Mental Meanderings

On Your Page: Exercise 2 + Pre-Blog Blog

Pre-blog Blog: Ok, I'm going to do another Page After Page entry but I wanted to begin with a sidetrack. My daughter asked me today, "Why does the word 'knife' start with a k?" I of course have no idea. So I attempted to find out via google. No luck finding an answer other than, "Because some tosser said so." What I did find was this delightful and very informative and also entirely (as far as I'm aware) correct satire from George Carlin's book, "Brain Droppings": http://www.sense.net/~blaine/funstuff/carlin.html

Blog: Chapter two of Page After Page tends to deal with the independence and codependence of writers. The image of writers tends to be a hermit-like solitary figure, shut away in a dimly lit, book-filled room, scribbling or typing away for hours all through the night and falling into exhausted sleep when the pulsing energy of inspiration fades enough that the human batteries have to be charged. While in a way this image can be fairly accurate it generally isn't. Yes, writing tends to be a solitary act however writers, the best ones anyway, can't do it alone. We need the support of our family, our friends, we need support of others in the industry, an outlet to be embraced by as an equal. We need other writers because they are the only ones that really 'get' us. Writers need to be alone to write, but they need to have together time as well, to write.

Exercise 2:
a) "Write on your scratch paper the answers to these questions (write for 20 minutes):
         Do you want your "input" to look any different?
         Does your communal writing self need to be balanced, enriched?
         What would you need to do?
         What does your dream writing community look like?
         Who helps you with what, and what do you help others with, by way of the writing life?"

b) "To enrich your public writing self, join a book group, or find an online book group or at least some lists of books other writers love. Can you commit to an hour a week of talking with others about books and their makers? Find smart, fun people by looking at libraries, colleges, newspapers, and bookstores for groups."

c) Design a reading program. Create a list of books you want to read - books about writing, books like the ones you want to write, books other writers seem to be reading and loving, best sellers, classics, there are lots of lists of books. Create your own schedule.

C) Ok, I'm going to work backward here. I'm definitely NOT going to write my list of TO READS. I'm not sure a TO READ schedule would work for me either. I'm never sure how long any particular book will take me to read. This Page After Page book for example is only 228 pages and it's taken me a few days already. If it had been a Mills and Boon romance it would be about that long and could be devoured in 2 hours. Different books require different ways of reading. I do however have a LOT of books on my TO READ list and more are added frequently. I wade my way though them. But I've actually started to schedule reading time. An hour of reading that goes into my workout time. I read while I work out. Fantastic way to take my mind off of the sweat.

B) I spent two hours at the library yesterday and I've started visiting the WDC chat room again. I have to be wary of the chat room. It's easy to find myself losing time in there that I could put to better use. But I really appreciate the atmosphere and sharing between other writing enthusiasts. There are also other community aspects thanks to WDC I enjoy so I think I'm doing well with this area.

A) Ok, I'm not so sure I should spend 20 minutes on this exercise. If I do I'll have more words than even my regulars could forgive me for in this blog entry. It's already pretty long as it is. But I do want to answer each question and get Exercise 2 done and done right.

Do you want your "input" to look any different?
I think the input Heather Sellers means here is the amount of soul feeding I give my writer self. I definitely want to increase my reading quota. I spend so much time online and I've found more time eaten up by the TV or DVD's lately when I'm would benefit more from putting my head into books. I love Heather's suggestion of SLEEPING with books. *grins* I do it already. lol There are three books on my bed. But I must need more so that my body is absorbing it while I sleep.

Does your communal writing self need to be balanced, enriched?
I'd also like to connect in person with other writers. This is challenging because of my little ones. Next year when my youngest starts school I plan to begin attending the weekly writers meeting at my local library again. But I'd love to find poetry readings and just, comfortable, relaxed get togethers with other writers. I want to connect with people in person in a social setting. I'd love to have writing sessions where we all come with the intension of writing for an hour or so.

What would you need to do?
*chuckles* I guess I just need to do it. Read more and go on the hunt for other writers in my area. Perhaps start a writers playgroup for mothers who want to write? *ponders* I could probably do that but it would be a huge undertaking and I don't really want to be the one people look to to lead the darn thing. I want the opportunity to learn from the experience of others not show newer writers the way. I do that enough here on WDC. I might start trolling the newspapers and perhaps spend some time browsing the web in search of writing associations in Perth.

What does your dream writing community look like?
Personally I want a group of writers I can reach out to and submerge myself in. A group that simply understands. Not one that has to share their work of hunts for reviews but simply talks the business. Shares our lives rather than our writing. Part of my long term goals also involves putting together a writers getaway which would have a mixture of writing time, lectures, readings, workshops, and chats in a relaxed atmosphere where if the muse ties you to your keyboard everyone else understands and someone brings you a sandwich.

Who helps you with what, and what do you help others with, by way of the writing life?
My friends here on WDC help me a great deal. They remind me of my strengths and push me to keep writing. They hold my hand or give me a hug when it's getting hard and they're there as a shoulder to cry on when I need one. They believe in me and want me to succeed. They know how important writing is to me and they understand how hard this business is.

Other WDC members review my work which gives me a confidence and help me hone my understanding of techniques. Each day I get a number of reviews, most of them are warm fuzzies, what I call 'fluff' reviews, those are ok, they help me feel good about my writing but I also get some reviews that help me grow as a writer and improve my work. I'm truly thankful for those.

My family and my loved ones support me. My kids know me as their writer mother. I've made sure that they know I do this as a job. I'm not just a mother, I'm a writer and when school friends ask what Mummy does they have an answer. I guess I have a bit of pride there, demanding a sense of respect. I mightn't have a great many writing credits at this point but I put a lot into my career and want everyone around me to treat me like the professional I am. Thankfully my best friend in the whole world pushes me and believes in me more than any other person in my life. Whenever I feel myself falter he's there to catch me. It's amazing the impact everyone in my life has on my writing successes. I've stopped sharing that side of my life with people who don't take it seriously.

I give back to the community with my own in-depth reviewing and hosting the Persevering Poets Present. I've run contests in the past and in a way this blog is my return to the community. It's a glimpse into the life of a writer I suppose, the frustrations, the successes, along with the simple normalcy of living a life alongside the writer-life. I'm also open to helping anyone who asks and discuss and share what I've learnt so far with other writers all over WDC.

Ok, so I've rambled on for ages. I probably did end up putting 20 minutes into that exercise. *blushes* Oh well. So I have a super long entry. What else is new. Reading is optional. Joining with your own responses would be fantastic! Thank you Anyea for taking part in yesterday's exercise. I loved reading your own answers and would love to see the answers of some of my other readers too.