open a paper journal and go outside and just write the weather.  Remember the sunrises I used to write?  Like that.

All of those are just methods of clearing the cobwebs.  They let you move from the focus on life as you know it, from the kids and puppies and telephone and clock and all the other things that insist, demand your attention. Until you can give yourself a chance to put them aside, it is going to be tough for your characters to whisper to you what they want to do.  Impossible for your plot to show you the interlocking pieces.

And when the characters do speak, or the plot unfolds in your head, get it down on paper, but don't go running to Aunt Martha, your biggest fan just yet.  Let it sit. For hours, days, or in some cases, even years. Good writing doesn't expire.  Later on we'll have a step on revising, but for now, just take the time you need to go a little crazy and hear the voices.

(by the way, if you stumble across this blog and think, how sad, she's writing and no one is reading, don't worry.  I've been around a long time, and I'll get the hang of marketing some day.  I think that may be step 12.)

If you are reading and you have things you think should be included on this list, don't hesitate to comment or shoot me an email.  I think I'm all linked up now.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

40 days...

Thanks to the folks at Inprint I'm back in regular writing workshops again.  I don't know that I learn a lot from workshops anymore... I suspect I have enough writing books and critical essays to have earned an MFA by now, but given the number of "drafts" that have taken up residence on my desk, I clearly need the discipline of deadlines. I don't know what possessed me to think that printing out drafts was a good idea, other than the ability to "not edit" while sitting in positions not conducive to a notebook computer, but these pages now haunt me every time I sit at my desk.

So my commitment to myself is to a) write new things for workshop, and b) FINISH something.  So not only have I signed up for another round of workshopping at Inprint, I've agreed to a less formal group with classmates from the last workshop.  That means I will have new eyes for some of the drafts and I will have deadlines to get them moving. Even if they move to the trash or back to a box in the desk that I'll save for the day I have a publisher begging me for anything...

What's that saying I like?  It costs nothing to dream, and everything not to.

Tomorrow I'm with the Old group, and am taking them a short flash piece I wrote in 2009 and a longer one I wrote way back in 2000.  Both of them inspired by the state of Michigan, one winter, one summer.  Since it has been almost fifteen years since I've lived in Michigan, it interests me that this is the work I feel safest with.  Now I've been in Texas longer than I was in Michigan, so it may be time to take some Texan sized risks.  The last two novels I've worked on have major Texas scenes... all i need to do is edit 300 pages before I can get back to them.

at 7.5 pages a day....that's only 40 days.  And nights.  We all know what can happen to the world in 40 days!



Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Resolved...

January is resolution time.  For writers, that means time to renew our commitment to our characters, our word count, or at least our butt in the chair time.  I'm  no different.  In fact, I made several resolutions, for the year, about writing.  One of them had to do with editing. One had to do with publishing. One even had to do with actually writing.  Here we are two thirds through January though, and the only one I am faithful to is the writing.  Sad to say, I write because I love to write. Not edit, not publish.  Unfortunately, I already have hard drives and baskets and folders full of "writing."  It's time to do something with it.

Challenges are helpful.  I am competitive, and I like winning, so I have accepted the challange from a writer friend to enter a non prize winning contest.  Why? The winner gets their work read on stage. Hmm.  Maybe being read is enough of an incentive to get me to polish up a few things.

Fear is also helpful.  I signed up for another workshop, and have to have stories or chapters reader ready at least two times in the next ten weeks.  That doesn't sound like much, but I've challenged myself to make it "new writing." That's right. no pulling a tried and true and already work-shopped story from the baskets. That's too easy. Those stories are old and the emotion that created them is long gone. I'm no longer attached to them, so when I read them cold, they don't elicit a need from me to fix them, while preserving the passion from which they were created.  Great for editing. Not so great for creating.  And I want the encouragement that comes from having someone read what I'm working on now, and want more.

What gets you to keep your resolutions?