Work Your Art

          After reading OJ's post on the quest for macaroons in Paris, I was instantly teleported back to France. Although the only bit of Paris I've seen is the inside of the airport, (I can hear you tsk-tsk-tsking already...I know, it's a crime going to France and not spending time in Paris.) the south of France is a place that occupies a huge part of my heart.

       The French people consider eating an art. Salad dressings are homemade and made for just that meal. Breads are carefully selected. Cheese follows lunch and dinner, and lunch last for an hour or so; dinner can easily stretch into 3 hours. Of course, it's not all eating. In fact, the food is consumed slowly and is savored. There's lots of talking and laughing and drinking--the food is sprinkled in here and there.

       I was in awe of the pastry shops, because the tiny treats were works of art. They were too gorgeous to eat delicious.

a tray of French pastries in Pau, France--photo by Sioux Roslawski
(I photoshopped it so my drool on the display case was not visible.)

       Take the time to make your art the best masterpiece it can be. If it's writing, share your piece with others. Let them nibble on it...listen as they discuss the flavors and ingredients.

         Then, put their suggestions in your pastry bag, and pipe on the revision. Polish your writing piece. Tinker with it. Put on the finishing touches. And serve it up to an editor as a submission. Hopefully, they'll savor your work of art.

Toss It in the Trash

          My son came into town this weekend. Six foot-something. Twenty-four years old. All arms and legs and a stomach with an amazing capacity. (His metabolism is also incredible, but one day, it will slow down. And then stop altogether.)

        His first morning, I offered to make french toast for breakfast, but added that we had no syrup. He said, "I'll go to the store and get some." He then thoughtfully added, "While I'm gone, you can always start on the french toast." He's always thoughtful like that...

      The preparation of breakfast went without a hitch. I added nutmeg and cinnamon to the milk and egg mixture. Each side got equally cooked. The french toast ended up golden brown.

      The next morning, french toast was again a "menu" possibility. The Boy jumped at the chance to fill up once more on syrupy-bread and scrambled eggs and glasses of milk. (Because, hey, at Mom's Restaurant, the food is free and plentiful!)

       But this time, things did not go as planned. Two batches in a row got too brown. I tried to scrape away the almost-burned parts with a sharp knife; this works for toast, but not french toast. I ended up throwing eight pieces in the trash.

        I've got a trash can for my writing. It's a two-pocket folder that I've had for over a decade. The stories I've found no use for, the awkward poems that I've found no place for--they're in there.

       And they might stay there forever. If I'm able to scrape away the crappy parts and "recycle" the piece somehow, at some point I will--when the time is right.

        Don't be so in love with your words that you're hesitant to discard them. Slashing (and burning--in the case of french toast) is a necessary part of the writing process.

The Hard Way is Sometimes the Best

         Revising is always one of my favorite parts of the writing process. Granted, I only write short pieces--1,400 words or under, usually--so I'm not like C. Hope Clark (in so many ways). She recently worked on revising her novel, soon to debut, which is gargantuan compared to the reworking I do.

     However, there are a couple of things I've discovered--one because of my daytime job, and one accidentally.

      When it comes to editing, there is no better strategy than reading your work out loud to yourself. The brain is a wondrous thing. If there is a word that's left out and you read it silently, your brain will slip it in, unbeknownst to you, but it will only get set into the mental version. It will remain absent on paper. If you scan your writing without hearing it spoken, you might not catch the  unwanted repetition, the awkward rhythm, the screwed-up tenses.

      (I expect my third graders to make their writing make sense. They are held accountable if they leave out a word because their mouth works just as well as mine, so when I grade their work, I read it quietly to myself.)

      A few years ago I participated in a writing retreat. Technologically, I am an idiot, so I brought along my husband's laptop, and a hard copy of the piece I was working on. Since I did not have the story on a flashdrive or in a file, and since I needed to have it saved some way so I could revise it during the weekend, I ended up typing it over, word by word. 

      When you are typing up something from a hard copy, you have to pay attention to every word, every bit of white space and every punctuation mark. You're seeing it with new eyes, revising as you go, and rethinking the choices you made. This works so well for me that often, when I have the time, I will choose to not send a piece to my work email, even though I know I will be working on revising it after-school hours. The simple, methodical process of retyping it works for me.

     What are some "backward" methods that work for you? What are some throwback strategies that you rely on? Inquiring minds want to know...

Having the Good Fortune of Siamese Twins

drawing/photo by Prof. Jas. Mundie

         A writer friend of mine, Tammy, recently spoke of "separating the Siamese twins." Someone had shared a story, and we all thought there were two stories embodied in the single piece.

      Just as it's delicate work to surgically separate conjoined twins, it is also tough when using a knife during revising. Which parts need to be taken out?  What needs to be added so each part stands on its own? Or is it impossible to ensure that both stories survive? Perhaps one was "feeding" off the other and is unable to live independently.

       Certainly, it's a great problem to have: Two. Two. Two writing pieces in one. However, there has been at least one instance when I was in that predicament and lost interest when the OR was booked. It was as if I lost steam once the initial piece was put onto paper. I vented. I poured my heart out. Now it will have to languish, on a ventilator, until I am willing to scrub up and start cutting.

      I loved Tammy's phrase. It's perfect. What great phrases have you created or stolen heard about the writing process (or the teaching/kid wrangling process)?

Constructing and Deconstructing

photo by Lightning Lee
(Maybe he gets all the words right the first time...)

      
       I'm working on a piece that needs lot of tearing apart (the crappy parts) and  a great deal of building up (the weaker and the fairly-decent parts).

      One of the "Donalds" (Graves or Murray, I can remember which) said that writing is "as much deconstruction as construction." He claims that we spend as much time scratching out and deleting as we do actually writing.  

      What is it about the revising process that you love? Or perhaps it's a relationship filled with pure venom? In that case, what is it about revising that you hate?

Predator Editors

photo by Colorfly Studio

         In truth, I like to run a line through something rather than erase it because once you erase it, it's gone. Forever.

             And when I went to flickr I was looking for a photo of a red pen,  but since I won't be able to find this (the above picture) again because I'm hormonally challenged forgetful, I slipped it in here.

        But a red pen would have been a better choice. Because this post is about gifted editors.

      During the summer, I have some flexibility to my schedule, and I'm taking advantage of it; I've joined a group of writers who meet every Tuesday morning for "Coffee and Critique." We bring things to share, and get suggestions on how to improve the pieces.

      Everybody at this table has good eyes and ears. Each one has their own little niche when it comes to editing. But yesterday, I sat next to one of the writers with the fastest pen in the west. And not only is she fast, she's dead-on when it comes to her aim.  

       As soon as I started reading my short story, I could see her out of the corner of my eye. Circling. Crossing out. Drawing arrows and writing comments.

     And I loved it. Because that's what I need help with. I won't say I was ever a brilliant writer, but between August and May, I write for nine-year olds. So I need loads of help discerning what words can be left out, what is cliche, where I'm getting off track.

     So, thanks for being a predator-editor. Thanks for circling around my weak verbs and adjectives. Thanks for attacking my writing with a keen eye.

     Thanks, Alice. (And Donna and Doyle and Bea and Becky and Bill and Marcia and Lou.)

       

        

Writerly Friends

       Perhaps when you share your work with friends, you want them to gush. You want an outpouring of praise. In other words, you want to be part of a mutual admiration society.

       "I love this. It's great."
       "Oh, thanks but yours is so much better. Your   
          story is absolutely incredible." 
       "Thank you...You think so? Your images are
        simply phenomenal!"
         
         Yadda, yadda, yadda...
        
        If you share your work enough with people like this, you will need a thesarus with you at all times,  so you can get some words and phrases like "earth shattering" and "life changing" and "moving" and "chilling" sprinkled in with the normal great/fabulous/wonderful.

       However, if you are serious about writing, and you genuinely want to improve your story/poem/essay, you need to share your writing with people who are armed with spears.  And when they raise their spears, you need to raise up your shield and see where the spear points land.  And you need to write down where the dents are, so you don't forget...

photo by spaceninja

       With your writing, it's good to get constructive criticism.  A friend who can pick apart your work...one who reads with a writer's eye...a friend who is not afraid to make suggestions...That is the kind of friend a writer needs.

       Yesterday evening, Linda O'Connell , while she was busy doing the sacred "Snow Day" dance over and over again (it worked!), she made some time to look at a story of mine.  Not only did she read it, but she gave me a bunch of much-needed suggestions to improve it, she gave some specific images to jumpstart my revising, and she sent me several places for resubmitting the story.

        Now, that does not mean I agree with all her suggestions.  There is one I've got my heels dug in about, but I did not use the strategy well, so I will tweak it but keep the technique. However, when a writer re-examines their work to "make their case" about a word choice or metaphor, their writing becomes stronger. 

        Thanks, Linda.  I will resend you the story when it is revised.  And I want to know from all the blogging writers that might read this:  Who do you share your writing with when you want some real feedback?  How do they help you specifically?  After all,

    Writers do not let friends write crap.

Writing to Get Your Pen Warmed Up

          I used to be a quilter.  In fact, I've gotten hooked (pun intended) with every type of handwork from counted cross-stitch, bargello, crewel, and currently...knitting.  But years ago, I was knee-deep in fabric scraps and rotary cutters and batting.

        Your quilting fingers, just like your imagination, need to be warmed up sometimes. Gifted artists with a needle advised to have a "warm up" or "junk" project off to the side.  Before working on a project you were serious about, it was suggested to quilt a bit on a project that did not matter to you. In that way, your fingers and your needle could get into the groove and get warmed up before it really matters...

photo by interchangeable parts

        There are occasions when the words flow out in the right way the first time they are written, and little revision is needed.  Count yourself fortunate; it doesn't happen all the time. If you find yourself struggling, if you get stuck, perhaps beginning with a journal entry or writing part of a letter will stretch your writerly skills.  Then, after your hands have gotten into the groove of tapping on the keyboard or scrawling words across the page, you can transition over to the project that really matters.

photo by E.L.A.

I'm Part of a Deconstruction Crew

        One of the Donalds (Murray or Graves) wrote that, "Writing is as much deconstruction as it is construction."  I haven't bothered to find the book and page where I originally found it a decade or so ago, so it's not an exact quote, but it made a powerful impact on me.

photo by chigmaroff

       I used to love to have hard copies of pieces, and each new draft would be stapled to the top of the stack.  That way, I could look through the various drafts and see the progress--the scratched out part here, the rearranged part there, and so on.  Now, when my piece is on my laptop/flashdrive (after it's handwritten--I rarely begin a fresh piece via a keyboard), I make changes that result in my "progress" becoming invisible.  With a click of a mouse or a few keystrokes, whole paragraphs or pages can be moved around; the original arrangement falls back and disappears out of sight.

        What tips about the "deconstruction" phase do you have?  What helpful tidbits can you offer up when it comes time to revise?  Inquiring minds want to know...

Mos Def I'm Definitely NOT

          This is a rap I wrote a while ago (just playing around, don't worry...You don't have to move to a foreign country, afraid this rhymically-challenged woman fancies herself a rapper).

Times I write good,
Times I write junk...
Times my writing goes places
I didn't 'riginally thunk.

The rhythm, the words
They go hand in hand,
Sweepin' you away
To a fantasyland.

You edit, scratch out,
You worry and fret,
You change some lines...
And then comes the sweat.

But keep on tryin'--
Don't ever stop.
Don't ever think your stuff
Is pure slop,

'Cause a writer's heart is strong and true...
I'm a writer and my name is Sioux.

Mos Def--the performer and actor
photo by am v animere

      We have to continue to nurture our creativity.  We have to develop thick skin yet still embrace constructive criticism.

        Does anyone have any raps about the writing process you'd like to share?

John Reynolds Gardiner---A God

       When you get to personally meet an author of one of your favorite books, it's like you're a groupie and they're Mick Jagger and you're backstage, drooling all over the place...

        That's kind of what it was like when I met John Reynolds Gardiner at an IRA convention, quite a few years ago.












         Gardiner is the author of Stone Fox, one of my all-time favorite books.  My third and fourth graders love it, the novel brings up many issues (because the two main characters are both "right" even though they are competing against each other) and I cry every year when I read aloud the last two chapters.  (I tell myself it won't happen again, but inevitably, it does.)

         When I met him, I noticed he was wearing a ring with a large stone it.  I felt like I was meeting the Pope, and was tempted to kiss his ring...That's how much in awe I am when it comes to his book.

        During his workshop, he spoke to teachers, advising us to not discount a young writer merely because they make frequent spelling and grammatical mistakes.  He admitted that in his slim novel, he had made 138 errors that had to be cleaned up by editors.

        Great stories can be written down, and after celebrating and praising the plot, the characterization, the quirky phrases, then the editing and revising can happen.  Great writers might be poor spellers.  They might confuse their tenses.  But let their creativity shine through.  Don't squash their spirit by focusing in on just the deficits...