Long time, no blog!
Hello, hello, hello! I'm happy to be back from an incredible, marvelous workshop at Macondo, and I thought my first blog would be a big report about it. But I've been hearing from some writers lately who need encouragement.
When I was writing the first draft of The Truth Book, I stayed for three weeks at the beautiful women's writing colony Norcroft up in Minnesota (now sadly defunct--sigh). I had the Julia Alvarez room. Framed on the wall was a poster, Alvarez's "Ten of My Writing Commandments." I've always been a sucker for wise aphorisms, and the sayings that inspired Alvarez also buoyed me through the difficult evenings when I came back alone from my little shed overlooking Lake Superior to the solitude of my room.
Here are the first five:
When I was writing the first draft of The Truth Book, I stayed for three weeks at the beautiful women's writing colony Norcroft up in Minnesota (now sadly defunct--sigh). I had the Julia Alvarez room. Framed on the wall was a poster, Alvarez's "Ten of My Writing Commandments." I've always been a sucker for wise aphorisms, and the sayings that inspired Alvarez also buoyed me through the difficult evenings when I came back alone from my little shed overlooking Lake Superior to the solitude of my room.
Here are the first five:
In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities.
In the expert's mind there are few.~Zen MastersThe obligation of the artist is not to solve the problem but to state the problem correctly.~Anton Chekhov
Do not be afraid!~Angels appearing to shepherds tending their flocks by nightIf you bring forth what is inside you,
what you bring forth will save you.
If you do not bring forth what is inside you,
what is inside you will destroy you.~St. Thomas, Gnostic GospelsPoetry presents the thing in order to convey the feeling.
It should be precise about the thing and reticent about the feeling.~Wei T'ai
All of these were huge for me. I was so scared writing that book, and these helped me, pushed me, comforted me. If you look, you can see them running through every page of my memoir.
So I'm grateful to Julia, and I wanted to pass these along. The other five "commandments"--and a Macondo report, I promise!--will come later. And many, many thanks to Joan Drury, founder and supporter of Norcroft, who helped so many women for so many years to do the writing they longed to do.
So I'm grateful to Julia, and I wanted to pass these along. The other five "commandments"--and a Macondo report, I promise!--will come later. And many, many thanks to Joan Drury, founder and supporter of Norcroft, who helped so many women for so many years to do the writing they longed to do.
Barbara said:
Welcome home!
August 9, 2008 2:49 AMfayepoet said:
Joy,
Beginner's mind, yes! Thank you for the quote.I plan to post it at the top of my screen. Glad you are back and looking forward to your next post.
August 12, 2008 2:28 AM