Days 22-25: NaNoWriMo 2023

 My current word count is 91,979 words written since November 1st. That is amazing and feels good. This year is my highest word county by far.

I keep writing that "I'm not writing much on the story." But I realized today that I am writing My Story. And I have some pieces for a fiction story, which are based on My Story. So, there is that.

It has been an interesting NaNoWriMo. I am - obviously - writing a lot. I have written every day and, I'm not sure what my average daily word count is, but it is high. I have written at least the 1667 words on almost every day; there are a few which were closer to 1000. I think I have this write every day firmly entrenched now. It's not a rule, but I have been doing this for over a year now - the writing every day. It helps to not put a lot of rules and restrictions on what I count as "writing."

We are in the final month - less than a month - of the Mavens of Mythmaking with Ariel. A full year long class coming to an end. I have much to do to get my final project wrapped up, so that is what my focus will be now. I've fallen behind again, in feedback and such. I am keeping up on the reading and I've been slowly working on the manuscript. Too slow. But I'm taking a new direction at this stage of things, thanks to a conversation with my old-new writing buddy! I am excited to have time with her, again, to be able to reconnect one on one about our writing and support each other. This will definitely help.

Below is my landing NaNoWriMo page, with my current stats and my writing graph. There is more on the site, but this is a good overview. NaNoWriMo is working through some problems and I hope they work it out. For now, I'm using the site as I have been - which is a tracking page. The organization changed significantly several years ago; and not for the better in my and many people's opinions. I don't know a lot about the current issue, but the Board is involved and I hope the truth and resolutions happen. 

For me? I'm happy. I am at 184% of the goal and I think I am going to aim for 200% - in other words, a double NaNo. I've never done that before, so I guess I will now. I have just over 5 days to complete 100k words in 30 days. I can do this!

NaNoWriMo 2023 general stats for Dot.

Creative NonFiction? Yes, Please

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A friend and I have had discussions about the term "creative nonfiction." He asserts that all nonfiction is fiction and all fiction is nonfiction. He doesn't like the term, "creative nonfiction." That's his opinion and he's sticking to it - and I say that with a smile. It is one where we disagree, though I also wondered about it for a while, as well. It isn't that I disagree with my friend in terms of nonfiction and fiction overlapping, but I believe there is a place for this term. And I'm sticking to my opinion.

But as I'm returning to the M-book, I'm finding - again - that I love this term. Especially right now, when I need to write an important scene in the book but I am coming up blank.

Let me back up.  I will start with : What is "creative nonfiction?"

There are many books written on this subject - what it is, how to write it, books of it. There are pages and pages of websites. Many colleges offer creative nonfiction courses and their own interpretation of that label. Here is one example from UVM Tutor Tips:

Creative nonfiction merges the boundaries between literary art (fiction, poetry) and research nonfiction (statistical, fact-filled, run of the mill journalism). It is writing composed of the real, or of facts, that employs the same literary devices as fiction such as setting, voice/tone, character development, etc. This makes if [sic]different (more “creative”) than standard nonfiction writing.

Here is a another definition from Creative Nonfiction Magazine:

The words “creative” and “nonfiction” describe the form. The word “creative” refers to the use of literary craft, the techniques fiction writers, playwrights, and poets employ to present nonfiction—factually accurate prose about real people and events—in a compelling, vivid, dramatic manner. The goal is to make nonfiction stories read like fiction so that your readers are as enthralled by fact as they are by fantasy.

These two definitions are not really in contrast with each other, but they do have a different tone. And that, I
say, is one of the beauties of "creative nonfiction." "Creative nonfiction" can encompass a more straightforward travelogue and a personal travel memoir and an experiential poem.

And it gives some flexibility to fill in the blanks.

Like right now.

I don't remember this particular first date. I should, I know; but I don't. And that missing piece is one thing which comes up repeatedly in feedback on the M-book, comments asking where the scene is showing the first date. To help show the progression of the relationship.

But. I. Don't. Remember.

So that part will be a piece of creative nonfiction. A memoir generally does fall into the category of creative nonfiction, in my opinion, and some would say that some memoirists hide behind that label rather than telling the truth. Or that stories are deliberately slanted or exaggerated to cover up or twist the truth. For me, such as with the "first date" scene, if it stays in the book, it means I had to take what I know to be truth without a doubt, put it together with other examples of similar incidents and try to capture the sense of that first date with what might have been, within the context of the time and what is known.

It means I have to go to my body to remember what it was like and build the story from what I know to be true. Creative fiction and nonfiction put together to make a whole story.

Is it true? Yes. Is it fiction? Yes. Is it based on actual facts and experiences? Yes. Is it a good story? That is what I'm working to make true.

For this scene, I have to begin with a freewrite. Which will be followed with revision and rewrite. And, perhaps, in the freewrite, the memory will be triggered so that the percentage of facts is higher than the percentage of fiction by the time I get to the rewrites.
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A Week Off

This is the week my Monday writing group decided to not exchange work. Busy schedules, one person out of town, one using the time to catch up, me working both my regular stuff and some performance interpreting. Busy. Busy. Busy.

But with the two plays and the poetry work I'm doing, I also found I can't read fiction. This isn't a new discovery, but it is a new confirmation of this fact. When I'm interpreting a play, I'm working with that story, getting it and the characters and the production's presentation of those things in my head, in my body, on my hands. It's difficult to really focus on other stories when that one story (or two in this case) is primary.

Luckily, I've just discovered that I can read non-fiction. I can listen to audiobooks about writing, or other things. I find that my other listening habits change, as well. I don't really like listening to the radio - too much talking and extraneous noise. Sometimes usually favorite music CDs don't sit well, so I have to find something else.

These aren';t problems - just interesting facts to discover. What works while I'm in theatrical or performance mode and what doesn't.

I wonder where that fits for writing, as well. I know in the past that I've sometimes gotten particular artists associated with certain pieces of writing. Or found that particular types of music fueled some writing so I would line up those musicians' work when I sat down to write. Now all we have to do is collect our favorite songs on the digital device of our choice and we can add categories or whatever they're called in the particular brand of machine.

And when I'm not doing the writing, not working on feedback on other's writing, I think a lot about writing. Of course I am also listening to Stephen King read his book, "On Writing," about, well that's obvious - writing. So that's on the front line of my consciousness. But I have ideas and inspiration and want to write.

Yesterday I wanted to write a poem and the words were flowing - in my head. I was driving. On the freeway. And when I got to where I was going I had no time to make notes and some of it was gone anyway. But rather than get upset, I figure it will come back. If it was that good or that important, it will come back. And maybe the next version will be even better.

A week off. Ha! Of exchanging writing with my group - yes. Of reading or listening to fiction - yes. But not off from creativity nor performance interpreting nor regular work.

Just a slightly different pace.

And one punctuated by hobbling around on crutches. The update there is that my doctor said I could get off the crutches a week from the date of the injury and continue with the ice/rest/ace bandage care for an additional week. That's good news. The crutches really slow me down and are loud and make things awkward.

Though I'm really not even complaining about that. There is irony that the sprain and complications and crutches happened right now; right when I would have said - no, it's impossible, I could never slow down or be limited in action or movement during this time. No. But I am. It is. And I'm getting through. With a few adaptations. But I'm getting things done and "it's all good," as They say.
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"Make Your Living As A Writer"

Yesterday a friend called me sent me a text message to see what I was up to. He was going for coffee and thought he'd see if I was available. I was - about 45 minutes later after I woke up and took a shower. So I replied, he waited while I put on my shoes and headed over. We spent some time talking. Drinking coffee drinks. Talking.

We're in the same profession - which is not writing. Although we are both writers. He writes stories, yes - but his passion is writing scripts: radio, film, theater.

So we were talking about writing. And talking about the future - the future of our writing. And he talked about if this were the past we might be living in Paris, living with other writers and our lives would be writing and sleeping and eating and writing. And talking about writing. He's a bit of a romantic that way - and, yes, we might. We know others like us. (My partner pointed out, when she and I were talking about it later, that we'd still need wives to take care of the day to day life things while we did our writerly things. True. She's an historical realist that way, yes.)

Not for the first time - but he and I had the discussion about options of making our living as writers. I brought it up because, if you have Gmail or another email program which does this you already know, online email programs bring advertisements with them. There are little bots they send out to scan your email subjects or content and then you get ads (text only or with full visuals, depending).

A quick aside: one thing which strikes me as funny is that when I'm in my Gmail junk folder, there are Spam recipes advertised at the top of the screen. It makes me laugh. And some of them? Wow - pretty outrageous!

Back to writing. So my Gmail ads frequently are about becoming and interpreter or translator, and about writing. Very often there are teasers about "You can earn your living as a writer" or "Write from Home" or somesuch.

I think about articles and nonfiction pieces. I think about getting an MFA. I think about other writerly things and yet. I don't think I'm ready to give up interpreting. And I don't like researching how some place wants me to word what it is I do so they will accept it. I want my writing to stand on its own merits. I could debate this here all by myself: the pros and cons, the whys. My friend and I spent a lot of time talking about this. I think about hours of research to find the publications which want what I might want to write about and then the hours writing the queries and proposals. And then the research to write the articles. And then the writing.

Hmm.

Yes, for now, I think I'll keep my day(night) job. Which I still like. Which I know how to do and I do it well.

And I'll keep writing what I want to write because I want to write it. Not because I have to write it to pay the mortgage.

And I believe that diversity is a good thing.

Maybe, for me, "make my living as a writer" would be better said as "make my living and be a writer."
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Incubation

Recently I've been writing about some time conflicts I've been having. About how work and writing do or don't flow together. About how to fit in walking, swimming, biking and strength training around the working and the writing.

A couple of weeks ago I discovered that I seem to need some transition time between working and writing. I think this is especially true when I'm working long days; more time to get into my writer space.

Today I think I discovered another piece of my writing puzzle: that the transition time is a true thing, and that I need some incubation time. I mean, that's not a totally new or revolutionary idea - but it hit me today.

I've been working on this non-fiction piece about ADHD for a couple weeks and I keep thinking I have it just about ready to all put together and am ready to stop taking notes and writing pieces. Then I think of some new angle or something I left out or a better way to do it. Today I was at the job I wrote about last week - where I have to be careful about what I take in to do in the down time, where there are things I can't take in with me, and so on. And writing is not an easy thing to do in this place for reasons I can't talk about. But it's not. But today, while the client was absorbed in a single person activity, the words finally started to flow on the nonfiction piece. One paragraph flowed to another and another and soon it had a shape and I had notes inserted where I would put the anecdotes and cited quotes and sources.

I hadn't planned on working on the piece today. I was saving it until I got home tonight.

But there it was. It had incubated. It needed to be written. And I had the time.

I realized that, with my busy schedule, my incubation time took longer than I thought it would. Because I had less time to think about the piece. I had student observations (one of which was in Tacoma), write-ups related to the observations, the final quick write and assignment for the Lit Star Training, feedback for the assignments and quick writes, and work. So the incubation time was squeezed in between all of these things, which was also the time for writing, so it took longer.

And yesterday I spent over three hours writing with a friend. Another piece of incubation and transition time, I think. So my pump was primed yesterday and the writing flowed today.

Incubation.

Transition.

I'm figuring this out.
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reading: Alltopia antholozine release

From Lara Messersmith-Glavin, the founder of Alltopia:

...join us for a reading from the latest issue of Alltopia Antholozine, FLORA. Come hear amazing local writers share a handful of stories from the vegetable kingdom at our favorite vegan cafe! New and back issues will be available for purchase, along with delicious, conscientiously crafted beers, teas, and snacks. Kids are welcome, local publishing is very cool, and readings make for a creative hot date.  

When: Sunday, September 12th at 5 pm (the reading will be short and sweet!)


Where: The Red & Black Café, 400 SE 12th Ave, Portland, OR


Bring your friends!


See you there,
Lara


PS - In case you've forgotten, Alltopia is a Portland-based nonfiction journal that provides new writers and visual artists with opportunities for publication, peer review, and public performance. Like to write or have stories to tell? Come and check us out.

I'm unable to attend due to a previous commitment. But I do have a piece being published, "Aplets and Cotlets: Getting Gammy's Goat." I always enjoy going to the openings and like to read my writing for a friendly audience - but I have to sit this one out. There will only be six or seven authors reading this time, so it will be a short evening - but worth your time. Enjoy!
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submit: Reading Local is seeking submissions from Portland writers

Reading Local is seeking short fiction and nonfiction from Portland writers

Arthur Smid is helping Reading Local Portland find short stories to publish.

From Arthur:

"By seeking out emerging talent, requesting stories from established writers, and accepting submissions, the online literary journal at Reading Local Portland will create awareness among writers of their contemporaries and build an audience for new work. The goal is to provide an online page of Portland-based literary fiction and narrative nonfiction.  

Beginning in September, Reading Local will publish one new story (up to 1,500 words) each week from writers living in the Portland area. We are not able to pay contributors at this time. Authors retain all rights and own their work. Send your story (up to 1,500 words) with a brief bio (and link to your website) to smidarthur(at)gmail(dot)com."

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On Its Way

Three minutes ago I bought the stamp, put it on the large manila envelope and dropped it into the mail slot.

My Oregon Literary Fellowship application is on its way.

With three copies of the application, three copies of the Women Writers Fellowship addendum, and three copies of 20 pages (the intro and three chapters) from my memoir. All collated according to instructions and paper-clipped together.

Fly, application, into the hands of the judges.

If nothing else, I got a good sense of direction and intent for my work. Not quite at the "elevator speech" level - but concise and clear.

graphic from sciblogs

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Razor's Edge 6/18/10

This is the day for the Razor's Edge. Instead of prompts, I'm going to share a story. A true story - but a story, still. The theme of this post is, Contradictions. How sometimes we have to take what is and look ahead and move on, even though it seems like we might want to pause. Or, at least I do.

This is another example of what Pamela calls, Resiliency.

I'm working on it.


Behind me here in the cafe, at the tall faux marble table along the inside wall, are two students studying their Chinese medicine. At first I wasn't sure what they were doing - talking about swollen lips and, by their description, it may have been a human specimen or a car or some unknown piece of machinery. But now they have moved on to talking about stagnant Chi and I know. It's Chinese medicine - and they are probably acupuncture students from the school out a couple miles, just past where I live. They've come here, a little further in toward downtown, to escape the other students that are crammed in the cafe just up the street from my house.

Stagnant Chi. That's what I'm trying to avoid by moving forward with this Oregon Literary Fellowship application.

See, today I found out that another submitted story was rejected. This is the life of the writer. Keep the stories going out and wait to see what happens, which is very often rejection. I'm not sure right now when the balance starts to tip so that there might be more acceptances than rejections, but, like visual artists, writers have to be able to take the rejections, which are numerous. For most of us. And victories are to be cherished and worn as badges of honor - such as honorable mentions, like my writing friend Christi just received from Glimmer Train. A big congratulations to her and I hope she holds that Honorable Mention high, like the Olympic torch, and lets it light her days and nights.

So another of my stories was rejected. And I have to have the Oregon Literary Fellowships (OLF) application in by next Friday, if I'm going to do it. I've wondered whether to try or not. One friend told me it was very difficult to get and very few are selected and it was way too much work. He applied once, years ago, and it was not worth the effort, he thought. Another friend who has read a lot of my work encouraged me to do it. And I first heard about it from a published writer who thought I might want to give it a shot (my words, not hers). And I asked another published writer-friend-mentor for advice and, while she doesn't know anyone who has ever won one so she doesn't have any specific advice, she said it would be good to try and gave me some advice about the submission from an editor/judge-of-a-different-residency experience standpoint.

And here I am in the cafe with the women studying about Chi and sad about my piece not being published and looking at the two sets of poems and two personal essays and one more short story that are out there being considered. And I just finished pasting and editing my writing sample submission for the OLF into a new document. I will read it aloud later to find places where more tightening or other editing is required. I made more notes for the questions I have to answer.

And I will submit. I will give it a try even though part of me is in that post-rejection what's-it-all-for-anyway-no-one-will-pick-me mood. I am resilient and I will keep on trying.

As my writer-friend-mentor who moved away to Santa Fe said, "I don't think there is any harm in applying. It is a lot of work, but I think sometimes the process helps clarify a project and gives us a deadline for the story rewrites. I think you have as good a chance as anyone." She's right. So far this has helped me come up with an intent for my writing, something I've been unable to put into words. Until now.

Reject. Reflect. Rewrite.

Submit.

Ah, the life of a writer!

What are two or three of your contradictions right now? Go: write!

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"Voices Against Violence" zine submission deadline extended

Great project still needs submissions.

The editors

have extended the deadline for the Voices Against Violence zine to Feb. 2nd. Here’s the original call out[inserted below]

What we’ve got so far has been great, but I’d like to see some responses and issues still not addressed and artwork.

Included topics can be: healing from trauma, transformative words used as a healing mechanism, enabling healing, life after trauma, self-help guides/resources, self-healing, dancing as means to healing, healing through narration, forgiveness (do we need it?), & collective trauma.

Here is the original call for submissions, which includes more information:

Call out for Submissions

Voices Against Violence Zine is accepting submissions for our next issue. Please send in your essays, poetry, letters, personal accounts, artwork & photography to be included.

What is the Voices Against Violence Zine? A small zine-diy style, with work from people of color, indigenous folks, trans people & queer survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence and sexual assault. Included topics can be: healing from trauma, transformative words used as a healing mechanism, enabling healing, life after trauma, self-help guides/resources, self-healing, dancing as means to healing, healing through narration, forgiveness (do we need it?), & collective trauma.

Voices Against Violence zine is to be used as a community teaching tool, as a jump off for discussion and creative outlet and for conversations that need to happen.

Voices Against Violence is part of Café Revolución, with help from Philly’s Pissed. Check out their downloads.

Send submissions in English, Spanish, tex-mex, spanglish or any combination* via email, either in text in the body of the email or attached in .txt format to noemi.mtz (at) gmail dot com.

In the subject enter voices against violence submission. Include a brief bio, your mailing address, website if any. Mention your zine or any upcoming projects you’d like. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know or include a pen name. Email any photos, artwork as an attachment.

*translations would be cool but not necessary.

The editor, Noemi, of this zine is a skilled writer and all around awesome person I met through Ariel Gore online workshops. Submit if you have something and feel free to contact Noemi with any questions.

stuck - why?

I don't understand why I am getting stuck when asked to write short personal essays about my walking. Or my walking and writing.

I write about it all the time. I write pieces to be published which are true and are about walking. And often writing. And I complete them.

But recently I've been faced with two separate pieces about my walking and my journey to fitness and. Gulp. Nada. Well, that's not entirely true. I wrote something - at least a beginning. And then, for one, I found myself rambling. Saying the same thing over and over and going nowhere; kind of like now.

The other one is a short "testimonial" type piece, which I'm happy to write and want to write. And. Gulp. What do I say? It's still just me; live; real. But, somehow, the words are elusive and everything I've started sound wooden and artificial.

Stuck. Think I need to sleep now and tackle them again after I've had enough sleep.

And a walk; five miles fast tomorrow - my pace training day.

submissions

Click on the links to get more information.

Boulevard

Short Fiction Contest for Emerging Writers
http://www.richardburgin.net/1boulevardsfcontest.htm
$1,500 and publication in Boulevard awarded to the winning story by a writer who
has not yet published a book of fiction, poetry, or creative non-fiction with a
nationally distributed press.


Mangrove Review
/ FGCU Sanibel Island Writers Conference Writing Contest
http://www.fgcu.edu/SIWC/contest.html
Three awards—one each in Poetry, Fiction, and Creative Nonfiction
Winners to be published and acknowledged in Mangrove Review, Spring 2010, FGCU's literary magazine, and given free admission to the 2009 FGCU Sanibel Island Writers Conference.


Hackney Literary Awards
http://www.bsc.edu/events/hackney/Guidelines.pdf
The Hackney Literary Awards, sponsored by the Cecil Hackney family of Birmingham, Alabama, were established in 1969. The annual competition awards $5,000 in prizes for poetry and short
fiction ($2,500 national and $2,500 state levels: 1st place, $600; 2nd, $400; 3rd, $250); a $5,000 prize is also sponsored by Morris Hackney for an unpublished novel.

Thank you to Creative Writers Opportunities List
for compiling this information.
You can join CRWOPPS on YahooGroups

upcoming Ariel Gore workshops

This is best writing class I have ever taken! Almost painlessly you got us to write, write, write. And for me got at some new great material.
--Kitty Torres

Eight-week class starts Sept. 15

ONLINE CLASS
LIT STAR TRAINING
Taught by Ariel Gore

The creative jolt we all need -- for writers wanting to work on either memoir or fiction -- we'll make time to write, create new material with weekly deadlines, and improve our craft with practice and critique. Appropriate for writers working on longer projects as well as those who want to write to assignments and produce short essays and stories. The pace is quick and energizing--you won't even have time to worry about creative blocks. Class combines online discussion/critique, email, and telephone coaching. Class size is limited, so please sign up early.$275. $85 deposit saves your spot - balance due when class starts.

Click here to go to Ariel's website to register.

{Ariel} will also be teaching a 10-week memoir workshop and a 6-month book-writing workshop at The Attic in Portland. Get all the info & sign up at The Attic .

announcement: publication

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One of my short creative non-fiction stories, Showing Off, was accepted for publication in the fall issue of Alltopia. This time I will be able to attend the peer editing workshop and, hopefully again, the release and reading. As soon as I know the reading date, I will post it here.


In another note: the summer anthology release and reading of Write Around Portland will be on Friday, August 28th. Mark your calendars and attend this free event.
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Anthology Release Party

Last night I attended another Write Around Portland anthology release party and reading. Wow; again. This organization is amazing in their vision, their ability to carry out that vision, and their commitment to the community in which they live and in the communities their create with their writing workshops.

The evening to celebrate the completion of another round of workshops which gave voice and built another community of writers was a success for participant and listener alike. Each 10-week session of 15-17 groups Write Around Portland runs, concludes with this celebration, in which all participants have the option to read their piece in the publication. The individual writings cover nearly every genre; some made me laugh, some brought tears, some made me remember and some made me thankful. Each one touched me in some way. You can read more about the content and process of the programs here.

The staff of Write Around Portland run this celebration very skillfully and smoothly. Not a single participant nor facilitator nor audience member has any inkling of the amount of work that has been poured into making sure each person who decides to read their piece is a star for those two minutes. The staff's confidence and calm, their ability to support and organize, makes this a night of pleasure for everyone. And especially the participants, who each receive a copy of the publication with their piece included.

The readings last night were amazing and the courage and strength of everyone involved apparent. I feel both humble and proud to be a part of the volunteers who support the writers - on the staff and in the workshops.
Each session also spotlights one writer and a line from his or her selected piece is used as the title for the anthology. The featured writer for the newest anthology, A Rare and Necessary Time, is Reuben Alvarez-Paris. You can read his entry on the Write Around Portland website, as well as an interview.

Random Thought #2

Plugging in to unplug from the hamster race.

...iPods/mp3 players as we walk, drive, work, eat, sit in class, chat with friends...
...cyborgs with bluetooth ...
...cell phones, smart phones, iPhones, Chocolates (why *are* they called that?), Razrs, Blackberrys; IM, txt, emoticons; push technology...
...always on, always available...
...students balking at an assignment to walk around the neighborhood for an hour without being plugged in to any technology, looking for examples in the community...
...wondering who called and didn't leave a message...
...calling back a wrong number so we don't miss something...
...parallel conversations of bus riders waiting at the stop, as if they were sitting alone in their living room with some privacy...

I have a confession

I have a confession. I am a writer and, until recently, I wasn’t writing every day. I wanted to; I planned to; and it didn’t happen. I am not only a writer, I said defensively. I do other things and my day job sometimes starts before the sun rises and ends some twelve to fifteen hours later. Not that I get paid for every one of those hours; it includes driving from place to place which is unpaid, and searching for parking, and everything that goes with this type of work. Self-employment is grand and, sometimes, the hours required to make a few bucks are long.

But I digress.

Over and over I’ve heard that, in order to write, you have to write every day. Because of several failed attempts at daily writing, I committed to writing most days. Some weeks that worked and then, “most days” became, well, four days is a majority, right? Then it was, well, this week was only three, but that’s all I could do. Really. Then that slipped into thinking “maybe next week I can write.”

Several years ago I went through The Artists’ Way with a small group of friends. I did manage to do my morning pages every day and it was helpful. Then one day slipped, then two days. And soon, with a change of careers which meant going back to school, that was dropped. I thanked the Morning Pages for helping me find the new career and told them, “Tata for now, I’ll see you when I come out on the other side of this river of courses and cultural adjustments and have built my new career.” Which I assumed meant two years of college and maybe one to two years of getting established in the new profession.

That was thirteen years ago.

Over the last couple years, I started going to writing workshops and groups again. When I go, I write more. Not surprising, because it helps to be around people who assume I’m writing. I know it’s not really them holding me to my commitment, it’s me. But having a place and people to interact with keeps it higher on my priorities list.

Having a writing partner helps, as well. Two weeks ago I met with my writing buddy and he, fresh from a three week vacation in France, announced that we must Write Every Day. He was reading a book I gave him a couple months ago, which was touting the necessity of daily writing. Yeah, yeah, I agreed. If only we had the time. Yeah, he agreed. And we said we would try to write most days, when we could. We also share the other profession.

Three days later I started this blog. I awoke that day knowing it was time to stop saying, “I will” and change it to “I do.” For whatever reason, I have a blog ethic: if a person is going to do one, you have to keep it up. And for writing – that means to write.

This blog – in addition to my desire to share my experiences and inspirations with the hope they are useful to someone else – is my commitment to myself to write every day. Not everything I write is posted here. My other writing includes revisions, pieces of poems, freewrites from a spark of inspiration – and I’ve been visiting WordLush to gather the list from the Daily Word Spittoon and writing something from that. I have been posting those creations at The Writing Vein Playground.

When I let go of having to sit in one place and write at the same time every day for a specified amount of time or number of pages, guess what happened? I’ve been writing every day! Sometimes it’s 15 minutes, sometimes it’s two hours. Sometimes I’m working a new story or revising an old one. And sometimes it’s this blog and the word spittoon game.

Look folks, I’m writing!

"Black scribbler" by Dot. 1992
12" x 48" silk painting

Fiction or Non-Fiction: is that the question?

When I emailed my story to the writing group last week, I did not identify it as either fiction or non-fiction. This was deliberate. This story most likely falls into the category my friend, Alexander, says is a ridiculous concept: creative non-fiction. Alexander’s perspective is that all fiction is creative non-fiction; well, most, anyway. Regardless, there is some obvious-to-anyone-who-knows-me truth from my life in the story and there are parts I edited for the sake of a better read.

My purpose in submitting the story to the group was to get feedback on whether it did or did not work. Some people thought it was fiction; some thought it was non-fiction. One person said he wished he would have known it was non-fiction, because he would have looked at it differently.

I did not hide the genre out of any ill-will or mean spiritedness – I wanted honest feedback. This piece tends to bring out the pity filter when people think it’s all true. I wanted their opinions based on what they read, not on how much of the narrator’s story is mine.

Regardless of the category writing needs to hold together. The readers need to feel drawn in to a story and it needs to be well written. Should we excuse so-so writing because it was a personal experience? Should we evaluate writing more harshly because we think it was all made up with no feelings attached? The answer to both is, No, of course not. With some exceptions, I’m sure; pretty much everything has exceptions, so why should writing be any different?

I did receive useful feedback and people in the group were honest. But this question of whether or how much of it was “true” and how that affects giving feedback has been rolling around in my thoughts like a marble in a jeans pocket in the dryer.

It’s a story. Do you want to read it or not? Why or why not?

"Sum of My Life"
collage by Dot. c.2007