Journaling

I have fallen off the journaling wagon. You could argue that I blog so it's not necessary to write in a diary, but au contraire ... I don't blog about intimate things, personal things. I buy pretty journals but my hand cramps after the first page - I have become so used to typing - that I stop quickly after I start. For this reason, and because I am often away from home, I started a Google Doc journal.

I was, in part, inspired by Sabrina Ward Harrison's Spilling Open and the Sark book I am expecting in the mail. Today I got into stream-of-consciousness, which is something I never do, and it actually turned out quite well.

Some good books I've read on journaling:

• The New Diary by Tristine Rainer
  
  
• How to Make a Journal of Your Life by Daniel Price

At the event the other night, a Creative Writing professor explained to the audience that he tells his students to imitate great poets in order to learn. "If you want to write a song," he said, "you must learn a lot of songs. And if you want to write a poem, you must read a lot of poems."

This gave me an idea for a prompt, for myself and for anyone else who wants it. I think I am going to choose one poet a month, read a ton of their poetry, and try to write in their style. The possibilities are endless -- ee cummings, Walt Whitman, Maya Angelou, Lucille Clifton, Sylvia Plath, Pablo Neruda, Langston Hughes -- pretty much anyone I admire. And it will definitely help me learn new styles and how to be more flexible in my writing.

This quote came in my Worldwide Freelance Writer email newsletter this morning:

"Easy reading is damn hard writing."

- Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Writer's Insecurities

There's nothing like going to a poetry reading to make you realize that you are a crappy poet. I mean, the talent is so all-encompassing (if you've gone to a decent one) that you want to fold up your silly piece of paper, slip it back into your purse, order another hot chocolate and fade into obscurity because you know you will never be that good.

Or at least, that's how I feel.

I read my work anyway because that's what you do, especially when feeding off the energy vibes of the others. People are polite. They chuckle at my Beatles reference. They applaud. I step down.

I think one of my largest concerns is not a lack of talent but a lack of bravery. The truly gifted ones stood up and talked about being raped, about their preschool daughters being sexually abused, about the most horrific things you can imagine. Yet I leave my best stuff at home because "it's too personal."

Part of being a writer, I think, is dispensing with such vanities and speaking to the world.

I want to be brave enough not to hide behind a pen name or a mediocre poem, but to stand up and say to the world, "This is my story."

I read a fantastic quote the other day by actor Barry Pineo. He was talking about acting but the principle is the same:

"The story is the hand you're holding out to them that says, "Come with me." Whether they choose to take it is unimportant. Some people no longer wish to travel. What's important is that the offering is made."

Issue #7 of Della Donna is out, and it's full of great talent, so I hope you'll check it out.

The Writer in Public

Tonight I am attending a poetry reading with a writer friend of mine. We have gone together once before (she goes often but I seldom join her) and it was a positive experience for me. The audience was kind and I didn't get a "your stuff sucks" vibe. Everyone just read and enjoyed each other. Somehow, though, the whole thing feels wrong to me. It's not a requirement that writers be recluses but it seems a good many of us are, at the very least, shy and introverted. We sit at home and type our messages to the world on laptops or typewriters, or scrawl them out on sheets of paper or napkins at coffee shops.

Something about reading my work aloud unnerves me, especially since the work that I think most highly of is very personal.

Had any of you heard about the possible screenwriter's strike in Hollywood? I hadn't until MSN enlightened me.

I am going to be quoted in either the February or March issue of The Writer magazine, which is, like, our Bible. Pretty excited!

I was asked about portfolios and how important they are for writers.

I have an article on Paul Klee coming out in a magazine in Switzerland :) Free subscriptions for those living in the U.S. and Switzerland are available at their website.

How did I know?

You are ASOK THE INTERN... you're just now beginning to learn about the way a business works... and it's scary...

Which Dilbert character are you?

Surprise

I was reading As We Are Magazine this morning and was shocked to find myself in it. I vaguely remember submitting this poem but totally forgot about it.