Café Writing January (Fresh!): Seven Things

Give me seven things that inhabit or occupy your writing space. Interpret “writing space” any way you please. You’re not required to explain the items in your list, but it’s more fun for readers if you do.

Note: I’m interpreting “writing space” as I please…

1.       Freestyle

Right stroke, left stroke, right stroke, *breathe*.
– stroke,  — stroke,  — stroke, *breathe*.
str–k,  str–k,   str–k,  *breathe*.
—,     —,      —,      **.
**    **     **    **.

My mind empties once the rhythm sets. 30 minutes. No baby, no crying, no chores, no distraction. My body floats on the water. My arms propel it forward. I think. And then I write. And then I rewrite. And then I breathe again. And again. And again.

2.       My 16-month-old
3.       Lined paper
4.       A ballpoint pen

When my son laughs and looks to me, I smile at him, too. And when he turns back to his cars, I uncover my notepad. Arrows try to direct the chaos, seeking order in the midst of my crossed-out cursive. What am I trying to say? I click my pen and watch him play.

5.       A binkie
6.       My laptop

My son attempts escape from my arms: he knows naptime. And in his crib, he stands, crying and reaching for me, a traitor who removes him from his toys every afternoon. Then I hand him a binkie: his body slumps down into a position of sleep and he rubs his closing eyes. Now he’s silent. I slip out of his room and hurry to my laptop, ready to disorganize the chaos in my mind.

7.       My husband

I hear the cab driving away before I hear him. Then I hear the front door. I close my laptop and greet my husband, the inspiration for what life and love can be.

Daily Writing Tips talks about the Chief Justice’s prepositional error  while administering the oath of office here. The grammatical implications suggest it was a Fruedian slip, which I find rather amusing. Check it out.

Also, Stanley Fish dissects Obama’s prose style in his speech here. It’s already a classic.

Cafe-Writing January (Fresh!): Timed Writing

Take nine minutes (use all nine, but don’t go over), and write on the subject of short-lived passions. This is a timed exercise and it’s expected that it won’t be perfect. Any format – fiction, essay, verse – is welcome.

I chose to write a story in only 140 characters, including spaces (in the tradition of Twitter).

I licked my lips and considered: a double-layer 9-inch chocolate-on-chocolate cake, all mine. And then my son tugged my arm and we moved on.

Does this interest you at all as a piece of writing? As a story? I am interested in feedback as to how I can improve capturing a scene.

Please note that I didn’t edit it at all once the nine minutes was over.

(Inspired by my chocolate-on-chocolate birthday cake.)

I was inducted to the “Forties Club” for my entry “The Reunion” (posted here) into the Clarity of Night “Ascension” contest. That just means that the judge gave me a possible of at least 40 points out of 45  for pacing, entertainment value, technical skill, storytelling, and voice. I’m absolutely delighted that I wrote something that someone finds even slightly good in any of those categories.

But here’s my problem: I want to know why. Why was it good? And what could I do to make it better? Any ideas? What do you think makes pacing, entertainment value, storytelling, and voice interesting?

I also cross-posted “The Reunion” on Writing Practices here.

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars.

Les Brown, motivational speaker, quoted in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, page 123

“Ascension” Short Fiction Contest

also posted here

“Hey, there’s Daddy!” She tugged my arm.

I saw his head first. His right arm rested on the railing, calm, waiting. No pressure, no anxiety.

I exhaled.

One foot before the other and he was before me.  I tried to focus on his eyes, his face. I searched for words to speak.

“Hi.” His body leaned toward mine and I felt his kiss on my forehead. His arm grasped my shoulder and then he released me.

“Hi.”

The child was chattering. And bouncing around us. His free arm rested on her shoulder. We walked. People bumped me as they passed.

I heard him speak. First to our girl. Then to a man near us as we reached for the suitcase.

We walked again. I stopped and zipped the girl’s coat, despite her protests.  And then he was driving and she was babbling about princesses. I sat beside him.

A right turn. A stop sign. The highway. We were moving. He grasped my hand. He wouldn’t let go.

“I …” I couldn’t speak; I was dry. I had done my crying alone when I realized the baby was lost.

He glanced at me, and I saw his eyes were wet.  He spoke, the corners of his mouth turned in a half-smile.

“I love you.”

The flood overwhelmed me as it had two nights before. But this time I was hopeful, for we could still go on.

I’m feeling burned out in my reading this week. So I’m turning to writing. But I’m so out of practice. I realize I need more balance.

Write on Wednesday this week is a writer’s meme, so I’ll start here. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m quite intrigued by this Wall Street Journal article about the legacy of presidential writing. In it, Jonathon Raban compares Obama’s writing skills to Lincoln’s, and the power that good writing can give to a presidency.

I have not read Obama’s memoirs, nor have I studied Abraham Lincoln’s speeches, both of which I’d like to read and study. But I certainly appreciated this particular author’s insights into leaders and their writing.

I really enjoyed studying Churchill’s speeches last year.

What governmental leaders have impressed you with their writing?

Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.

Eugene Delacroix, French Romantic artist, quoted in The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, page 73.

I’m quite imperfect at regularly updating this site, but I’ll try to avoid perfection and just do something…

In the past few months, I’ve been focusing on my reading. That is why I’ve been absent from “Writing Practices.”

In the New Year, I want to visit “Writing Practices” at least twice a month. I will share inspiring quotes, write my thoughts about writing, and maybe revisiting some of the memes that I really would like to participate in.

I’ve been thinking about why I want to write. In some respects, I feel like I’m really meant to be a reader. I am so impressed with the power that others have behind their words. The more I read, the more I want to keep reading, and the more I feel I will never be able to command language as do others.

In The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, one task for the budding artist/writer was to go a week without reading: that way, you are open to your own creativity. But I don’t want to do that. Not yet. I am so in love with reading at this point in my life that I don’t want to let go of it. Reading – both fiction and nonfiction – inspires me and helps me expand my mind.

I know writing would do the same for me: I just must do it in order to experience that creativity.

I want to be more balanced in my life overall, by reading, by writing, by cooking, and by working on my photography. I’d love for you to follow along with my progress, although don’t be surprised if my reading blog remains the most active 2009.