Posted on

Three Lessons for the Traveling Writer

Even though we knew we couldn’t get into the onsite events at AWP, Victoria Flynn and I went to Chicago last weekend anyway. We had a hotel. We had ambition. And, my goodness, we had a great time.

Lesson One: Whenever you can, take the train.

There’s something romantic about boarding the train, about climbing the narrow, metal stairs, suitcase in tow. About following the pull to your left and turning into a cabin full of rows and promise. You take your seat, gaze out the window, and float along with a landscape enveloped by the season. On this day, by a heavy snowstorm; the city streams by in a soft, white glow.

Quiet. Like a dream.

The conductor asks for your ticket. He punches twice, smiles once, nods and moves on. You take a picture to mark the moment.

Lesson Two: Whenever you can, take a friend.

Certain bits and pieces of life are best experienced in the presence of someone who puts you at ease, as you move through new spaces. Someone who’s traveling that same journey with you, who shares in your excitement about the future, about the things you want to do and the stories you want to write. Someone who looks you straight in the eye after you’ve said there’s no way you could apply for that two-week writing residency. Ever. Life would never allow for such extravagance, you say. To which she says, Maybe not right now. Reminding you that now isn’t the same as never.

Lesson Three: Whenever you can, take risks.

Say Yes to a late-night dessert. Order the gelato drizzled in salt and olive oil and find yourself saying, “Oh, my. Who knew.” Stay up until two-thirty in the morning, even though you know what “tired and over forty” feels like.

Soak up the fancy of a hotel you might never have visited before, except by the random choice of an online reservation site. A hotel dressed in straight lines and sharp angles and silver and lights and – somewhere in your room – hidden disco balls. A hotel with mirrored tiles that fracture your image and make you believe for a second that you really are living out a dream.

Make a list of all the things you will do this year, ignoring the committee in your mind that presses you with “impossible” and “come on!” and “who do you think you are?”

Write about “gasp-able moments”, sage advice learned from a writer friend’s young son.

And on the ride home, when you realize the train will travel backwards the whole way, sink into your seat and take in the irony of it all, how you’re being pulled out of the dream and back into the day. As if to say, Grab hold: of the energy, of the inspiration, of the call to take risks. Why not, you think. Here we are, only once, There’s no guarantee you’ll succeed just by trying, but there’s promise to fail if you don’t.

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Set Your Sights on What You Want

I’ve noticed a common thread running through a favorite book revisted and a couple of blog posts lately: you must chart your own path to a creative life.

I know what you’re thinking.

Oh, great, a post full of “The Little Engine that Could” rhetoric. Delete. Skip. Unsubscribe.

I get it. Rejections and Writer’s block will do that to a person, turn you into a realist and a pessimist (they do that to me, anyway). But, don’t roll your eyes just yet.

Anne Lamott wrote an essay (you can read it here, on Sunset.com) about finding time so you can “create the rich life you deserve.” She says:

…[C]reative expression, whether that means writing, dancing, bird-watching, or cooking, can give a person almost everything that he or she has been searching for: enlivenment, peace, meaning, and the incalculable wealth of time spent quietly in beauty.

It makes sense, right? Don’t you feel great when you bind off the last stitch of a scarf you knitted from that crazy pattern that made you cross-eyed? And, the scarf looks as lovely as the photo!  How about when you serve up that meal you made from scratch that, soon after, becomes everyone’s favorite? And, once in a while – admit it – you take a picture with your digital camera that’s so good, it cries out for professional framing and a place on your living room wall.

Whenever we create something, on purpose or by accident, the result is a shot of adrenaline, a skip in our step, a whole new outlook on the day. So, why not set our sights on experiencing those moments more often than not?

Julia Cameron has successfully published a whole series of books that link creativity to spirituality, books that offer advice and written exercises to help guide you towards creative success. I worked through The Artist’s Way, and while I did roll my eyes at some of what Cameron wrote, I followed her advice anyway. I started writing morning pages; I listed my aspirations (and, in doing so, sent them out into the celestial world so that they might come true); I took my writing seriously, for once.

Things started happening – mostly because I put thought into action – and some of those early aspirations have come true.

Sage Cohen wrote a book (The Productive Writer) and writes on her blog (The Path of Possibility) with a similar philosophy in mind: teaching writers “strategies, systems, and psychologies” to increase productivity. Cohen’s guest post on Lisa Romeo Writes offers a glimpse into Cohen’s belief that answering a few simple questions can re-kindle or re-focus anyone’s  creative juices.

First, she asks, “What do you intend for your experience to be each time you sit down to write [or knit or cook or whatever]? Inspired, meditative, energized?” I write in concentrated chunks of time, time that generally falls within the late evening hours. When I sit down to write, it’s so much less about meditation than it is about energy — a “get ‘er done” kind of energy. I save my morning pages for meditative writing. Sure, I want to be inspired when I sit down to write, but I’ll take inspiration at any point during the day: on a five minute bus ride, while listening to a song, when I’m standing in line at the gas station. That’s why I keep a notebook handy.

Cohen also asks, “How do you define success in any of the following: publication, money, awards, leadership, freedom/flexibility/continued time to write?” At this point in my writing career, I don’t focus on monetary success. But, I can outline what success might look like in terms of publication, awards, and the amount of time I find to write. I’ve yet to have one of my short stories published, but a few of my other shorter pieces and a poem are in print. And, I managed to get my name on a list of Glimmer Train’s Honorable Mentions last summer. The Honorable Mention wasn’t on my original list of goals, but once I firmed up even a small vision of what I wanted, I kick-started an inner drive to turn that vision – and then some – into a reality.That’s worth remembering on a day when that rejection letter hits my inbox.

What about you?Have you read The Artist’s Way or The Productive Writer? Do you buy into the idea that if we dream it, we can live it?

~

On a side note, I haven’t ignored the results from that poll I ran a few weeks ago. It seems you still want a good flash fiction read here and there. I’m already thinking of ways to incorporate more flash fiction, mine or pieces of fellow writers. Thanks for voting!

[tweetmeme]