I Am Having a Love Affair ... with WORDS!

After reading Natalie Goldberg’s essay “How Poetry Saved My Life”, in which she reveals her first flush of love with words and the art of poetry, I realized that I too have been having a clandestine romance with the English language (shhhhh … don’t tell my husband ;-D ). It has left me breathless many a night over a blank journal.

I hear words or phrases in my head. Sometimes, if I am lucky, a whole first stanza will appear. Who knows what gracious muse bestows this gift to me on these nights, but I am thankful nonetheless. After writing and re-writing a passage, typing it in and making “each word shine” (Emily Dickinson’s choice words, not mine – isn’t she brilliant?!), I will read the poem, short story, or chapter from a novel out loud. I let each word fall from my mouth and take up the whole room, so that the rhythm brushes my skin with heat and the chiming of syllables falls like rain all around me. I close my eyes sometimes to see, really see, where my characters live. Some live in a one-bedroom apartment where the grotty linoleum needs a good scrubbing. Others don’t seem to live anywhere – they walk the streets for the duration of the story. Their history takes up the space that a home normally would ~ great, big spaces of melancholy and grace.

Words are like music when you listen attentively. They can lull you to sleep on a restless night. Phrases can soothe you with their surprising tenderness like a warm bath doused with lavender and bergamot oils. Whole paragraphs that move in a single motion like a smooth flowing river can be so soft. You will want to wrap them around your shoulders, your knees, and your gorgeous toes that get cold at night. The warmth will energize and inspire you to write more, so that an entire afghan blanket appears to shelter your dreams.

So dream about words, bathe yourself in syllables, let each image that takes shape lead you down the literary path. May you have many sweet dreams filled with words.


CMRN
3/21/07

Warming up the Ink

I think the "warm-up" principle for any activity is important. You wouldn't run a marathon or perform an arabesque in Swan Lake without stretching your muscles first, would you? So why would you sit down at the computer to write a story without getting your brain and finger tips ready for some serious writing?

For writing sessions out of the house, I usually pack a copy of Elizabeth Berg's book, Escaping into the Open: the Art of Writing True, whatever current novel I am reading, a blank journal and my laptop. That's a lot of gear! I start by reading someone else's good writing for inspiration. I often think that maybe by osmosis, talent will seep into my pores. A good read should be accompanied by a nice steaming cup of something delightfully aromatic and flavorful, whether for you that means a cup of Earl Grey tea or an indulgent Cinnamon Dolce Latte. My next step is to dip into Elizabeth Berg's book on writing in which she has wonderful writing exercises to get you going. It doesn't have to be a thesis. Even a paragraph or two in which you practice your descriptive language or dialogue can be helpful. That just leaves your empty notebook or computer screen to be filled. It depends on the day, but I am usually old-fashioned about writing things in long hand first, and then typing it up during the editing stage. There is something about scratching things out, writing little notes to yourself in the margins, perhaps doodles, that appeals to me. Also it doesn't hurt to have a beautiful pen to write with for inspiration. For Valentine's Day my husband gave me a gorgeous, purple "True Writer" pen from Levenger. I'm not trying to plug www.Levenger.com here, but I am addicted to all of their elegant paper and pen goods!

Given the fact that I only book about 2 hours of writing time, so that I can get back to my little boys and relieve Daddy, these steps can take as little or as much time as you have. If you feel you need practice, then just work on the writing exercises. Whatever suits you is best. There is no right way to write after all. I am just sharing one of my routines for getting inside of what Natalie Goldberg refers to as the "wild mind" of the writer. So - read, brainstorm, write, edit, write some more (look out the window at spring blooms, because life is too short) ... and remember to enjoy that coffee house java!

Happy Writing!
CMRN

When you can't write - edit ...

... and when you don't have the inspiration to write or edit your work from that day, then blog about writing. It's still writing, even if you might be avoiding adding new content to your current project. So what am I avoiding writing tonight that would cause me to blog? I actually had a very productive week-end where the stars were aligned, I "booked" an hour to write while my hubby watched the kids, plus the baby took two long naps in his crib instead of on my shoulder, so I had another two hours of writing time. I feel I can afford to be a slacker tonight with my glass of milk, a sugar cookie and the laptop. This is when it is very dangerous to contemplate buying yet another fleece pull-over from L.L.Bean, because you have given yourself permission to browse their on-line catalog, instead of choosing to be productive by writing.

Another theory that I read in an article, from one of the many writing magazines that I thumb through when I am avoiding work, is that it is necessary to allow ideas and written work to "percolate". Kind of like a good cup of coffee, the author of the article suggests that you keep a file for ideas that you want to explore through writing and let the ideas percolate. You should add to this file for several days or weeks before even starting a project. Then he suggests that after you have written an article or story, you should allow your psyche to rest a bit and then re-visit the work with a fresh, clear mind. I have to agree on that last point. I always "sleep on it" after I have written a poem or a short story. The next day I will do more editing and the cuts and changes I make are swift, without sentimentality for the preciousness of the work that we as writers all feel at some point. Our writing is so fragile, because we put ourselves on the line for all to read. By the next day (after a good breakfast) you can plow through the sentences that lack grace, cut unnecessary phrases with your delete button or red pen, and free yourself of many clichés that are begging to be given the 'ole Heave Ho!

On that note of bad phrasing, I shall close for tonight. Perhaps I will write after all. A good warm up always encourages a good work out. I hear my notebook calling.

CMRN
9pm

Keep a notebook everywhere!

Keep a notebook everywhere you sit, read, think, sleep ... EVERYWHERE! I keep blank journals all over my house: in table drawers, next to my bed, on every desk available, in my coat pocket, in my purse, even in the glove compartment of my car! You never know when inspiration is going to hit. Even if it's just an idea for a title or a persistent image, you need to get it down on paper, especially if those precious diamonds filter into your mind just before sleep. The other night I was too tired to start a new poem for my NH Seacoast collection that I'm working on, but as I was drifting to sleep, the title appeared in my head along with the first two lines. I genuinely wanted to sleep after running around after my 3-year-old and 10-month-old boys, but I dragged myself out of bed, pulled out my Alice in Wonderland themed notebook and one of about 10 pens in my night table. I switched the light on in the bathroom, so I could scribble a few words down while leaning next to the sink. I shut the door, so I wouldn't wake up my husband with the light, and squinted my eyes against the glare. The next day I deciphered my late night handwriting and started work on the new poem. Today, I did my edits and it's almost finished. Had I not listened to my dreamy state mind, I would have lost the train of thought. Perhaps it would have become a different poem entirely from the one intended by my muses. Who knows? I only know that I would have been kicking myself while staring at a blank page, if hadn't listened attentively to the poem calling out to me.

CMRN

Inspirational Writing Quote of the Day

Well, this is my spur of the moment inspirational quote for today. I may scatter these postings here and there. I should have chosen the title "Occasional Writing Quote on a Random Saturday Because I Feel Like It".

I am a new fan of New England writer May Sarton who wrote many journals and collections of poetry as well as novels. In this quote she captures the philosophy that there is a teacher in every poem we write.

"This is where poetry is so mysterious, the work more mature than the writer of it, always the messenger of growth. So perhaps we write toward what we will become from where we are."

~May Sarton
from Journal of a Solitude

What do you wear to a book signing?

It's like planning for a prom, only without the meringue-like poofy dress. Hair up or down? Will glasses instead of contacts make you look and feel more intelligent? These are the superficial questions that I find myself asking the "inner girl" in me, as I prepare for my first two book signings coming up this Spring/Summer. As the mom of two little boys under the age of 3 1/2 yrs., my no nonsense uniform of jeans/black khakis and a fleece pull-over (with sweet potato and drool stains, compliments of my 9 month-old) probably isn't the best look for a book event. On a serious note, it is the writing and how my future readers will identify with the ideas expressed that matters to me most. Oh, but what will my hair look like, when I read one of the poems? Just kidding. I have the perfect excuse to go shopping for "grown up" clothes if I can get some time to myself.

Getting started on the next writing venture weighs more heavily on my mind than fashion after completing a project. I already have several other collections of poems in the works. Depending on what subject or genre inspires me that particular day, I open up a new blank journal to match that inspiration and begin to open new worlds with words. Each story holds a mystery for me. It is only when I reach the last line, that I fully understand the message that I am being taught.

Procrastination and the Clock

Instead of procrastinating writing, I am delaying bedtime in much the same fashion that my 3 year old will whine to me saying, "But I'm not tired. I will not go to bed". This line is of course straight out of his favorite book and British children's series "Charlie and Lola". I am looking at the clock, as I fiddle with the new template and background color for this blog, and notice that the later it gets, the less inclined I am to go to bed. I have typed in and edited a poem for one of my new ekphrastic poetry collections, and I am feeling productive. So, I think, "I am not tired, and I will not go to bed". This of course is a foolish and misguided choice, as either one or both of my little sons will be waking me up tonight, so I'd better toddle off to bed myself. I will take my leave. I will awaken to write another day! CMRN

Who is writing the words anyway?

Do you believe in artistic muses?

My novels don't magically appear in my psyche (wouldn't that be efficient?), but ideas and images do. Sometimes dialogue for characters will start playing out like a movie in my head, and I will try to quickly capture it on paper.

Poetry is where I have the most success with my muse collaborations. The first lines of a poem or even an entire first stanza will make itself known to be by repeating in my internal notebook over and over until I finally write it down. There really is a muse, (or muses) I believe, who kind of nudges me and insists that I write something. That is why I never procrastinate with poetry. Novel writing yes. I will clean the entire house or reorganize my CD collection before sitting down to write a new chapter. It's annoying, but it takes care of my To Do list.

As an example, last night the words "I choose you" and "the enchantment is complete" kept appearing for me. I ended up writing an entire poem with those lines as the starting point. It is based on a painting by RC Gorman. As soon as I do my final edits, I'll include that poem in a later posting to this blog. Who knows? This could be the start of another poetry collection. It is always a surprise to me how my writing projects begin. I start small with an interest in a theme or genre, and then 25 poems later there is a real work there taking form. It's all organic - the process. That is what is so exciting to me - not knowing where the story will end, but enjoying the creative journey. Bite-sized pieces of inspiration are less intimidating too!

CMRN

When does inspiration hit?

When does inspiration strike for writing? I will leave that question out there. Feel free to add your ideas. Anyone, anyone? Bueller? For me inspiration seems to hit at inconvenient times when I do not have or can not reach my pen and paper or computer keys. Typically when my brain is given a siesta from taxing tasks like in the shower, waiting in line at the grocery store, or when I'm nursing my baby. Inspiration also hits when it is supposed to, when I am sitting before a blank screen or page, but the big ideas are allowed to play out in my imagination much more fluidly, when the space in my head floats between planes. That is why dreaming can provide such fertile ground for writers. The internal editor isn't giving a critique on why your hair-brained idea is unrealistic - and I don't mean your freshman English teacher with the bifocals. It's that internal naysayer who can make great ideas vanish into thin air. Be confident, think big, let your mind wander into the caverns of the unreal. We are writing fiction after all. Time to write from a destination unknown. I think I will program myself to dream about a story and let the story find me. I'll let you know who I meet along the way. There is a character waiting to be born on my screen.

CMRN

Long time no blog ...

No, I haven't had writer's block, but I guess I've had blogger's block, because in looking at my last entry I haven't left a message here since the summer. I have been busy with a new bouncing baby boy and have also "birthed" a book. Due to be released soon is an art/poetry book called Land and Sea: Poetry Inspired by Art which I collaborated on with artist Irene Ruddock. We started working on it a year ago and it has materialized into a full-fledged book! For more information about the book's release, please visit my website: http://www.firkinfiction.com and to learn more about Irene Ruddock's beautiful paintings, you can visit her website: http://www.ireneruddock.com.

Now that my shameless self-promotion is done with, I can reflect on what really matters - writing, ideas for writing, the art of writing, why I write, why I don't write, why I take up space here writing really long sentences because I can. I think this is what I love most about a blog - as a writer I can be informal and share what really goes on inside a writer's head. I think one of the most honest portrayals of a writer's insecurities and obesessions is when Nicholas Cage's character in the film Adaptation has his monologue at the beginning. I'm sure imdb.com has the whole speech written out (but don't hold me to that). Nicholas Cage talks about his dream for being the fit, well-travelled, nobel-prize winning, attractive, accomplished, philanthropist writer and how this will make him a happier, better person somehow. He sits before a blank screen and daydreams about all of the things he should be doing or could be doing. In reality, he should be putting fingers to keys, but instead he beats himself up over all of the qualities he is lacking.

OK, I couldn't help but do a search on IMDB for that opening sequence. For all of the writers reading this, you will laugh and identify with these thoughts I'm sure!

FROM THE FILM: ADAPTATION (2002)
Directed by
Spike Jonze

Writing credits (WGA)
Susan Orlean (book)
Charlie Kaufman (screenplay)

first lines]
Charlie Kaufman: [voiceover] "Do I have an original thought in my head? My bald head. Maybe if I were happier my hair wouldn't be falling out. Life is short. I need to make the most of it. Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I'm a walking cliché. I really need to go to the doctor and have my leg checked. There's something wrong. A bump. The dentist called again. I'm way overdue. If I stop putting things off I would be happier. All I do is sit on my fat ass. If my ass wasn't fat I would be happier. I wouldn't have to wear these shirts with the tails out all the time. Like that's fooling anyone. Fat ass. I should start jogging again. Five miles a day. Really do it this time. Maybe rock climbing. I need to turn my life around. What do I need to do? I need to fall in love. I need to have a girlfriend. I need to read more and prove myself. What if I learned Russian or something, or took up an instrument. I could speak Chinese. I'd be the screenwriter who speaks Chinese and plays the oboe. That would be cool. I should get my hair cut short. Stop trying to fool myself and everyone else into thinking I have a full head of hair. How pathetic is that. Just be real. Confident. Isn't that what women are attracted to? Men don't have to be attractive. But that's not true. Especially these days. Almost as much pressure on men as there is on women these days. Why should I be made to feel I have to apologize for my existence? Maybe it's my brain chemistry. Maybe that's what's wrong with me. Bad chemistry. All my problems and anxiety can be reduced to a chemical imbalance or some kind of misfiring synapses. I need to get help for that. But I'll still be ugly though. Nothing's going to change that."

Well, I will close with those thoughts for now. I do not have writer's block, but I do have two small children under the age of 3 who seem to eat away at any time I might have to write. So why am I here contemplating my writer's navel when I should be churning out some polished firkin fiction. Well, that will have to wait for another entry.

CMRN

Published in German!

My article "How to be an Authentic Writer" - originally published in The Edge Life Magazine - has also been published in the German magazine, Spiritual Times. Find it (if you are feeling ambitious about your translating abilities) at ~


http://www.s-t.net/index.php?t=4&id=336

Das Gut!

Published in Edge Life Magazine / Jan 2006 Issue

My recent article "Being an Authentic Writer" has been published in Edge Life Magazine, an on-line and monthly paper format magazine distributed in the Upper MidWest of the US. See the link below to go to the Edge Life site or read the article below.

ARTICLE
http://edgelife.net/article.php?id=0147

EDGE LIFE WEBSITE
http://edgelife.net/index.php


***


Being an Authentic Writer


What does it mean to be authentic in one’s intellectual and creative pursuits? From a writer’s perspective, it means that you are being true to your art form and loyal to the creative process. From the magical world created in fiction to the colorful, musical landscapes of poetry, to the thought provoking paragraphs of nonfiction prose, writers strive to be true to their subject matter and to the complex characters they bring to life on the page.

All writers try to achieve a level of authenticity in their work. As a fiction writer, I am constantly re-reading my pages for the day, wondering if my characters are believable, engaging and true to the story. Does each character have a unique voice? Can my readers picture a three-dimensional, living, breathing person when they read about Carla’s romantic misadventures in Dinner Dates, or can they suspend their disbelief when the narrator meets an angel in “Gertrude in the Park”? It’s my job to make sure they do. When writing a poem about a Native American walking alone with two horses, am I able to describe not just the colors of his horse blanket and the expansive sky but also the internal struggles that he faces as he travels alone with no belongings? I have to give voice to that character’s emotion or else the poem falls flat and loses its authenticity. In writing an article for a newspaper or a magazine, the facts must be checked and double-checked. The information must be delivered in a way that is at once succinct and engaging. All writers must believe in what they are writing in order for it to be believable.

My favorite books to read are those in which the author creates a main character so real, so authentic that I actually miss the character upon finishing the book. Like a longed for friend who lives in another state or country, I wish for more chapters to get to know the character even better and to simply bask in his or her presence. This is not only an authentic, genuine experience for the writer but for the reader as well. I read engaging literature in the hopes that all of this authentic talent will rub off on me in my own work. I search through my personal caverns for fiction and create characters I would most like to have a heart-to-heart conversation with, and then I hold my breath – suspended – in this state of earnest authenticity.

What does it mean to be authentic as a writer? It means having your characters live in truth and backing them up with a written stage. If the imagination opens the door to other worlds, then the originator of that fiction must be authentic with every word set forth on the page to keep that enticing door open.



Cristina M. R. Norcross
Copyright 2006

Crack Open the Books for Autumn Reading!

Something Old, Something New ...

Here are some titles that I've read over the past 2 months which I would like to pass on to any other avid readers to peruse for analytical, probing novels that focus on human interaction, personal decisions, and connecting with those we love.

1) The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg
2) The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
3) Mercy by Jodi Picoult (of course, one of my favorite authors)
4) In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner (books are always deeper than their cinematic counterparts, so at least see the film AFTER reading this.)

Book Discussion of Vanishing Acts

I just finished reading Jody Picoult's novel Vanishing Acts and loved it! This is the 6th novel I have read by the New Hampshire-based author, and she always manages to leave the reader wondering about where they stand on issues. I don't want to write a spoiler here, so I will just say that she incorporates her trademark twists of the tale, in fact, several. Picoult skillfully explores issues of identity, child custody, divorce, trust, memory, alcoholism, Native mythology, the violence of the prison system, and yes - there are some fingernail biting courtroom scenes. Her writing is always engaging. Enjoy and be on the lookout for 2 new novels coming out in March 2006 and 2007.

If you are an avid fan of Jody Picoult and also a writer, explore her website which has message boards about each of her novels as well as advice for writers.
www.jodypicoult.com

Publishing News!

YAWP Magazine (Ottawa, Canada) will be publishing my poem "Alone" in their Summer 2005 issue.

Web address for the De Grazia Gallery in the Sun for images of all of Ted De Grazia's paintings.

www.degrazia.org

ALONE by CMRN
(Inspired by a painting by Ted DeGrazia)

Two horses walk
into the milky white expanse of the desert.
One rider guides the path
that casting shadows lead.

A weathered red blanket rests
on his shoulders like a torchlight.
The sky is a pale turquoise
that has been white washed by the sun.

Alone – the rider bends forward
as if the very thought of his journey
weighs heavily on him,
curving his weary spine.

“I have been here before,” he thinks.
“My people have always walked this land,
and I shall be here again.”

This thought echoes
beneath the horses’ hooves.
A vibration moves the earth just slightly
until the ground hums a familiar refrain.
The rider is no longer alone.

History rises like steam
and he sees not an endless journey,
but a road filled with Light.

Pausing to gently lower himself off his horse,
the rider allows his dry, cracked feet
to be bathed by the golden earth.
It is shimmering with glinting flecks of agate and granite.

“I have new shoes,” he thinks,
“and now I will walk.”

Ink-worthy List of Books for Summer Reading

The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble
The Elegant Gathering of White Snows by Kris Radish