GENREALITY

*sorry I’m late…I made the mistake of trying to upload over 400 photos to my online backup server last night, at once, and while it worked, it pretty much froze my internet for anything else, so at 330 AM I decided I’d post this when I woke up and went to bed*

What I learned on retreat…or should I say in retreat?

A few weeks ago I posted about going on a roadtrip/writing retreat with a buddy. It was something I’d been looking forward too for a long while. You see, my plan was to spend June and July focussing on other aspects of my life so that in August I’d be ready to re-focus on writing with much intensity. (I’ve come to accept that unless I’m intense/passionate about something, there is really no point in me even attempting to do it. ) As with most things in life, plans go awry.

June and July were full of stress and drama for me. So much so that I realized that if I was going to get serious about my writing again, I needed to leave the night job. Most people have Day Jobs, but mine is a night job for 2 reasons.
1) I work nights at it, not days. (Waitress/bartender)

2) Writing is my day job.

Yes, I claim writing as my day job even though I haven’t been doing a whole hell of a lot of it lately. See Carrie post yesterday about Time management to get an idea of what I might’ve been doing.

As you know, there is more to being a writer than the actual writing, so I’ve been keeping busy with plenty of things. Writing a bit here and there, promotions, planning, and researching for new projects. PLus, I’ve been trying to organize some of my previously published stuff to make available electronically. I mean, if it’s just sitting on my computer, why not give it a try and see what happens, right?

So, the plan was to get that stuff done, and focus on some other things in June and July, then in AUgust, starting with the retreat, I could work on my new project. Well, the night job sort of ended up taking over my life for the summer, and I spent the first five days of the roadtrip/retreat simply decompressing because I had to work 13 of the 14 days before we left. The first days of our trip were on the road and even though Delilah maintained a three page a day quota, I simply drove, listened to music and thought about writing. (Okay, and spent time talking visiting family and shopping on Granville Island in Vancouver). Once we got hunkered down at the lake to write, I still couldn’t make myself do it. I walked the lake and played with my camera and thought about writing some more. By the time I finally got into work mode at the lake, it was time to leave, so I didn’t get much actual work done.
One of the things that relaxed me the most was that I’d given notice at the night job. It’s time to make writing the #2 priority in my life (#1 being my health).

So, I’m happy because I have one week left on the night job, then I’ll be able to focus more on writing! YAY!

So, lessons learned, again. Just because you’re not at work, doesn’t mean your not working. You need to be sure you’re taking a day off from all work every now and then, or your passion for, well, everything, will dry up fast. And the passion must be maintained. I say this because what Carrie said yesterday about being productive when she was still working was also true of me-before I quit to write full time. When I first started out, and I was driven to succeed I worked fulltime, and wrote every spare moment. Then I quit work to write full-time, and my writing productivity slowed so I could concentrate not on writing, but on career. One of the reasons I went back to the night job was because I thought it would help me find that passion to be super productive again. It didn’t. The only place to find that passion is deep within, and if you lose it, then nothing will get it back but time spent refilling the well. At least that’s true for me.

So, my promise to myself after being on retreat…I will never let my well get so dried up again. I will remember that in order to be productive and passionate. I must relax and take time off and away from the computer on a regular basis, to maintain my passion and drive.

One thing I know I’ll be using to refill my creative well from now on is more photography. In the comments tell me what you do to refill the well and be entered to win a $15 Amazon gift certificate. I’ll post the winner of the draw next week.

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What are stories made of? Kites and strings and dragonfly wings. Snakes and snails and puppydog tails. Daydreams, nightmares. Hopes and scares. There’s a lot written on how to write, but where does what you write come from?

It comes from a thousand things you’ve forgotten, from the passions you had when you were five and fifteen and twenty-five, from the stories that captured your imagination and the heroes you identified with, from your hobbies and even from hated assignments you were once forced to suffer through. Anything you’ve ever cared enough about to love or hate is writing material. Injustices that make you seethe are fair game. So are triumphs that make you want to crow. So are all those things that excite and move you but you know nothing about so you’ll have to do some research.

Writing what you know is far too limited. Writing to discover has an infinite horizon. But don’t forget what you know, all the deep truths that come from your lifetime of experience. I know there are monsters under the bed and that creatures can come through mirrors at midnight. Don’t pester me with logic and flashlights. Monsters disappear when you shine lights on them. I know there are endless worlds populated with strange things, and that a whole universe lives in a drop of water. I know the sky can fall and just when you think things couldn’t possibly get worse you’ll discover how much imagination you lack. I know there aren’t always happy endings but it’s not over until it’s over, and every day is another day to write another chapter of your life story. I know heroes are resourceful and determined. I know evil exists from the banal to the monstrous. I know the human capacity for generosity and achievement is miraculous and we don’t give ourselves nearly enough credit.

What do you know? What do you fear? What do you wish, hope, dream, imagine? What horrible or beautiful thing fascinates you? What makes you laugh? What makes you pull the covers over your head? What do you wish you understood or knew more about? What do you wish you could unlearn and forget?

Stories can be structured with all kinds of neat tricks, but the raw stuff of stories is messy as hell. Don’t try to tidy it up. Don’t write the safe story anybody else could think of, the obvious choice anybody could see coming a mile away. Don’t write comfortable and smug stories that couldn’t scare anybody or move anybody to tears or laughter. Write what’s real and true to you. That’s what stories are made of.

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One of the more interesting writing classes I’ve taken over the years was one that taught storytelling with Tarot. Before that, I didn’t know Tarot had anything to do with stories, or that you could use Tarot as a tool for plot, character, and more. Even if you don’t have access to a live class on the topic, there are excellent resources online for learning card meanings and basic spreads.

The Tarot deck tells the story of the Fool’s Journey through life, which translates to the hero’s journey in fiction. But wait, there’s more. Each card in the deck tells a story in itself. Beyond that, some cards represent character archetypes while others represent plot turning points. And each card tells its story in symbols and images, the language of the right brain, making the cards a great tool for bypassing the left-brained critic and accessing your creative side.

All of this makes a Tarot deck a great writer’s tool. Even choosing a deck is a creative adventure; I recommend looking at several to see which artwork appeals. I bought a deck intended for children that depicts fairytale characters and scenes on each card. Each deck’s visual interpretation of the cards will vary and one will suit your storytelling style better than another so it’s good to compare.

Once you have a deck, you can use it for multiple creative exercises. You can simply draw a card at a time, and see what story the image sparks. What story would you tell yourself based on what you see? Do a timed writing and tell the story in 5-15 minutes. Lay out a series of cards and see what characters and events jump out at you as you connect the cards into a single story. Then write a brief story summary.

If you are stuck on your story at any stage, go through the deck looking at individual cards to see what images jump out at you. Your non-verbal right brain can use the visual tool to point out what you’re missing; a type of character, a twist, a dramatic event or choice. Or you can pull out a handful of cards that appeal to you and play “what if”. What if I add this kind of character to this scene or story? What if I move the scene to a setting like this? What if I add an element from this image? What if I do a combination?

There are so many ways to use Tarot as a tool to jumpstart creativity and access your right-brained insights for story solutions that I could never list them all. But the next time you find yourself stuck or if you just want a new tool in your box, try Tarot.

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First off, number 6 was randomly drawn as the winner from last weeks giveaway. Deanna please contact me with you choice of book from the Genreality Bookstore, and your mailing info. You have one week to contact me.

I admit it. I used to be jealous of all those authors who have ridiculously fantastic imaginations. You know, like C.S. Lewis (Narnia) , Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland) , Philip Pullman (The Golden Compass ). They wrote classics that will always be around.

Then there’s the many currant authors who let their imaginations rip as well. Like Lynn Viehl (StarDoc), Diana Peterfreund (Rampant) , Ken Scholes (Psalms of Isaak) and Jacqueline Cary (Kushiel series) . They build beautiful worlds full of adventure, drama and fascinating characters.

Me? I write contemporaries. I don’t build worlds or create races. Even my fictional towns are based on real ones that I’ve spent plenty of time in, I only change a name here or there. Not super-imanginative of me, I know.

There are times in the past when I felt like I’ve taken the easy road because I don’t create words, or new races or species, but a friend who writes Urban Fantasy recently said she felt the same way at times. She sometimes feels that she’s taking the easy way because she doesn’t have to “follow the rules of the world we live in ” when she creates her own worlds.

Hearing her side of things really brought it home to me how we, writers in general, tend to not give ourselves enough credit for what we do. We work hard. We put heart and soul into our stories. Not just with the time it takes to put the words on the page, but with the thought we put into every aspect of our works. Before I started writing never in my life did I notice just how fitting, or not, a persons name can be, or what the type of vehicle they drive tells me about their personality. We stress over the perfect description, the right plot twist, the best word. And we want it all to fit together and flow in a way that will draw the reader in and get them invested in our stories. Those things don’t change, no matter the genre. And honestly, I hope they never do.

What I do hope changes is the way we look at ourselves, and our work. I understand that as creative people we tend to be sensitive and slightly,(or maybe not so slightly) neurotic. But we need to stop knocking the work we do. Why should Others acknowledge the heart and soul you put it into a project if you don’t?

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When I was a kid I couldn’t sit still. My parents have many horror stories about trying to get me to go to sleep or to simply sit still. As a teenager I was involved in sports, as a young adult I was active in martial arts and partying dancing.  But in the last 7 years, I’ve slowed down drastically. So much so that I often don’t even recognize myself.

I know it’s mostly due to my curse ability to focus so strongly on one thing. You see, 8 years I decided I wanted to be a writer. And I firmly believe that if you want something, and you go after it, you’ll get it. I was right. I am a writer. And when I was neck deep in deadlines my ability to focus helped me a lot. However, now that I’ve got no real deadlines (only those imposed on myself) I find that when I sit down to write I get antsy within 15 minutes.

Where the hell did my ability to focus go?

I think I left it behind in the gym somewhere. Seriously.
All my life, up until I dedicated myself to becoming a writer, I was physically active. Then I become mentally and creatively active, and my physical self began to wan-until now.

I turned 40 last year, and I became suddenly very aware of my health. Not just my weight, but my health. Not just physical, but mental, and the way they work together. For the first half of my life I was physically active, but I never saw myself as particularly smart or creative. In the last 8 years I’ve come to realize that I am smart, and creative, but I’ve seriously neglected my physical self.

And only recently, in my efforts to gain back some of my physical health have I realized just how deep the connection between the two sides are. People say it all the time, that working out will help keep you mentally sharp, but it’s just like them saying an apple a day will keep the doctor away. It’s something we hear so much that it’s lost it’s punch. At least for me it did.

Lately I’ve been walking more. Just that. Not going to the gym, not working out, just walking. And that restlessness that used to hit 15 minutes after I sat down in front of the computer has settled a bit. I think it will continue to settle, and my ability to focus will come back more and more with each day. I’m pretty sure I’m just babbling here, and not explaingin myself very well…so I’m goign to quote from my friend Charlene’s blog post on Quiet Mind.

“If your mind won’t quiet indoors, try getting outdoors. Take your notebook and pen with you. Do enough physical activity to tire you out a little, and focus your mind on your task so it isn’t running away with you, and find quiet. Along with it, you might find the plot solution you need, the idea you were missing to make some task easier, or the answer to a personal dilemma. A quiet mind is like a weeded garden.”

It’s good advice.

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