Divine Inspiration, Conflict, Provocation, and Self Expression

Last night I read a few of my short stories from Night at the Demontorium. I read Bedring, Sparky's First Day, and He Dreams in Yellow. The first two I wrote over 10 years ago. They're so well written, so diverse, so original. I know that sounds conceited; but hold on, I have a point. And the point is that I should have been writing the whole time since. Who knows where my writing career would be by now if I'd made writing my primary focus? I lacked self confidence and let statistics about publishing scare me away. I spent ten years moving, flailing in relationships, and getting technical training and a Master's degree. I don't regret the education, especially since my firm's tuition assistance program paid for it 100%. That and professional memberships are helpful on the day job front. But writing is my single talent. I can draw, but it's nothing compared to writing. I was born to it. And I should do it constantly for the rest of my life. Going the whole month of May without writing (while The Bad Death is with beta readers) feels unsettling. I've been devoting my weekdays to marketing; but starting June 1, I'm writing every weekday, even if I have to quit six hours into a work day for marketing. That's why successful self-published authors like JA Konrath hire out all other tasks; they know their job is the writing.

This month I've been thinking a lot about the next book in my series, House of the Apparently Dead. I  think before the Greeley girls leave Charleston ...oh wait, I should tell you who the Greeleys are. My series is set in 18th century South Carolina. The Greeleys are rich sisters who freed their slaves. They're modeled after the Grimké sisters, two rich Charleston ladies who really were abolitionists and who eventually left the South under a cloud of unpopularity brought on by their condemnation of slavery. So in House of the Apparently Dead, the Greeleys will parcel up their plantation and deed it all away before shaking the dust off their feet on the way out. They will leave their mansion and immediate property to Charlotte, Julian Mouret's sister. In The Bad Death, Charlotte is cossetted by her family as the fragile flower they believe her to be. But in House of the Apparently Dead, she suffers dreadfully and the Greeleys' gift could be her salvation. There, that's all I'll tell you for now. No spoilers. I see the three books in my series as more than historical versions of the urban fantasy genre. I see them as carrying on the thing Jane Austen and Charles Dickens did so nicely -- multiple character plotlines. Austen's novels were about families. So, even though Pride and Prejudice is primarily a romance between Lizzie and Mr. Darcy, there were also Jane/Mr. Bingley, Lydia/Mr. Whickam, and Charlotte/Mr. Collins subplots, like vines running alongside the main plant. And Dickens -- think of Bleak House, for one. Yes, there's Esther. But there's also Gentleman George and his estrangement with his mother and his loyalty to his ruined friend, Nemo. His inner conflict over these people lands him in jail. And there are the orphaned wards of Jarndyce who fall in love, but the boy is ruined by greed and ambition and lack of purpose. Then there's poor Lady Dedlock, with her lost love for Nemo and her secret, illegitimate child. No wonder Dickens was a phenomenal success! Who can resist the longing within the hearts of these characters? And because each plotline holds not only its own conflict but conflicts with and propels the other plotlines, we're hooked into the story and can't let go until the end. So, in writing House of the Apparently Dead and the third novel (as yet untitled), I must find ways to interconnect the subplots so they conflict with and stir the others. It's like a giant web. If you pluck a strand on the far upper edge, it causes all the other strands to move in reaction. How to make that happen? Well, that will come from God. I know that sounds conceited; but hold on. I'm just acknowledging that the talent isn't really mine. So I must ask for an idea, and once given the idea, ask for guidance to do right by it. I'm a channel for the creative force that made me out of dust and gave me breath. The same is true for you.

What talent were you given? Have you been distracted from it? Did you play an instrument? Get it out of the guest room closet and dust it off. Did you paint? Find your brushes and start again. Don't be afraid. Just start again. If you write, keep writing. Birds sing every day. Why not you?

Writing Advice from Comedians

I listen to You Tube clips of comedians in the late afternoons to lift myself out of that post-lunch carbo slump. Two comedians, Patton Oswalt and Louis C.K,, made a very good point on the importance of staying prolific and always generating new content. I will include the clips here and thank You Tube posters OVRFND and Bromista5. In OVRFND's uploaded video, Patton Oswalt roasts Edgar Allen Poe to make his point about the importance of writing constantly. In Bromista5's video, Louis C.K. talks about how George Carlin inspired him to write new material constantly, digging deep into the darkest regions of his heart and psyche to make fun of his every vulnerability and fear. Neither comedian is G-rated, but if you listen, you'll get that nugget o' wisdom. Thanks Patton Oswalt and Louis C.K., and thanks OVRFND and Bromista5 (respectively) for posting.

Patton Oswalt:  http://bit.ly/s69Srz

Louis C.K.:  http://bit.ly/vjthwa Bromista5's upload is a clip from a tribute to George Carlin at the New York Public Library hosted by Whoopi Goldberg in March 2010. More of this tribute can be seen here: http://bit.ly/cca0tp

Sandwiches and Clichés

Recipe - http://bit.ly/sDFdfX

Sharon always opens Juicy Writing class with that date's reading from The Awe-Manac: A Daily Dose of Wonder by Jill Badonsky. Tonight, according to The Awe-Manac, it was National Sandwich Day and also a day to consider the worth and wonder of clichés. Sharon surprised us with a treat of tea sandwiches. As we munched on little white triangles filled with cream cheese-pineapple sprinkled with cinnamon, we wrote about our favorite sandwiches. I wrote a poem praising Day-After-Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. Then Sharon went to the seventh page of Mary Balogh's novel, Seducing an Angel, traced down seven lines and picked the seventh sentence after that: "It is the season, Alice." Using that as a starting point, we could write using sandwich references or deliberately use clichés. I decided to do both and had a lot of fun. Here's the scrap of story I wrote:

It is the season, Alice ..., He immediately began scribbling, ...when a young man's fancy turns to love. Mortimer took a bite of his Monte Cristo sandwich and contemplated his next line as he chewed. Powdered sugar fell onto his Garfield stationary, but such was his concentration that he didn't notice. "Ah," he said, hit with sudden inspiration. He anchored the page with an elbow and wrote the next line of purple passion. Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn if your eyes are like moonbeams and your lovely hair like thistledown. It is the milky smoothness of your voice, the hammy fullness of your communicative style, the sweetness and softness of your smile that I crave. To consume you would be heaven. "Heaven," he mumbled, popping the last big bite into his welcoming mouth. He closed his eyes and thought, 'Others' love is like a red, red rose, but you, my dear, are as sumptuous as my favorite sandwich.' "I'll write that down!" Mortimer exclaimed, powdered sugar and Texas toast crumbs flying on his exhaled breath to scatter across his letter. Mortimer was not handsome, but he had a way with words and an appetite he was sure Alice could not resist. He would marry her in April -- April was the loneliest month, after all -- and he resolved to be lonely no longer. He would teach her to cook on their honeymoon. They would never go hungry and they would live long and prosper.

Painting to Write

This time in Juicy Writing, Sharon reminded us that sometimes we work too hard. Tonight, instead of doing writing exercises, we would paint. I came into the session stressed and left completely relaxed. This is my painting you see here. 

I am a classic Type A. As fulfilling as writing and self-publishing are, I get really wound around the axle. I get really obsessive. I wake up every morning with an aching jaw from grinding my teeth and with my head a mental teleprompter endlessly scrolling a list of publishing tasks. I have to remind myself sometimes that I already have one stressful job. I did not choose to pursue my writing muse to give myself a second stressful job. It is precisely at those times when playing is just what my writing needs. 

To understand how this works, I recommend the book My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey by Jill Bolte Taylor, Ph.D. She suffered a massive stroke to her left hemisphere and lived with only her right during the first long stretch of her recovery. What she unexpectedly found was bliss. She lost her ego, lost her agenda, lost the concept of linear time, lost her need to be top dog, lost even her sense of physical separateness. Without these qualifiers, she felt constant love and joy. As she regained use of her left hemisphere, she had to develop mental habits that disciplined her left's dominant tendencies so that she could maintain inner peace.

One of the ways I maintain balance is through creative play, like painting. For you it may be throwing pots on a wheel or playing a round of golf before noon while the air is still fresh and cool. Something that absorbs your attention and brings you into Now. Something that has nothing riding on the outcome. This transfers your mental energy from the left hemisphere of your brain, which collects data and makes predictions based on its findings, to the right hemisphere, where creativity reigns and anything is considered possible. As writers, we need both hemispheres working in partnership, but for many of us left is dominant and really stifles right. So let Right out for a frolicsome run!

If you're interested in something like I do, you might check out Sharon's websites, http://www.sharonrenae.com/ and http://sharonrenaeart.com/. She's starting an online series of classes soon. Throughout the next year, she plans to branch out into a number of intuitive and creative subjects. Her newsletter will keep you informed as these opportunities arise.