I read two Writer’s Digest magazines earlier this month. I thought it would inspire me but instead, I’ve felt less inclined to write.

The first was the February issue was somewhat inspiring. The first article that stood out to me, “Your Novel Blueprint” by Karen S. Wiesner, helps me to see that a successful combination of many things, and I must know some general things before I jump into writing my novel. Of course, things can change as I write, but I still must consider all aspects (internal and external dialogs, point of view, number of “sparks” to keep the reader interested, how characters will be introduced, etc.) before I have a finished product.

Do you plot out novels before your write them?

I also found the article about rough drafts, “Rough It Up” by Elizabeth Sims, to inspire me. I just sat down and started writing. It was a confusing mess, but it felt nice to be writing. I started with her technique to write on paper — I’ve always been a bit intimidated by paper because I want to edit and fix things, and using a computer is much easier. But writing on paper was a nice experience.

Do you write rough drafts on paper or on a computer?

Then I read another Writer’s Digest. I can’t remember which one it was — I think the March/April one. At any rate, there was an interview with James Patterson. He said (and I wish I’d written it down) that when he read Ulysses by James Joyce, he was so impressed he felt he’d never be able to write anything like that: he knew he didn’t have the talent that Joyce had. Then he read a popular fiction novel (I can’t remember which one) and he said to himself, “I like this in it’s own way; I can write like this.” And then he did so and became a successful popular writer.

I don’t like popular, modern fiction. I don’t read it and think “Wow, this is interesting in its own way.” I still like the classics, and the more I read, the less inclined I am to try to imitate it. For that reason, I don’t think writing a novel is for me.

I like to write. I’ll continue to play with the poems for my “exercises in style” project. I’ll continue to share my inspiring quotes and thoughts that I may find about writing. But I don’t think I’m ever going to be a writer of popular fiction: I don’t usually like to read it, so I wouldn’t be incredibly proud if I wrote it.

If there are any readers of this blog out there, I’d be interested to know what, like James Patterson, your inspiration is. Do you want to be like the classics or popular fiction? Or do you just have an unexplained compulsion to write, as some of the authors interviewed in Writer’s Digest seemed to have?

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, quoted in Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity, 6.

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.

The artist’s language is a sensual one, a language of felt experience. When we work at our art, we dip into the well of our experience and scoop out images.

Julia Cameron, The Artist’s Way, 21

“The light of genius expressed in literature does not fail with the death of the author. His galleries are still displayed for our instruction and enjoyment. But the magic key which could have opened new ones to our eager desire has gone forever. Let us, then, guard the treasures which he has bequeathed.”

Sir Winston Churchill, tribute to Rudyard Kipling, 17 November 1937, quoted in Never Give In! The Best Winston Churchill Speeches.