Don't Know What to Write? Ice Cream: Go!
Don’t worry about publishing. Just write. That’s what Natalie Goldberg preached at the keynote address for the Write on the Sound Conference I attended Oct. 2-3.
Goldberg, the Writing Down the Bones author who is known for her writing practice and her rapid-fire freewriting assignments that all end with “Go!” as in “Write about ice cream: Go!” took the stage at the Edmonds (Washington) Arts Center, looking tiny in her black pantsuit from where I sat in the plush orchestra seats. She spoke slowly, with a smile in her voice, a Brooklyn accent, and the calmness of Buddha.
Her message was simple yet profound: Just write. Cast aside your inner editor. Make it a practice like meditation or yoga. What athlete or musician doesn’t practice? Why should we expect to turn out War and Peace every time we write. Just write.
The huge audience got so quiet I wondered if anyone was breathing as she urged us to keep writing no matter what, to refuse to let rejection get us down, to get to the essence of what we really want and need to write.
It was so inspiring, listening to this unassuming goddess of creative writing.
And then we went to our first afternoon class and the teacher told us we have to start marketing our books the minute we set down our first word. We have to build platforms and create buzz in the media to convince agents, editors and readers to buy what we write. Aargh.
In the next class, we heard about hiring book editors to smooth out our prose and make it presentable to editors and agents. The conversation veered into what we can deduct on our income tax. You must have a profit motive, said a writer/CPA in the audience. Ah, yes.
Art vs. commerce. It’s a never-ending battle.
The most comfortable class of the day for me was Willa Schneberg’s poetry class. Perhaps it’s because we all know you can’t get rich from writing poetry, but it was as if we all took a collective breath and relaxed when we sat down in that warm old classroom. Here we would play with words and ideas and not worry about money or marketing. Ahhhhhh.
The truth is we need both, art and commerce, at least if we want to get published and make some money. But there’s nothing to sell if you don’t write, and you won't write well if you're thinking about money. So what’s on your mind today? Go!
An Invitation
Goldberg advises writers to get together on a regular basis to write. Find a coffee shop or other site where we all agree to sit and write for a certain amount of time. Then we can chat. Anyone in the greater Newport area want to join me? Contact me. Let’s go.
Music news
Well, there isn’t any, but I feel better about being torn between two careers. At Staples recently, a church friend was surprised to find out that I’m a writer. She thought I just did music. "So writing is your career?" she asked. I smiled. “In addition to my music career, yes. Why have just one?” Natalie Goldberg is a painter. She says that when she isn't painting, her writing is like cereal without milk. I like that.
Writing News
My poem "Vision" won second place at the Write on the Sound Conference. I got a pretty certificate, and the check is in the mail. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
My piece on pitching to agents and editors at writing conferences is included in the new edition of Moira Allen's Queries, Pitches and Proposals, which came out in late September. It's a great book, filled with useful information for writers. I don't get royalties, so I can say, with no conflict of interest, that if you're a writer, buy a copy. Make sure it's the second edition (I know, commerce again.)
My essay "I was Never Alone" is a finalist for the anthology A Cup of Comfort for Christian Women. Keep your fingers crossed that it makes the final cut.
My Childless by Marriage book is making the rounds of publishers. You can read excerpts and info about the book by pushing the Childless button at left.
Online addictions
I have become enamored of sixsentences.ning.com, 6S for short, where people write and publish entire stories in just six sentences. You can read and comment or publish your own and get instant feedback. For me, it's a great writing exercise, almost like poetry because it forces the writer to say things in a few powerful words. Maybe I'll see you there.
I'm still hooked on jigzone.com, too, but I'm running out of puzzles I haven't already done—and I seem to have worn out the left button on my mouse. Still, there's a new jigsaw puzzle every day to tempt us away from our work.
Plus, there's always Facebook. I'm there. Are you? Would you like to be my friend?
Book Report
Live Through This by Debra Gwartney, Mariner Books, 2009. Some memoirs make me smile, but this one is grim. Live Through This is the story of how Gwartney's two older daughters fell into the black hole of drugs, street life and self-mutilation. After difficult years at home when they disappeared for days at a time, they ran away for good. We read difficult anecdotes from the times they were at home and the times they were gone and from Gwartney's long struggle to find them and bring them home to stay. It certainly opens the door to aspects of life that, if we're lucky, most of us will never experience. It also helps us to understand mothers who seem to be failing at their job and the kids we see begging on the street. It's well-written, although I was bothered by the frequent shifting back and forth of time. Toward the end, I canceled everything to finish the book; I had to know what happened.
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, Scribner, 2005. Holy cow. What a book. Walls' memoir begins: "I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster." What reader can stop there? It's a mad dash through 288 pages of an unbelievable life. Walls, one of four children, was raised by a drunk with dreams and a mother who had a slim grip on reality. They rarely stayed in one place and often went without food, shelter or running water. And yet, somehow, they thrived. It's an amazing story, beautifully written.
Ask Yourself Questions and Change Your Life by Arlene Harder, MFT, Personhood Press, 2008. Got something you want to change about your life? This is a pretty good self-help book to try. By asking hard questions about who you are, what you want and what might be holding you back, Harder makes it easy to see the possibilities and move toward them one step at a time. To sample her philosophy, visit her web site at www.support4change.com.
I Will Not Be Broken by Jerry White, St. Martin's Press, 2008. White was only 20 years old when he decided to take a shortcut across a field in Israel and stepped on a land mine. He lost his leg in the explosion and found a new calling helping people survive traumatic events. We won't all step on land mines, but we will all experience hard times at some point in our lives. In this book, he lays out a five-step program for people to accept what has happened to them and move on. The steps: face facts, choose life, reach out, get moving, give back. He offers stories from many victims of terrible events who tell how they overcame their tragedies. It's a bit preachy at times, but it's also inspiring for survivors (all of us) and those who are trying to help them.
Newsletter news
My trip to Washington made this newsletter so late that I am calling it the October-November newsletter. See you again just after Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, I’m always doing my blogs and I’m on Facebook, too.
End Notes
It’s October. Happy birthday to cousins Rob and Jenny, to son Michael, to grandson Brandon, friends Betty, Gidget, and Beth and everyone else celebrating a birthday this month. Enjoy the golden leaves on the trees, bask in the last sunny days of the year, and take some time away from the computer. Go.
Hugs,
Sue
All contents copyright 2010, Sue Fagalde Lick
If you would like me to send you a link to this newsletter every month, e-mail me at suelick@charter.net. Feel free to forward the newsletter to friends who might be interested. Also contact me if you want me to stop sending the link. Note that this is a new e-mail address. The old Casco address will be going offline shortly.
The Archives
I have taken the 2003-2006 newsletters offline, but if you see something interesting in the list, I will provide free PDF copies on request.
2010 Newsletters
