Setting your own challenges

In November, I was a writing retreat at the Oregon Coast, and one evening at circle, a would-be novelist was lamenting her ability to stay focused and be productive. One of the poets spoke up and offered her a challenge: If she could complete 10 chapters in 60 days, the poet would give her $100. Today the novelist collected the money. She had written 15 chapters in the 60 days.

Now, not every challenge is such a directly lucrative one, but having a distinct, measurable goal is often helpful whether it's weight loss, saving money, or producing art. The poet did as much for her friend by stating the required production and the deadline as by offering the money, maybe more. This can be especially helpful for big projects. Breaking them down into measurable pieces makes it concrete, makes it seem real. Saying I'm going to work on my novel for a few hours this week is less motivating for me than saying I'm going to rework two chapters and draft a new chapter.

What challenges would you like to embark on this year in your writing? What would be feasible and still a good stretch? What would help you step more fully into your writing life?

Here are my writing dreams for 2011:

Write 100 poems
Write 100 fictional prompts
Finish the novel I just drafted
Go on 4 writing retreats
Enter 3 writing contests
Teach at our local writing conference
Start my third novel

Ambitious? You bet. Why not? If I get even half of that done, I'll be thrilled. What's on your dream list?

Creative accomplishments

Late in December or early in January each year, I sit down with my creative journal and make a list of accomplishments for the year. Here are some of the questions I ask myself:

1. Did I journal every day, even if just for a few minutes? Daily journaling is not only a spiritual practice for me (clears the mind) but it has really helped me improve my writing. It's practice!
2. Did I find or create opportunities to be creative with others? This could be retreats, classes, writing days, etc.
3. Did I create enough accountability structures during the year to keep me focused and rolling on projects or practices? This can be a writing group, creative group, email buddy, course or workshop.
4. Similarly, did I find ways to maintain momentum on my big project(s)? This is particularly important for me because other than the journal, I don't write daily but rather in longer sessions every week or two.
5. Did I balance my creative efforts and use more parts of my brain, spirit, and imagination? (For me, this means did I do visual art as well as writing.)
6. Did I support the creativity of others (coaching, mentoring, hosting, gentle critiquing)?
7. Did I take risks in subject matter, form, or in putting my work out into the world?
8. Did I fill the creative well with reading, movies, museums, nature walks) on a regular basis?
9. Did I try something new?
10. Did I nurture all aspects of my health, through diet, exercise, sleep, social time?

This kind of reflection helps me set a good intention for the next year and acknowledge myself for my efforts. It's also great fun to share lists with other creative folks. It's a way to get great ideas on how to implement some of these things.

Writing about sound

I've been writing poetry this month with Sage Cohen and find myself longing for a better vocabulary of nuance and expression. I'm well read and have an excellent, I think, vocabulary for prose but I'm finding that I need more words, words for color, for the names and qualities of trees and birds and flowers, for the weather. And in particular for the way things sound. For it's not only the sounds of the words but the way the world sounds that I want to express more clearly.

One of my graduate courses was in a French literary exercise called Explication de texte. This is a very formal, structured reading of a poem or piece of prose in which you dissect not only the meanings, large and small, of the content, but you explain (explicate) the way the author does this through word choice, repetitions, rhythms, etc. At first, I found this extremely difficult to do, but with practice, I learned a great deal about the writer's craft.

As part of that course, we ended up with a lot of vocabulary study in words and one list I remember in particular had to do with verbs of sound. I've no idea where that list is and since it wasn't French to English but rather French words with definitions in French, it wouldn't give me what I'm looking for in English. The issue is further complicated by the fact that French is a considerably more precise language than English (it's why for so long French has remained a crucial language for diplomats of all nations) and leans more heavily on the verb for denotation and connotation where English leans on noun structures.

I specifically remember learning the word "grincer," which describes the sound of metal grinding on metal. I'm wanting to discover and express some of that precision in my work. Maybe I have to make up my own words. Maybe there's a source out there. If anybody knows one, I'd love to know of it.

Imitation as learning tool

I'm taking a poetry writing class with local Sage Cohen (31-day poem-a-day) and our prompt recently was to analyze a favorite poem and then use some elements from it for our own writing. One of my all-time favorites is The Lake Isle of Innisfree by Yeats. Here is the original and then my own poem using some of his meter and phrasing.

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, 5
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; 10
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.


Aldermarsh

I will arrive on the ferry, the last 10 minutes of wind and expectation in my hair.

The pavement, the swoosh of cars on the city hill beside me, gone now.

Instead, deep in the night there will be the coyote call, the deep hoooo of the barn owl, and the stars will glitter over the silent garden gone to bed.
The alders will keep watch over the marsh as peace comes dropping slow, dropping away the stories of not enough.

I will arise and go now, but in my heart, the peace remains, a living space in the deep heart’s core.

Letting my manuscript rest

This past writing Friday, I opted not to work on the novel I'm writing. I finished the first draft a little more than a week ago and then did plot map cards in the two days following. Using index cards, I wrote one for each chapter, with a list of the characters in the chapter, location, main plot events, and point of view. It was a great way to get an overview of the story without reading it all the way through and I began to see some of the problem areas and made a list.

But instead of working with the cards last Friday or even setting in to make changes, I opted to write some poetry and do some visual art. And I made a decision to do that for the rest of the month--to just let the manuscript rest. I am going to write some fictional prompts, more poetry, maybe do some reading in some of the books on creativity and writing that I keep around. But I need some perspective on the story and its strengths and weaknesses and jumping back in doesn't seem the best idea at the moment.

Post-completion letdown and moving ahead

Since completing the first draft of the novel I'm working on on Friday, I've been in a bit of a letdown. I love the drafting of fiction and first draft is the most fun. I don't worry if it holds together, if the details are realistic or accurate, if the timeframe fits or the weather is appropriate, I don't worry if I bounce around in point of view. I just keep drafting and imaging and thinking: What's going to happen next?

Now I've a good story and lots of work to do that is more rewrite and edit and solve and resolve. I like this part too but not quite as much as the drafting.

Yesterday I took the day off, although a part of me is aware that the retreat is nearing its end and I'll jump back into paid work and all the other time complications of my other life. I read, I reflected, I walked, I futzed. And it was fun.

Today, I'm making an index card for each chapter, beginning to look at some of the issues to resolve, some of the gaps in the story. This will be good work for today and tomorrow. Then home and time to let the story rest for a week or two before I dive in again.

It's all good.

Meeting my goal

This morning, about 11:55, I finished the first draft of my second novel. In September, I set a goal of completing the draft by the end of the year. I didn't know then how many chapters were left to write or how many writing days I'd find in my calendar. I did know that I'd have a week of writing retreat in November and again now.

Since I've been here, I've had amazing computer problems. I broke a portion of my laptop screen. Borrowed a friend's Mac, then lost two days of writing because my thumb drive wasn't working right, and had to rewrite 3 chapters.

But it's done and it hasn't been too arduous. I've days of stop and start creativity and days of flow, I've had brilliant ideas that panned out and some that didn't. I've had stupid ideas that I tried to cram into the story and then saw how lame they were.

I've had big decisions to make. I had to identify the killer, bring him together with the detective, and make life and death choices. Who goes? Who stays? Who gets the girl? (Well, the older woman.)

At times, the writing process was as suspenseful as the story itself, my creative flow almost breathless as the ideas tumbled into place like the lock on a vault. At others, I had to pace around and make myself wait for the right decision to come.

I'm reminding myself that this is the first draft and some things may not work, but for now, I have an ending that pleases me. And I'm really happy! Happy New Year!