Writing Groups (Unwritten Post #2)

Unwritten Post #2: Writing about your experiences of sharing your written work with others. Have you been in a writing group before? Would you deem that experience a success—or not? Under what conditions is sharing your writing with others a positive experience? When has sharing your writing with others proved to be miserable—and what made it so?

I experienced the joy of writing groups several times throughout my college career. I still don’t know if I really enjoy them. Under the constraints of a college class and with only a short span of time in which to read and edit a paper, I never feel like I do it well enough. Of course, there isn’t much choice in the matter. Overall, I’ve come away from writing groups frazzled, but grateful for the help… Provided I don’t feel beaten up by my editors for the hour.

It’s really difficult to accept criticism. But, when it comes to writing groups, it’s all about attitude. When you go into a writing group, it’s best to bring something you know you’ve put time into; it’s best if you bring a good sense of humor about your mistakes; and it’s best if you’re ready to learn. Because if you don’t bring at least the last two, chances are you’re going to have a bad time.

I’ve learned from my writing groups that it’s great when someone affirms your work, but even better when they get invested enough to really pick your writing apart so that you can make it even better. Because that’s the point of the writing groups anyway. If you’re a writer, you would be foolish not to have people checking your craft and helping you hone it into something amazing.

Rambling (Unwritten Post #3)

Unwritten Post #3: Write a reflection on the blogging life this semester. Did you find blogging challenging? A good outlet? Is this a practice you hope to continue? Take your reflection any way you wish.

Sometimes blogging was fun, but it often took much thought to make something interesting, and that takes time. There’s something in me as a writer that desperately wants to avoid posting straight up rants onto the internet. Even though that’s sort of what I’m doing now with this post. I really have no plan. I’m just rambling.

That being said, I think part of the reason why it was difficult to write this blog is because I was never really sure what I wanted to say. I attempted to think of interesting topics, but anticipating what people will respond to proved more difficult than anything else. Perhaps I thought about it too much. Maybe I shouldn’t care. Maybe I should just rant and rave until the cows come home.

To be honest, I could probably ramble on forever if given the chance and a topic I like. I’m one of those people. If you see me in the streets, run. I mean, after you know me well enough. Because I won’t talk much until I know you well, and then you get to drown in a flood of words… Yeah. Just best to avoid me altogether I reckon. I’m doing you a favor.

Anywho, back to the topic at hand… Perhaps the most valuable aspect of this experience has been finding out what I like to write. I like to write about people and humor and connections. I think this experience has been more revealing than I expected. I didn’t exactly know what it was I wanted to write about. I got a little glimpse into what other people enjoy reading, but also what I like to say. So, that was fun. I recommend trying out a blog sometime, if you haven’t yet. It’s quite fun.

Relationship Noodles (Unwritten Post #1)

Unwritten Post #1: Consider the essays you’ve read this week about the potential influence of something like gender on writing. Does your gender in any way influence what you write? In what ways?

Apparently I write like a female. My brain is all spaghetti. By that I mean, it’s composed of connections, overlapping lives, a nest of loopy relationship noodles.

I guess that’s not a bad thing. It sounds like a bad thing when you attach it to a specific gender and say that all women think like that. But, I really don’t care if I write like a man, in a compartmentalized fashion, a more achievement based, box-like way of saying things. There’s value in both. In fact, I don’t wonder if there are some people who can alternate between the two or who combine relational and achievement based writing.

But, I lean on the side of relationship noodles. I like to talk about people, what people have done, how I relate to them, the lessons I learn from them. Supposedly this is linked to gender because women have been expected to be more relationally based creatures than men, and men are expected to be more focused on work and such.

I’m not sure if this is an accurate way of determining it. I tend to believe that if men and women were free from social biases, especially the ones we have at the moment, our ways of writing would be diverse and fairly unrelated to gender. I believe that our social environments affect the way we write greatly, and so attributing writing biases to gender only reveals cultural perspectives on gender. But, I digress.

Another thing female writers tend to do, apparently, is use more adjectives. Men write using more action based adverbs.

I believe I use both.

A Studio Ghibli Soul (Unwritten Post #4)

I’m in love with a Japanese movie making company called Studio Ghibli. This is a quote from The Cat Returns. Anyway, part of the reason I love these movies so much is because they all have a soul. This is what I love so much about art and writing and movies and any form of creativity. When people love what they’re making, it takes on a piece of themselves.

This movie in particular acts as a sort of sequel to another of my favorite Studio Ghibli films, Whisper of the Heart. Mind you, these two movies in particular aren’t as popular as ones like Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro, but they still hold incredible merit and are super cute.

The Cat Returns is about a girl named Haru who saves a cat. After doing so she falls into a strange situation with talking cats, a Cat King, and a magical cat realm. This movie is about finding value in yourself, standing up for what you want, and taking each day of life with enthusiasm. It’s beautiful and funny and full of cats. What more could you ask for?

Whisper of the Heart has always been near and dear to my heart. It’s about a young writer finding her way. It’s about being challenged by the ones you love, discovering strange and interesting stories, and knowing that there are little gems in every story. Once you find those gems, you have to polish them, and it’s a lot of work, but every story is filled with some kind of magic.

From a young age, I loved reading and watching stories about writers and other creative minds. They inspired me. I will always hold a soft spot for these movies, as well as the other Studio Ghibli movies, because they’ve taught me valuable lessons about life and love and what it means to be an artist.

Publishing Problems

This week’s prompt: What are your thoughts on the predicted demise of traditional book publication? Do these seismic changes make you despair as a writer, or do you see changes in publication as a boon for new writers?

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I want to believe that traditional book publishing will still be a thing 100 years from now. With most technological advances, we as humans tend to cling to certain traditions of bygone eras, and paper books are something I can’t imagine fading away entirely. Still, now that people constantly self-publish, the marketplace is filling with literature and potentially making it difficult for writers in our time to make any sort of impression on the world.

But this doesn’t really matter to me. Good books have always found a way to survive through time. Whether it is on the screens of Kindles or in hardcover, the books that make a difference will live on.

Personally, as a writer, I always knew that being known as such would be difficult. There are so many amazing people out there who deserve to be seen by the world for their talents as writers and never actually make it. With changes in publishing, marketing and being involved in social media is incredibly important in getting our names out there. We have to make our audience almost before we write our books. This can be intimidating for me, since social interaction isn’t my forte.

For me, what ultimately reconciles the publication problem is how writers often make a difference with smaller communities. Our voices still matter even if they don’t become bestselling books or viral blog posts. I hold out the hope that if I can’t reach most people, I can make a difference with some. And maybe our writing will so directly change someone’s life for the better it will be even better than being known across continents and affecting many. That’s what really matters.

I Want to Throw My Phone at People

I sat in the cafeteria eating lunch with some friends. Students at other tables chatted with each other between bites of cheeseburgers and fries. Everything was peaceful. A normal school day.

During a lull in the conversation at my table, I took out my phone and aimlessly poked at it (like any normal 21st century college student would). But, staring down at the little screen was suddenly unbearable. I couldn’t focus, not even on something that required zero brain work.

That’s when I looked up. A girl with long brown hair and a bubbly personality sat a few feet away, chatting happily, oblivious to the thoughts running through my head.

I could throw my phone at her. And it would hurt. I’d just have to lift up my hand and toss it at this angle and it would hit her.

Somehow I felt it would be incredibly satisfying.

What.

In.

The.

World.

Of course, I would never do that.

I find these urges to perform violent acts has increased with my level of stress. Senior year has been a conglomeration of overwhelming levels of homework, uneasy relationships, fear of the future, and lack of sleep.

So, as the stress builds, the desire to kick squirrels and break windows has drastically increased.

That’s normal, isn’t it?

I wondered if anyone else experienced these random urges, so I admitted this desire to a friend. She said, “You should watch PSYCHO THOUGHTS by danisnotonfire. He talks about this.”

Dan talks about how he frequently conjures morbid or otherwise destructive situations with his imagination, such as a bears getting into his house and mauling everyone, him pushing strangers off subway platforms, and him tossing his Game Boy into a lake. Dan says because these are the strongest choices you could make in the moment (excluding the bear example), they’re incredibly appealing. Even if you don’t really want to do them.

I mean, why would I want to throw my laptop like a Frisbee?

Seriously.

That’s a terrible idea.

I don’t want to do that.

…

…

…

I kind of want to do it.

Point being, I have thoughts like these all the time. And they’re perfectly normal.

…

How would I murder you? What if I pushed you down a flight of stairs? What would I do with your body?

Uh.

I mean, I don’t think like that.

Never.

Feel free to leave your traumatizing scenarios in the comments below.

A Little More Irish

“It’s the Irish in me.”

We sat on the other side of a desk at Wells Fargo. Because she’s the best, my Grandma Margo came with me to set up my checking account. She and the lady banker at the desk had hit it off from the start. Grandma worked for Wells Fargo for 23 years before her retirement. She enjoyed talking about her time working for the bank and the banker instantly loved my grandma. It wasn’t just because they had the bank in common.

Grandma can get anyone to talk about their lives. Complete strangers open up to her. In this instance, Grandma had revealed that she was from Iowa originally, and the banker asked about Iowa with decided interest. Eventually, the banker told us how she was moving to Tennessee because her husband had family there. She was obviously nervous about the move. Grandma told her about a friend who visits family in Tennessee, assured her that it was beautiful there, and said that her friend never had trouble with the humidity. In response, the banker beamed.

During a lull in the conversation when the lady had to fetch some freshly printed papers for the business at hand, Grandma made a comment about how good the lady was at her job. She said the banker was much better at getting the job done than she had been. Grandma talked too much. Or, at least, thinks she does.

People love her stories. She’s an incredible storyteller. I told her so.

Grandma laughed. “It’s the Irish in me.”

I said, “I wish I had more Irish in me.”

At the end of the meeting, the banker paid special attention to Grandma, still beaming at her. Grandma had made her feel special.

After we left the bank, we went to lunch. There, she made the waitress feel special.

When we finished eating, I took her to see the student art show on George Fox campus and we crossed paths with a lady walking her dogs. Grandma struck up an impromptu conversation with her. Another person touched by Grandma’s Irishness.

People could serve to be a little more Irish.

tl;dr tech & writing

Technology’s Effect on Writing: An Exaggeration

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If you’re going to write, keep it quick. Due to my shortened attention span, I don’t have time for your opinion unless it’s under a 140 characters. Then, we can talk. But only in abbreviated versions of speech. Why would I take the time to write about how you made me laugh when two L’s and an O can do the job? Short, snappy bursts are infinitely more effective.

If you’re going to write, keep it simple. Don’t use extravagant language. I don’t care. Tell me what I want to know and say it in a way I’ll understand without dictionary.com. Don’t skimp on the humor, either. That’s really your selling point.

If you’re going to write, keep it interesting. Due to my consumer mentality, I need more, more, more quality content in my life. I won’t pick up your book until it has at least one big name telling me that your writing is worth investing in. If you manage that much, I might try it out. Oh wait… One of my Facebook friends said there’s this e-book on Amazon that got great reviews. Oprah liked it. I changed my mind about your book. After all, I can get this book on my Kindle. You should probably think about upgrading. Paper is behind the times.

If you’re going to write, keep it to yourself. Really, I’m only interested in writing about my life and I don’t feel like actually reading anything anyone else wrote. Why would I when I’m working to make myself known in the infinite universe of the internet? I’ll be a star. A star in the infinite black abyss of data. Maybe you’ll see me when my light reaches you in 2.5 million years. Follow me.

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tl;dr Tech makes attention spans more selective and literature more accessible, for better or worse. Also, there’s a large chance everyone’s writing more and reading less. Follow me.

An OCD Roommate

I have opinions. True or not, I have them. And so I’m going to share them. Against your will. No, don’t navigate away. You want to hear this, I promise. Because after I’m done, you’re going to want to tell me why my opinion is wrong. It’s only natural, but now you’re going to have to read this to see if you’re right, right?

Babbling aside, this post is about grammar, specifically grammar in the classroom, even more specifically how grammar in the classroom should or shouldn’t be taught, or whether or not it should be.

Grammar tells us what to do. It’s like that OCD roommate you have, have had, or are going to have in the near future. No sentence fragments! Run-on sentence? NEVER! And please dump your split infinitives in the trash, they’re disgusting!

But our roommate is kind of cool, too. It helps us out when we forget to pay the understandability bill and organizes the apartment so it’s not just a giant pile of pizza boxes and excess comma-lint.

Still, our roommate can cramp our style. Seriously. How are we supposed to be get creative if we can’t get messy and break the rules sometimes? We can clean up later, if necessary.

This is why I think grammar should be taught in schools early in the game, but less as rote memorization and more as techniques to be used for the greater cause of meaning. Children do need to learn how to make their beds for when they have to take up lodging with the roommate, but for now it’s okay if they misuse a clause. Maybe, in place of teaching them they absolutely NEED to make their beds, we can teach them about the values they’ll need for later on in life and what it all means.

At the start of their writing education, children need to be shown how writing can be fun. And they should be taught how to think, not what to think. Grammar helps structure writing education, but often it can be overwhelming for a child who doesn’t understand why they should be writing in the first place.

Later on, that kid will grow up enough to take on grammar as their roommate, but maybe developing people skills (thinking skills) would better benefit them in the tense relationship with their future Nazi co-rent payer in the writing apartment.

Help! Amazon Warriors Are Invading My Novel!

Because of years of gender inequality, every fiction writer in existence feels the calling… The calling to write “strong” female characters. (Feel free to squirm under the weight of my sweeping generalization.)

“Well, first of all, WELCOME TO ONE OF MY PET PEEVES,” says Lori in her post on Tumblr.

Preach it, sister.

Excuse me while I get up on my soap box…

Alright. Here’s what inspired the post that inspired this post. Lori was asked this question:

Part of Lori’s response is frequently quoted. Some have made it into a meme. Here’s the Disney Princess edition:

Lori talks about female characters with weak characteristics being written off as “damsels in distress.” As feminists (you are one, surely), we have to promote “strong” females in literature, because women need to be empowered, dang it!

First of all, no. That’s a terrible way to go. Think of all the women left out, who would think themselves not good enough because they can’t match the Xena strong-woman ideal.

Second of all, the flaw I find in extreme feminist thinking is easily found in Lori’s answer. At one point, she says: if a female character is only ever weak, if she’s flat, if she “has no agency of her own, [and] only exists to define other characters (usually men),” then she isn’t a person. The goal in writing female characters is to create people.

When we limit women saying they can only be Distressed Damsels or Amazon Warriors, we’re creating a type, a stereotype. George R. R. Martin, when asked about his interesting female characters responds this way:

I read another author’s take on women (both the quote and the author’s name has vanished from my memory). He said we don’t need more “strong” women, but more women. More women in stories to be all the qualities Lori talks about in her internet famous quote.

But, I think we have to take this a step further and think, if we stop at developing female characters as real people, we could ignore how the gender coin has two sides. We need both genders to make equality. We need dynamic male characters alongside dynamic female characters and vice versa. We need men not boxed in by cultural expectations and men who conform to them. We need male characters to be as interesting as the female.

Because stories are about people. And people are diverse. And that’s kind of awesome.