by supertwigs | Mar 1, 2011 | Creativity, Education, Goals, Writing |
(I have mentioned high school poetry before. Namely, the fact that I stopped writing it in high school…)
The subject of high school poetry, these days, has become rather synonymous with bad. It seems that raw openness, and youthful optimism and/or angst (take your pick) are somehow the harbingers of cheesiness.
Well, today, I happened to find my old high school poetry. And, yes, there is a fair bit of badness, a large amount of idealism (a sin of which I am still guilty), and some issues-ridden pandering. True. But, it turns out, there is also a fair bit of poetry. And some humour.
Like this poem:
The wandering brook
The gurgling stream
Are like the pages of a storybook
The child screamed
And fell in the brook
And that was the end,
Of the storybook.
Anyways… What I was really struck with, in fact, was not my amazing poetry, but my analysis. Or the bit I wrote about why I liked poetry. It actually made me think today. And, so, I share it with you:
I like poetry because it gives me the freedom to express what I am thinking, especially when writing free-verse. In the words of Robert Frost, “Writing free-verse is like playing tennis with the net down.” Writing poetry is easy because there are no grammatical rules. It is easy to use made-up words, sentence fragments, and to jump from one thought to the next.
I think poetry is all about interpretation. The author of the poem can write it to mean something personal to them, but it can be interpreted by others in a completely different (but no less relevant) way…
Since poetry is so open to interpretation it can be anything you want it to be. There is no right and wrong with poetry reading and interpretation. Every different person finds different meaning in every poem.
Not bad for a tenth-grader. I also read my teacher’s comments. It turns out he encouraged me to take creative writing classes. And I didn’t. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
So, in honor of my (fifteen?) year-old self, I am going to start writing poetry again. And reading it, too.
(Hence, therefore, if you have any favorite poems, or poets to share – please do!)
by supertwigs | Feb 25, 2011 | Creativity, Goals, Writing |
As I navigate the complicated waters of writing a novel in 30 days (to victory!), I have happened upon a rather interesting phenomenon. The hijack.
My process, thus far, has been pretty free-flowing. I started with a character. I gave her a setting. I set the clock, and said go. I quickly gave her a conflict (as all good protagonists must have) in the death of her husband. Then, I let her fly.
Something approximating the setting
A part of me thought I’d be in control. A fairly major part. After all, I am the writer, am I not? Well, it turns out, that she’s got me beat. Top pair, ace high. Whatever it is, it beats my 2, 7 off-suit.
The other day I was writing a scene. She is talking to an older man, dying of lung cancer (yes, you are right, there seems to be a lot of death in this novel – who knew?). I am thinking, perfect, he is going to tell her about how he lost his wife (more death), and they’ll bond over this. So, things are moving right along. He even starts with something like, “the day my wife died…” And then, somehow, the two are laughing about a woman falling over while acting like a duck. Laughing hysterically, and yelling at the sky.
I give up trying to tell his story. I now have to find a new way to fit it in. Or not. I guess that depends on the characters. Because, another thing. I seem to be developing some sort of love subplot. Unintended. Between two characters with a twenty year age gap (not the two aforementioned ones, just so you know). I don’t know if it will be requited or not. I’m now smart enough to just wait and see.
Did I mention that I’m halfway there?! 26,000 words and counting. I should also mention that I may have to adjust my timeline… I really want to write my novel in 30 days. And I will. That is, if I don’t count the days that I didn’t write. Now, I should also say that these days happened in the beginning. Before I became a seasoned pro. 1600 words a day is easy. When you’re behind, 3000 is not so easy. So we’ll see.
However, when I do reach 50,000 words, you bet I’ll be proud. And you bet I’ll be surprised. Because the way things are going, I have no idea what is going to happen next…
by supertwigs | Feb 21, 2011 | Goals, Parenting, Writing |
20,000 words and counting. I’ve reached a milestone of sorts in my novel-writing challenge (30 days, 50,000 words). And it is getting easier again. I feel like I’m over a hump. Here’s hoping, anyways, that the rest of the novel will just come pouring out of me a mile a minute and I’ll reach my deadline. Which, if anyone is keeping track, is fast approaching. And I’m only two fifths of the way there.
So far, it has been a funny journey. On the whole, it has been so much easier than I could have imagined. I have had two nights that felt like pulling teeth, but so many others that felt good. The time flying by, and the words almost writing themselves. I’d like to imagine I’m in my Element (check out my Daily Reading). We’ll see.
It feels like I’m starting to wax poetic here (watch out, I’ll be writing high school poetry again soon). Actually, when I finish spewing out this novel, which seems like a good way to describe the process of speed noveling, I think I will try writing poetry again. Although, I’m not promising to publish any here (I’m sure you’re thanking your lucky stars right now).
The hardest part so far has been writing dialogue. I actually started off with my character nicely isolated, hardly encountering another human being, and I thought, this could be my I Robot. I could just give this woman a dog (or, in her case, a baby) to talk to. And no one else. But, then, she’d still have to talk to the baby. If she was to be any kind of mother. And I’d still have to write dialogue.
Talking to your baby, by the way, is one of the best things you can do for them. I tend to go with the “Sportscaster Mom” approach, and narrate anything and everything that is happening around them. At least I did with my first child. The second one, dear Sylvie, mostly gets to listen to her brother talk. I wonder what kind of speech patterns she will develop. Of course, her brother is a bit of a motormouth, so it might work out alright for both of them.
So, dialogue. Ugh. It turns out, in my novel, I just keep introducing characters. All needing their own special voice. Their own unique sound and manner. I found this all extremely tedious, especially when factoring in punctuation: quote, comma, end quote, period, repeat. And don’t forget the words strung in there somewhere. I have read that dialogue is one of the hardest parts of writing, and I believe it.
So, for those of you who want to try something like this at home, here are a few scenarios you might consider:
- Your character is deaf. Therefore, can’t speak to anyone. At least not aloud. But, I think you’d still have to write the words they sign in ASL. So how about…
- Your character is the last person on earth. Period. But, as in I, Robot, there might still be animals. So…
- Your character is the last person on earth. And there are no animals. Or rocks, or trees, or anything else they might want to talk to. That brings us to…
- Your character has taken a vow of silence. And you are writing in the first person. There. That should about do it. It should also be a very speedy novel to write. As long as you don’t give them a pen.
Anyways, around word 18,000 or so, I realized something. I was hardly even thinking about the dialogue. It was kind of just coming. Like those pesky characters were thinking and talking those words all by their little old selves. Okay, it has only been 2000 words since then. By tomorrow night, I might be stuck again. Cringing at every line. Shaking my head at my pathetic attempts to master the English language and the nuances of speech. But, for now, I’d like to think I’ve made a breakthrough.
And, although I still have a long way to go, I have much to be thankful for. I’m 20,000 words in. I have written at least 1600 words every night since I confessed my project here, on my blog. And I am seriously enjoying the process. I mean, really enjoying it. I love it (most days, most of the time). So, for now, I’m going to bed on a high.
She pats herself on the back, and says, “Goodnight already. Geesh.” (I would never say that).
P.S. My spellchecker says “noveling” is not a word. I beg to differ.
by supertwigs | Feb 19, 2011 | Goals, Photography |
One of the most exciting things in my life right now is my new camera! I finally joined the digital photography age, and got my first Digital SLR camera this Christmas. I so missed being able to take photos manually, with a camera that allowed me to set the aperture and other settings. I now feel sorry for my son, Dylan, who only has mediocre photos of himself as a baby. Sylvie, if I can help it, should have some real stunners!
I have dabbled in photography for a long time. My undergraduate degree is in film production and studies, and during that time I studied the elements of framing shots to tell a story and convey meaning. I took photography classes in university, and learned about developing in darkrooms (I process which I love). But, when the digital age hit, I guess I was a step behind. My point and shoot was not cutting it. So, now I feel as though I have finally arrived (well, maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but I do feel good).
And so, in honour of my new camera, I have made myself a promise to take photos everyday. Partly, to see all that is beautiful in life, and partly for practice, practice, practice. I have dreams of a little home studio, and am excited about reconnecting with the art of photography. I started off wanting to take beautiful photos of my kids, but now that I am on a role who knows how far I might go?
Yesterday, while flitting around the web, I landed on a great site. MCP Actions is a company that sells photoshop presets for your photos – to make them look really pretty. They have a weekly photo challenge, and I thought, “Perfect! A challenge I can handle.” You submit one photo a week, and they even give you handy little themes to follow.
So I have a new banner on my blog and a new commitment. I’ll be posting my weekly photo on my blog, so you can all see how truly lovely it is.
by supertwigs | Feb 16, 2011 | Goals, Parenting |
Well, I know what you’re thinking, this doesn’t sound like a positive post about living your dreams. But, it was one of those days, and they say to write what you know.
First off, who is that woman in the mirror? Some days she’s bright-eyed and passionate. At other times I look and look but I wonder what has happened to me. Where exactly have I gone, again?
My husband is the one who first noticed the dead-eyed moms. They seem to populate the places we frequent. The drop-in preschools, kid play areas, swimming pool. Especially the swimming pool. Having just come from watching my son’s swimming lesson today, I can attest to this. They (we?!) are all sitting there, watching our children solemnly from the benches provided. Some are reading, others texting. Others simply staring, dead-eyed into space. The pool is a special place. The air is humid, the sound of screaming permeates the space (don’t worry, they’re mostly squeals of delight), and there is always loud background music. Somehow, it is enough to lose yourself.
Perhaps my child is young enough that I still have a sense of pride watching him in his swimming lesson. I hardly want to take my eyes off of him, “What’s he going to do next!?” (Answer: run off on the teacher, who has to leave the other kids, splashing precariously in water up to their shoulders, to retrieve him).
Anyways, today I felt like a dead-eyed mom. Exhausted, tired, uninspired. And wondered, is this what I am destined to become – or, if you must – remain?
I absolutely love parenting. It is the best, most meaningful thing I have ever done. Obviously. What mother doesn’t say that? But, really, speaking from experience, what mother doesn’t mean that? Nothing else in my life has given me such great joy, but also pushed me so hard to be a better person. The kind of person my children will be proud of. The kind of mother I will be proud of.
I suppose it’s the daily grind. But, those dead-eyed moms serve as a reminder to me. Both of my own vulnerability, but also of my dreams. Because, if I forget myself, I don’t stand a chance. I can feel my eyes glazing over as I write this (or maybe that is just the extreme tiredness of having written this as well as 2300 words of my novel today!). So dead eyes go away, moms all over hang in there, because we all know it’s worth it. And it so very much is. Let’s just not forget the self-care, too.
And, who knows, perhaps I will even grow to like suburbia one of these days?
Now, with that, I retreat. To care for myself. All the way to bed.
by supertwigs | Feb 13, 2011 | Books, Creativity, Goals, Photography, Writing |
A few weeks ago I started reading, The Creativity Book, by Eric Maisel. It is a step-by-step weekly guide to bringing out your own creative potential, and helping you work on a specific creative goal throughout the year. So far, I am really enjoying it, and I have already attempted to create a few habits based on its suggestions:
- Make sure to carve out an hour each day for yourself, and your creative pursuits (usually at night after the kids are in bed).
- Take a few moments every morning to drink a cup of tea, sit and think of/repeat a dream you’ve always wanted to accomplish (Currently: “I have always wanted to write”)
- Make space in your home & your bookshelf for your creative projects
Okay, and it’s the last one that has been the most challenging. I never have trouble with the bookshelf, as it is always littered with way too many books that I am trying to read simultaneously. All of which, in some way, are influencing my journey towards my dreams. But the workspace is another story. I am supposed to find a space in which I want to sit and, well, muse.
So, looking around my house I found a tiny corner of the couch. It’s covered in cat hair and littered with toys most of the time, but it’s there. And, if I’m careful, some mornings I even avoid the cat puke on my way there. It isn’t much, but there is a nice lamp beside me, and there is space for my notebook on the coffee table. I am starting to find it enjoyable, because of the reading and thinking that goes on there. I wouldn’t say it is sacred, but it will do for now.
I have dreams of converting our garage of horrors into a useable space, and then a photography studio. A personal goal for another post. And when I do, because I am now bound to accomplish the things I write about here, or be shamed by my readers (see how that motivates me!), I will take some nifty before and after photos and post them, too. Yes, I just used the word nifty. Sorry about that.
So, for anyone reading this who has a creative space they love (or some tips for creating an impromptu studio in a garage!), I’d love to hear about it.
And anyone following my 30-day novel challenge: 4500 words and counting. I added a cool 2000 words today, but got stuck on a yellow sticky note. What will it say?!
Hi! I’m Kelly Woods, writer, mother & librarian. I write about beauty, creativity, green living and lifestyle design to help others live a life of inspiration, too.