Twists and Turns in Writing (and Life)

I’m twisted. I guess it would be more apt to say I love twisted writing.

I adore books and stories where the reader has to turn corners, clueless about what’s on the other side. Chuck Palahniuk’s writing is twisted in the best sense of the word. Joe Hill (he’s Stephen King’s son) keeps me on the edge of my seat. Sandra Dallas’s novels almost always have a major twist at the end.

These days are twisted… in the worst sense of the word.

To make sense of the world, what does a writer do? They write.

Recently I helped rescue a hawk. It was only a month old, and when a tree was cut down, the nest fell, and the baby bird was pacing in yards, desperate for food and water. My friend and I ended up taking it to the local wild bird sanctuary.

Slogging through an essay’s draft that’s simmering right now, a draft that begins with that baby hawk, I’m reminded of one of my favorite essays. It’s "Time and Distance Overcome" by Eula Bliss, and it's brilliant. It begins with a lot of information on telephone poles… and then it turns a major corner. A major corner.

Every summer I co-teach a graduate class. It’s full of teacher-writers. Usually it’s face to face but this year, it’s being conducted via Zoom meetings. Every summer I’m bowled over by the writing. This June is no different.

One of the teachers shared a short story she’d written. It was a moving tale of a mother who’s dealing with a miscarriage, a busy toddler daughter and a husband who doesn’t completely understand the grief she’s dealing with… and then I was punched in the stomach by the realization that what I thought was happening was not what was really happening. It was a whallop in the same vein as the one I got watching The Sixth Sense.

If you’d like to read an incredible essay—another one of my favorites—head to a post I've written for The Muffin. I’ve included a link to Brian Doyle’s powerful essay, “Joyas Voladoras.” It turns corners in a smooth and polished way.

And as far as my personal life, I turned a corner on Friday. I chose to not sign a contract at my old school, so I was (desperately) looking for a job for the last month or so. On Friday, I got a job offer (and accepted it). I’m thrilled. It's with a principal I love... which makes all the difference.

How about you? Do you incorporate twists and turns in your writing? How are you making sense of what is going on in our country?

Running Down Kites

          If I was a stalker, I would stalk a few people...Khaled Hosseini, John Reynolds Gardiner, Rick Bragg, Sandra Dallas, John Prine...There are others, but these are ones that come to mind immediately.

        They all have one thing in common: they're all writers (although Prine is a singer-songwriter, albeit a brilliant one).

John Prine---photo by Steve Hopson

       For me, a marvelous book is better than crack or meth (or at least how powerful I imagine the drugs are).  Perhaps I should not include meth, because I think that drug makes you very energetic---you can stay up for days---and since I love to read on the couch or bed and eventually fall asleep, I can't really compare an engaging novel to meth.

       Writing about an alluring author is easy this afternoon, because I just finished watching the movie The Kite Runner.  Truth is, I had been avoiding it for years...

photo of Khaled Hosseini  by wnyc

        Falling in love with a book, and then seeing the story being butchered on the screen, is painful.   When the novel came out, I read it and was completely enamored.  (Alright, there was a part that didn't quite ring true, but I remained loyal until the last page, and it redeemed itself.)  It was such a powerful story, I did not know how a movie---a decent movie---could do it justice.  So when the film came out, I refused to see it.

          Then there were press releases about a second book by Khaled Hosseini.  I scanned the internet when that month came, and...no book.  I went onto this website and found the book was taking longer than anticipated. Drats!

          There I was, waiting like an impatient lover.  And no car lights coming up the street...I was all dressed up, make-up on, anticipating the arrival.

         When the book A Thousand Splendid Suns finally came out, I fell in love all over again.  And as hard as it was to believe, I loved his second book (a book about women) even more than his first (which is really a book about boys and men).  If you have not read either one, and would enjoy seeing a small picture of life in Afghanistan, read them.  They are among my favorites...

         Grudgingly, this morning I put the disc in, still dubious.  Mostly, I was afraid of the movie being all whitebreaded-up.  Would all the Afghans speak English throughout the film? (Why in the world does that happen?  Do producers and directors think Americans are incapable of reading subtitles?  Do they think we don't want to hear the richness--the diversity--of a foreign language?) Would it look like American cheese---all wrapped up in plastic sleeves---instead of fragrant and a bit rough around the edges?  I was prepared for the worst...

        In my opinion, they did a great job.  It was like reading the book all over again.  (And if anyone wants to pay me for this review/opinion, I will gladly accept it.)

photo of Rick Bragg by Kalamazoo Public Library


         To the above authors, consider this a warning:  If you see a frumpy woman, bags under her eyes and a bag of books in her hand, her hair several different colors (unless she gets it dipped this evening) lurking around a corner, watch out.  She might chase after you, snare you, and pepper you with questions about what your writing process is like, as she slobbers out praise for your words. 

My Life as a Reader

         A great blogger that I follow is Pat Hensley.  She frequently posts about marvelous teaching sites (which I'm so grateful for). This morning she shared a link to another blog that provides weekly topics to write about and wrote what her life as a reader has been like so far.

         All she had to do is mention going to the bookmobile, and it brought back a flood of memories...

         The bookmobile came to our neighborhood, and it was like going to church for me. Especially in the summer.  You'd walk up those few steps, open that heavy door, and the cool air would whoosh out and embrace you like an old friend.

          As a kid I went through phases and depending on what phase I was immersed in, I'd head for that particular section in the bookmobile.  The phases I went through were:

• mythology...I read every collection of Greek and Roman mythological stories. It was a marvelous escape.
• books about saints.  I can't figure out why I got hooked on reading about saints--I'm not Catholic--but I really fixated on Joan of Arc.  (I think a small part of it was her haircut.  I had a pixie haircut when I was a kid and was a tomboy.)
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents...These were collections of scary stories that kept you on the edge of your seat.
• The Three Investigators series...These books were about three boys who solved mysteries; their "office" was in the middle of one of the father's junkyard, and to get there, had built a tunnel through the junk.
• Nancy Drew mysteries...Nancy and her two female friends faced danger and solved mysteries, and they usually did not need any male assistance to do it.

         These days I read a variety of types of books.  I especially love memoirs.  Change Me into Zeus' Daughter.  All Over But the Shoutin'. Lit. Lucky.  I enjoy novels about other countries and different walks of life. The Kite Runner. A Thousand Splendid Suns. I love authors who can craft a novel that keeps me thrilled with their twisted and turned plots, even though they don't write "thrillers"---authors like Sandra Dallas and Jodi Picoult.

photo by finsbry

        Mostly I read on the couch. I usually have a book with me, because I read in the car (when my husband is driving) and we also live by a set of railroad tracks, and getting stuck waiting for a long train is very pleasant when you have a book with you. However, as I have gotten older, one of the most delicious things is taking time on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon to read and...nap.

    How about you?  What is your life as a reader like?