June 2008 Newsletter
06/01/2008
June 2008
Dear Writing Friends:
It is Thursday morning and I am sitting on my front porch in my rocking chair with my feet propped up on my daughter's rocking chair. Mine is plain wood; hers is painted with pink and purple and yellow flowers. Steve bought it for her when she was a baby, and we waited a long time to see her sit up and rock in it herself. Now she's outgrown it.
I am taking a break from working on my book this week. I just sent the first 45 pages of my newly revised manuscript to my mentor and, while I wait for his response, I'm taking advantage of the time to write without direction. All week I've let myself write whatever I feel, rambling on, often with no topic. It is good to take time to empty the mind. When I finished my Ph.D. in 1999, I gave myself an entire year to explore writing without direction. I spent many days wandering the city with my notebook, stopping in cafes, on benches, and at picnic tables to practice writing. I gave myself plenty of time to excavate my past for material as well as ground myself in the present, recording the details of my world. I wanted to be a writer with every ounce of my being. Almost ten years later, with several publications, an agent, and a manuscript in progress, I long for the days of complete freedom in my writing. I have to remember what it was like to have not only a beginner's mind, but a beginner's heart.
I want to encourage you to give yourself a lot of space to explore writing practice. It is not just a technique for getting words on the page. It will take you very far if you let it, if you give yourself the time. Find a porch to prop up your feet this summer, and take out your notebook and write. Keep it casual and let your mind wander.
There is much more work we can do together. With everyone going in different directions for the summer, I think the best way for us to keep in touch for now is through this newsletter. I will check in with you the at the beginning of each month with topics, quotes, and new ways of deepening your practice. I will be teaching more in the fall, both privately and at the Writer's League of Texas. I'll let you know when I have some dates. In the meantime, if there is any way that I can be of more specific help to you, please feel free to contact me.
By the way, there is an excellent interview with Natalie at www.redravine.wordpress.com. This blog is run by some writing friends of mine, both of whom were in the writing intensive with me. They post topics regularly, feature great guest bloggers, and occasionally run some terrific interviews. Check it out.
This month's quotation and topic are both from Writing Down the Bones:
Let go of everything when you write, and try at a simple beginning with simple words to express what you have inside. It won't begin smoothly. Allow yourself to be awkward. You are stripping yourself. You are exposing your life, not how your ego would like to see you represented, but how you are as a human being.
Topic: Stripping yourself
My best to each and every one of you,
Saundra
Dear Writing Friends:
It is Thursday morning and I am sitting on my front porch in my rocking chair with my feet propped up on my daughter's rocking chair. Mine is plain wood; hers is painted with pink and purple and yellow flowers. Steve bought it for her when she was a baby, and we waited a long time to see her sit up and rock in it herself. Now she's outgrown it.
I am taking a break from working on my book this week. I just sent the first 45 pages of my newly revised manuscript to my mentor and, while I wait for his response, I'm taking advantage of the time to write without direction. All week I've let myself write whatever I feel, rambling on, often with no topic. It is good to take time to empty the mind. When I finished my Ph.D. in 1999, I gave myself an entire year to explore writing without direction. I spent many days wandering the city with my notebook, stopping in cafes, on benches, and at picnic tables to practice writing. I gave myself plenty of time to excavate my past for material as well as ground myself in the present, recording the details of my world. I wanted to be a writer with every ounce of my being. Almost ten years later, with several publications, an agent, and a manuscript in progress, I long for the days of complete freedom in my writing. I have to remember what it was like to have not only a beginner's mind, but a beginner's heart.
I want to encourage you to give yourself a lot of space to explore writing practice. It is not just a technique for getting words on the page. It will take you very far if you let it, if you give yourself the time. Find a porch to prop up your feet this summer, and take out your notebook and write. Keep it casual and let your mind wander.
There is much more work we can do together. With everyone going in different directions for the summer, I think the best way for us to keep in touch for now is through this newsletter. I will check in with you the at the beginning of each month with topics, quotes, and new ways of deepening your practice. I will be teaching more in the fall, both privately and at the Writer's League of Texas. I'll let you know when I have some dates. In the meantime, if there is any way that I can be of more specific help to you, please feel free to contact me.
By the way, there is an excellent interview with Natalie at www.redravine.wordpress.com. This blog is run by some writing friends of mine, both of whom were in the writing intensive with me. They post topics regularly, feature great guest bloggers, and occasionally run some terrific interviews. Check it out.
This month's quotation and topic are both from Writing Down the Bones:
Let go of everything when you write, and try at a simple beginning with simple words to express what you have inside. It won't begin smoothly. Allow yourself to be awkward. You are stripping yourself. You are exposing your life, not how your ego would like to see you represented, but how you are as a human being.
Topic: Stripping yourself
My best to each and every one of you,
Saundra