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The way I write
I write when I can fit in a few minutes, early morning,
after lunch, after supper, late at night. I write a rough draft or just
thoughts. Then, if there is an assignment like this one, I pull the best out
and rewrite it to make it say what I want it to say. Then I let it rest (if
time permits). When I go back to it, I can edit with rested eyes and make it as
crystal as possible. The majority of what I write is hidden away in notebooks
stacked in boxes in my bedroom closet.
Finding a way to write
I have tried lots of ways to write: notes in a pad in my
purse, sitting in a park in my car, sitting in a coffee shop enjoying a latte
and the buzz of conversation, at my desk with the door closed, in my bed, at
the kitchen counter, in the bedroom closet where most noise is cancelled out,
standing in the path I am walking jotting down ideas on a tiny pad that fits in
my pocket. To begin with I didn’t know what to do with all the things I wrote
so I stored them away.
Now I create a rough draft, let it sit, then rewrite. If I
have written the draft longhand, I will let it sit before I type the edited
version into my laptop. I’ve tried books, tapes, CDs, videos, classes,
workshops, conferences … all have inspired me, all have helped me to hone my
practice. But I still create lots of raw material that hasn’t seen the light of
day.
Making my way in writing
After writing by myself for a long time, I researched
writing groups in my area and came up empty. I asked people I met if they knew
any writers. I had been writing for several years in the closet and needed to
move to the next step – other people reading my writing. After being completely
frustrated, but not wanting to give up on my writing, I worked with the library
to hold some writing workshops that I had created from all the things I had
learned. About 20 people signed up and out of those workshops evolved The
MadHatters Writing Group (now asleep, but not forgotten). People I met led me
to a group in Mansfield that gathered at the Barnes and Nobel, and another
group that met at a library in Ontario. All these people showed me their way in
writing, and I took many of those paths.
People that showed me a way to go
At the beginning, I read old Writer’s Digest magazines cover
to cover. I read books about writing, King, Lamott, Zinsser, Dillard, and other
classics and, of course, Strunk and White. I went to the library and read Poet
and Writer magazine and The Writer magazine. I entered some of their contests.
I signed up for video workshops on blogging and writing novels. I created my
very first novel after reading “How to Write and Sell Your First Novel” which
gave me a step-by-step process that I found exhilarating. That first novel sits
in a sealed envelope that I sent to myself on a shelf for “someday” when I have
time to rewrite, but also for proof to myself that I could do it. I
participated in local poetry contests and National Novel Writing Month. All the
people involved added little bits to my writing methods and made me a better
writer.
The workshops I had given led to a job at the local
newspaper where I learned to write very fast (two stories per day, six days a
week), because there were always deadlines. I learned to write accurately
because there were always people reading that would let me know if I made a mistake
– which I did (frequently). I was passed from one company paper to another,
wherever I was needed, and each editor had their own style and expectations – I
learned so much.
Today I can say I can write 1500 words a day (plus), and
that’s edited. I can say I have five published books, four of which anyone can
still purchase. I can say I have lots of guest blog posts and news articles and
magazine articles in my archives and floating around the internet. Many
newspaper articles are lost forever in non-Internet print time and some stories
are locked behind Internet walls inaccessible except by a wise tech crew
member.
I didn’t keep everything, but I kept some. That’s enough for
me to tell myself, even in the bad days, the dry days, the uninspired days, I
Can Still Write.
October 1 – Way – 31 Days of Writing about Writing
#31days2022
