Writing with the Mythological Voice; Learning from Natalie Reid

One of the best writing experiences I've ever had was the opportunity to take an all-day workshop with author and teacher, Natalie Reid.  Natalie teaches a technique she calls "writing with the mythological voice" and it is, in my opinion, the quickest and easiest way to find your authentic writer's voice. 

The Spiritual Alchemist: Working with the Voice of Your Soul is Natalie's complete presentation of her ideas and exercises you can do alone at home or with a creative group (preferably with people you trust and feel comfortable with).  The book even includes a beautiful CD to guide you along so that you don't have to break out of the creative flow to read about "what to do next."  There is so much I could say about the book:  it is fantastic; it is motivating; it is educational, but I think I would rather just offer one of the myths that I wrote during Natalie's class.  I called it, The Woman Who was Fast.

There once was a woman who was fast.  She could cook in three minutes flat the best of meals.  She could paint the living room before breakfast.  She could type 230 words a minute.  She could speak without breathing, run marathons in under an hour, make the bed with one hand, and listen to her own voice while hearing the problems of others.  She was so full of speed and energy it took the greatest powers of control to keep her feet on the ground and the clouds out of her hair.  There was nothing she couldn't do in record time or better, and soon she found her fame and speedy accomplishments whizzing around the globe and shooting out of the TV and computer screens.  There were instant blogs and short sound bites that praised her efficiency and miraculous abilities to go and go and go and never complain or take time out for rest.  Soon she learned that she could go even faster if she mopped floors with one foot, worked her time-saving generator with the other, dust with her left hand and write with her mouth.  In her right hand she could turn the pages of a book and read separate books with her two different eyes.  Faster, faster, faster she urged herself when she felt herself lag by a minute or two.  Time is money and money is all that matters in the end because without money how could any of the world's problems be solved?  Where would the food come from?  The clothes, the teachers, the houses, the machinery for war?  She couldn't let up for a second.  There was so much to do and she was good at what she did because she was fast.  She was so fast she could speed up her heart and she learned to love and hate and cry and speak with the same breath and all the while her heart pumped and pumped and pounded and thrust until her heartbeats became a distant whir and she woke up from the fastest dream of her life--no more than .002 of a second--in a cold sweat and sudden panicky fear that her heart was so fast she could no longer hear it.

It's been over two years since I wrote this piece in Natalie's workshop.  Unfortunately, like all myths, it is is still rings true.  Oh, dear...

Tip of the Day:  Wondering who your writer-self really is?  Go on the equivalent of a writer's vision quest with The Spiritual Alchemist: Working with the Voice of Your Soul.  The answers will surprise--and inspire--you.  You can also learn more about Natalie at her website, http://www.thespiritualalchemist.com/.  Best wishes on your journey.
 

Adding Depth to Your Writing: Past, Present, and Future

I'm always looking for ways to go deeper into my writing.  Over the weekend I began finalizing my first book trailers--the subject of a whole 'nother post coming soon--and as I searched through my images I realized that to display the full "flavor" of a story, I needed to know the past, present, and future of my characters in an entirely new way.

Usually when I talk about past/present/future with my writing students and clients I'm talking about tense, e.g., try not to switch from past to present tense in the same paragraph, or, maybe 800 pages of present-tense-only is a little tedious.  But this time I wanted to use the concept to explore where my characters came from, where they are in the story, and where I want them (and the reader) to be at the end of the book.  Thinking along these lines has added a fresh new approach to my usual "character biography." For instance,

• Fully examining your characters' pasts can give you the core or real story you are trying to tell. The place they’ve come from is a huge influence on all of their future actions, motivations, and goals. Know that place inside out.
• Knowing where your characters have come from can help with your pitch and marketing materials: “A girl from the wrong side of the tracks…” “Born into the royal family…” Ask yourself what you really know about “the wrong side of the tracks” or what goes on behind closed palace doors. Find out and use those details to enliven and enrich your presentation.
• When you can write about your character's past with a strong degree of empathy, you immediately create a bond with your readers, some of whom can identify with a similar past or birthplace.
• “You can take the girl off of the farm…” We always take a little bit of where we’re from wherever we go. Tiny, telling details your characters carry with them can add volumes to your tale in minimal words. For instance, a habit of liking a certain kind of candy only available in a certain town, or flowers that only grow in the mountains of Tibet…  Speech patterns are especially telling.  Any colloquialisms, small phrases, or accents that can’t be abandoned can and should appear , especially at the most inappropriate times.
• The past, for good or bad, can be something we all cling to.  Despite the need to change, having your characters attached to the past for comfort or out of bad habit will increase their difficult journey toward growth, and will add to your conflict.
• There’s nothing like secrets to enliven a plot. Having your characters do their darndest to keep those secrets from the past hidden in the present can add a lot of literary oomph.
• The present can be (and perhaps should be) a complete contrast to the past. If your character has come from warm and cozy, make sure his or her present life is hard and mean. A character from poverty suddenly thrust into fame and fortune can long for the days of scrubbing pots below stairs. An unfamiliar present can be a great source of misery.
• Future goals are the impetus of your story; characters should keep their eyes on the prize at all times. The future should be a delicious dangling carrot or strawberry bon-bon always just there, in sight, tormenting and goading your characters into action.
• The future can also be a bad place readers don’t want your character to go, e.g., into the arms of Mr. Wrong; that trip to Antarctica everyone knows they shouldn’t take; stepping into a dark basement without a flashlight or baseball bat. Increase readers' fears for your characters whenever possible.
• As much as readers love to agonize and worry for your characters, readers also live for the hope that everything in your story is going to end happily ever after. Keep that hope alive as long as you can. And if you must re-stage Hamlet in outer space, at least make a body-strewn ending literary, satisfying, and “just right."
• Sometimes the best endings fill readers’ heads with all kinds of possible alternatives. In my book club I know we love to speculate: Did Claire and Max get married? Do you think Rosie got the job she wanted? Does the world really end in 20102? Readers like to extend the story in their minds; it's part of what makes a plot “unforgettable.”
• At the same time, don’t forget you can spin out your story into a near-never-ending future with a sequel or perhaps a complete series.

Tip of the day: Go through a manuscript you are still writing or one you have already finished. How can you pump up “past, present, and future” to reinvigorate your pages or to enliven your query, synopsis, and pitch?

Total Chaos or Creative Storm?

For the last few days I've been so scattered I could cry.  Really.  My writing room is a mess, my ideas are coming in too fast and furious, art projects are spilling out the door, my goals seem insurmountable, I owe dozens of return e-mails, and I'd rather be sleeping.  In other words, it's nearly that wonderful midway point of the year when I look at my creative life and wonder why on earth I ever wanted to do any of this.  Except that it's so much a part of me now I can't imagine any other way of living or being.

Two days ago while I was listening to possible music tracks for my upcoming book trailers (more projects, more goals) and staring at the chaos on my writing desk, something very weird happened outside my open window.  Three feet away on my patio a beautiful white and brown hawk swooped down and killed a dove.  I don't think I could have been more stunned if it had sailed right through my window and landed on my lap.  For several surreal minutes afterward the hawk and I sized each other up, the deceased dove between us.  I was too frightened to move; the hawk seemed to be rather proud of itself, showing me the undersides of its wings a lot and making quite a few victory noises.  A ridiculous part of me wondered if the hawk would next come inside the house in search of another snack (I had a wild parrot do that once).  My curiosity, on the other hand, wanted it to stay in place so I could keep watching this beautiful and ferocious bird that had somehow managed to infiltrate my small, inner-city backyard.  I mean, this is downtown Albuquerque, not a PBS nature program!  Eventually, though, the hawk decided I was far too insignificant for further conversation.  It marched toward the dove, picked it up in its talons, and flew off in an elegant and eerie departure skimming the treetops.  Just thinking about it now still gives me the shivers.

In her book, The Secret Language of Signs, one of my favorite nonfiction authors, Denise Linn, writes that seeing hawk imagery refers to the need to focus on your goals and to go after them with powerful single-mindedness.  Wow.  I didn't think I needed to be hit over the head that hard.  After I posted my woes on Twitter, blogger Kathleen Nolan at A Longer Letter Later  suggested that what I saw as the chaos in my life just might be a "creative storm."  I like that; it makes me think of the kind of storms we get here in Albquerque--torrential rain hitting parched earth, followed by a magnificent flowering of  every twig in sight.  Paired with all that rain and thunder I can easily imagine the hawk as my guide to the eye of the hurricane, helping me to see my goals in a "single-minded and powerful way" no matter the tempest around me.

Last night I made a list of what I hope to accomplish by the end of the summer:

• Line edits and revisions for my upcoming fantasy novel, Overtaken.
• Book trailers for 2 of my other books as well as for Overtaken.
• Get the "Look Inside the Book" feature in place for the same 3 books on Amazon.com.
• Fully transcribe the hand-written draft of my new nonfiction manuscript.
• Remember to set aside my weekends for artwork:  collage, pottery, watercolor, or drawing.
• Re-commit to a daily practice of writing morning pages.

When I wrote out my list, it all seemed very do-able.  And calming.  I think I may actually get through the rest of the year with some much-improved focus.  Now to clean up my room.  Even signs and wonders can use a little dusting.

Tip of the Day:  What symbols, imagery, or metaphors are guiding you toward your creative goals?  Brainstorm a list of associations; the messages may surprise you.  (And don't forget to check out Kathleen's great blog A Longer Letter Later.  Thanks for the input, Kathleen.) 

Food for Thought (and other Creative Work-outs)

My husband and I are vegetarians. Which doesn’t mean we don’t like chocolate, red wine, foreign food, exotic cheese… In other words, we don’t live on lettuce alone, much to the surprise of our meat-eating friends who constantly ask: “But how do you SURVIVE?" 

The whole idea of survival must have been on my husband’s mind the other night when I came home from writer’s group only to be greeted by the words: “You have to save Josh’s life!” After my initial scare (What? CPR? Give blood? Huh??) I learned he was referring to the 12-year-old son of a good friend. Josh has apparently made the decision to go vegetarian (yay, Josh!) but his family has no idea what to feed him. The poor kid is bored to tears for lack of yummy meals, and his mother needed a list of quick and things she could prepare alongside the rest of the family’s meat dishes. 

As I was making my list, I couldn’t help but think about how often I am asked how I juggle writing, work, and cooking dinner every night. One answer is that I keep things pretty simple on weeknights, mostly preparing the meals I suggested Josh’s mother try. Then I thought you might like a copy of the list too. Not only does a vegetarian diet save a ton of time in both preparation and clean-up (thereby allowing for more writing/creative time), but I believe it’s the perfect diet for what is, let’s face it, the writer’s sedentary lifestyle. So here’s what I sent Josh’s mom,   

THINGS FOR JOSH TO EAT: 

1. Salad made up of dozens of things, not just lettuce. In fact, leave out the lettuce sometimes or use spinach instead. Good ingredients are canned pinto, kidney, garbanzo, or green beans (just cold from the can); bell peppers; radishes; cilantro; parsley; celery; roma tomatoes; grated carrot; grated or sliced cheese; walnuts; pecans; raisins; cottage cheese; cooked beets. Use any kind of dressing. 

2. With a main meal salad you can then include: boiled, mashed, roast, or baked potato. Can do the same with sweet potato. French fries (sweet potato ones, too). Hardboiled egg. Fried or scrambled egg(s). 

3. Any kind of pasta with any kind of bottled sauce that doesn’t include meat. There are so many,  from tomato sauces to Alfredo/mushroom recipes, etc. Plain pasta tossed with a little pesto sauce is good. Or gently cooking some garlic in olive oil and then pouring hot oil over the pasta. Top with a spoon of peanut butter (!). 

4. Frozen cheese raviolis or tortellini are excellent to always have on hand. For a change after cooking the usual way, lightly fry them on both sides to turn them crispy. 

5. So many great veggie burger/hot dog brands. My favorites are Morningstar Prime Grillers and Tofu Pups. With the Tofu Pups you can slice them lengthwise and just fry them. They become almost like bacon. (I like to treat all these in the same way you would prepare a serving of meat with sauces, gravy, vegetables, salad, etc.) 

6. Omelettes/frittatas. For one portion, just use 2 beaten eggs with a spoonful of water and dash of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (a healthier alternative to soy sauce). In a small frying pan, stir fry either chopped zucchini, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, spinach, left over cold potatoes (or any combination) until cooked. Then pour the egg mixture on top. Cook until lightly set; top with sliced or grated cheese and put pan under the grill until cheese is melted. If you make a larger portion using more eggs and a larger pan, cold omelette can be kept in the fridge and either reheated or eaten cold, even sliced up for a sandwich filling. 

7. You can add extra vegetables such as carrots, onions, zucchini, or celery to Progresso Lentil Soup for an amazing casserole-type meal. Serve with rice or potatoes. Same with any brand of vegetarian baked beans, or vegetarian chili. Of course, any one of these is just fine on its own without added ingredients. 

8. Quesadillas. I just put salsa or similar on a tortilla, add cheese, any leftovers, top with another tortilla (or fold a single tortilla in half) and cook on hot griddle (no oil).  Take it a step further and you can make any kind of bean/cheese burrito or enchilada depending on your type of tortilla and choice of sauce. (Note: use vegetarian refried beans; the regular ones have lard.) 

9. Macaroni cheese. Grilled cheese sandwiches with extra things inside like corn or tomatoes, or smoked/roasted chilis. 

10. Pizza without meat. You can make individual ones with a Boboli base from the grocery store—they have small sizes. You can do all kinds of interesting things with them just with vegetables and cheese. 

11. For added texture with all these meals, rough grainy bread can help a lot for something to “bite.” Add cream cheese spreads to make great vegetarian sandwiches, especially when you add sliced tomato, cucumber, or pickles.  

12. For more easy ideas, Sunset Vegetarian Cooking is the best vegetarian cookbook ever written. It’s filled with recipes that are sensible and don’t require difficult-to-find ingredients. 

Tip of the Day: Eat your veggies! I find a meat-free diet helps avoid that “heavy” feeling after eating that can interfere with creativity, making me want to sleep or read instead of write or draw. Even a few meat-free meals a week can make a big difference in your energy levels.

Book Review; The Tropics, by Mary Deal

I love finding books by sheer accident. Sometimes I luck out by focusing solely on the lower shelves at the library, or by hunting up and down the bargain aisles at Borders or Barnes & Noble. But finding a book via the Internet is a new one for me, and that's precisely how I found author Mary Deal. I'm so glad I did. 

I discovered Mary's website writeanygenre.com while I was researching how to write a novella, a form I feel suits my current WIP. When I put "novella" into my AOL search engine, Mary's site came up almost right away. The wealth of information on the site intrigued me. Not only did I learn more about writing novellas, I found all kinds of great pages on poetry, nonfiction--well, any genre! Just as valuable were the links to Mary's books, the first being The Tropics: Child of a Storm - Caught in a Rip - Hurricane Secret, a series of novellas published under one cover. I ordered the set immediately, and then of course had to read them even more immediately. And I haven't been quite the same since.  As a reader and a writer, I absolutely loved these stories for the following reasons: 

1.  Mary Deal writes with an exquisite sense of place. Whether it's Puerto Rico or Hawaii, "I was there." The rain, the wind, the ocean: I lived through these stories so intensely I was truly lost in a storm--for hours, for days. 

2.  If it's true that a novella should be about emotional intensity, then Mary Deal should win a prize. Each of her separate novellas contains a strong core of emotional conflict that is never far from the surface and haunts every line. The sense of dread coupled with hope is powerful. 

3.  The external action mirrors the internal emotion. The stories never go off onto unrelated or unnecessary tangents. Every story event is connected and vital to the overall theme. 

4.  Along with the plot lines, the two main female characters, Ciara and Lilly, are unforgettable. They are such a study in emotional contrasts and needs that I still cannot separate from them. 

5.  A good book should be a page turner and I found myself unable to put The Tropics down. At the same time, I wanted to savor the story, not just gulp it down--but I was so torn. At times I read fast, then slow, then I'd read it all over again. The characters were drawn so well I began to dream about them. 

6.  Alongside the various story events, there were always deeper questions that made me want to journal, collage, and contemplate the answers and apply them to my own life. They were the kind of questions that are also perfect for book club discussion, too. 

7.  When I was finished reading, I couldn't stop crying. Okay, that is a very strange reason to recommend a book. But I once heard someone say that when a piece of art or writing makes us cry, it is because those images or words are true. Mary has written such a profound work of “truth as fiction" I was knocked sideways. The Tropics is a book that is always going to be with me. And isn’t that always the best kind of book? 

Tip of the Day: Check out Mary's website writeanygenre.com for great writing tips and to learn more about her other books. I've just bought two more of her titles: The Ka and Down to the Needle. I can't wait to start reading!

Write Your Memoirs--You're Never Too Young to Start

You don’t have to be famous to write your memoirs. Neither do you have to pass some kind of age-related test that pronounces you “long-lived and qualified to tell all.” In today’s book market where nonfiction sales still outrank fiction titles, there are lots of good reasons to consider writing your life story. Some of these reasons include: 

•  Leaving a record for family and friends.
• Surviving a traumatic experience and wanting to share how you coped or  managed.
• Encounters with fame and/or fortune and the impact that had on you.
• A unique adventure—on the road or right at home (We Raised Lamas in the Bathroom!).
• Self-discovery through a spiritual or creative path.
• Desire to pass on a valuable life lesson.

Memoir styles vary from the tragic to the humorous and anywhere in between. A good memoir, however, goes beyond “I remember…” Rather than looking solely into the past, the well-written memoir propels readers into the future, inspiring them to change or live in a new and meaningful way. For me, the best memoirs celebrate life—no matter how difficult that life may have been or will continue to be. If you’re interested in sharing your life story, here are some tips to help you get started:

1. It’s never too early to begin writing. If you have something important you want to say, start writing in your journal as soon as possible. You can always edit, revise, and change your point of view later on. The thing is to get your first thoughts and fresh impressions down on paper, even while events are still happening.

2. Age has nothing to do with memoir or autobiography. Look at Miley Cyrus and the dozens of other young people who have written about their journey onto the world stage. Young lives, big challenges.

3. Sometimes the best place to start is from a particular memory—not just the date of your birth (and how many of us really know what happened that day?) How about your first memory? Your favorite? Your worst or most embarrassing?

4. Rather than explore and divulge your entire life, choose a theme: holidays; recipes; travels; movies; books; cars you’ve owned, clothes you’ve worn; classes you’ve taken; people you’ve met.

5. Employ fiction techniques and strategies to enliven your story. I’m not suggesting you make things up, but that you simply look at events through a novelist’s eye. For instance, how have you changed from the events in your life? Looking back, how did Event A create Event B and so forth? Pretend that your story is fiction and you are the main character: What did you want more than anything; what prevented you from achieving your goal; and what did you do about it? How does that angle change your viewpoint?

6. Before you begin writing, decide what it is exactly that you want readers to know, learn, or feel when they are finished reading. Do you want them to be uplifted, more careful, or motivated in some way?

7. A “memoir” doesn’t always have to be about you. You can always write about someone else, even using that individual’s voice with first person point of view.

8. Break the mold: a memoir doesn’t have to be in the form of a book-length work. Perhaps all you truly want to write is an essay, a series of vignettes, or a children’s picture book. And who says you have to go to print? A memoir blog or website could be the perfect medium for your message.

9. That said, why limit yourself to prose? Memoir poetry could open an entirely new perspective for you and your voice.

10. Stuck? Don’t know where to start? Take an object that you have had for a while, ideally something from your childhood or an ancestor, or a special gift you received. Hold it in your hands. Close your eyes and sit with it for several minutes. When you are ready, start writing about that object. First describe it in detail. Then try to recall everything about where it came from and why it has significance for you. Capture the feeling associated with that object. Try this several times with various items.

11. Another way to tackle the memoir is to intentionally embark on a fresh adventure or experience you have never had before: travel to a foreign country; going back to school; starting a new career; becoming an empty-nester; experimenting with a new diet. Take detailed and daily notes as you go along. These will become the foundation if not the entire manuscript of your memoir.

12. While you’re writing, don’t overlook the importance of collage and other forms of artwork when trying to gather and collate your memories. Family photos and documents creatively arranged on a board or a wall in your writing room can be a constant source of inspiration. Having them close by can help you to stay focused, and who knows—they may even spark a new direction for yet another type of memoir.

Tip of the Day: Read a few memoirs to get a feel for how other authors have attempted the genre. Then explore your own background and see if there is something special and/or unique for you to focus on and write about. It may help to start in small segments rather than attempting a book-length piece.

Review of Zigzag Paz, A Memoir

My favorite books share two essential qualities: they make me feel “I was there” and they make me feel I’ve been changed in some meaningful and important way when I’m finished reading. The new memoir, Zigzag Paz by first time author, Pamela Anne Zolkov, is no exception.

There are so many fine points to Zigzag Paz that I hardly know where to begin and I don’t want to spoil the story by telling you too much. What I can say, however, is that the book is about a journey, but it’s not just any old travel story; it’s about a mystical journey of the mind and soul and heart, leading ultimately to the synchronizing of those three entities. Perhaps more importantly, the book as described by one of her earlier readers is “a love song to life,” and according to Paz it is the ultimate spiritual and mystical love story. 

Throughout Zigzag Paz, Paz shares the many experiences she has gone through to understand and accept the challenges Life wants her to learn from; things that are often just as beautiful, glamorous, and exciting as they are disappointing. But rather than accept defeat from her setbacks, Pam tells her story in such an optimistic way you know this is a person who will always conquer rather than be defeated by obstacles. Pam’s journey is honest, inspiring, and hopeful. While reading the book I constantly had the impression that she was speaking directly to her readers with compassion and kindness.

Much of the writing and especially the descriptive passages of Africa in particular read like poetry. On just about every page I could hear, taste, and feel the various countries or cities Paz has either lived in or visited. I’ve always enjoyed the classics Out of Africa, West with the Night, The Flame Trees of Thika. Zigzag Paz definitely follows in this line-up. Five stars from me!

Tip of the Day: Get a copy of Zigzag Paz today! Ordering information can be found at Lulu. While you’re reading, consider attempting your own memoir. Next post we’ll explore some suggestions for getting started.