April in Paris: Writing in Blossom, With Noted Author Jamie Cat Callan

Mention Europe and my imagination takes flight. Mention Paris in spring and, well, mentally anyway, I'm there. So who could resist an opportunity to work with witty and wonderful author Jamie Cat Callan, whose latest book is French Women Don't Sleep Alone. For the month of April, Jamie will be our guest blogger, and we're inviting you to join the fun and win Jamie's acclaimed The Writer's Toolbox: Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the 'Write' Side of Your Brain.

Jamie is an amazing woman whose class at Fairfield University in Connecticut was my first taste of creative writing after a many year absence. One of the most amazing things about Jamie is her ability to truly weave a story, and she aimed to teach us the same. Her writing prompts still make me smile—she would come into each class with several of them to encourage us use our senses not only in what we wrote, but as part of the writing process. I still recall one prompt in particular. Each student reached into a grocery bag and selected an item or two, then from another bag, or maybe it was a hat, we chose a slip of paper. From the grocery bag I pulled an old 35 mm film canister, and on my slip of paper were the words, "I'm not sure, but I think someone put poison in my soup."

Now, the roll of flim and that phrase may not seem like a combination a person could make a story from, but that was the point—to create story from seemingly disjointed events or words or thoughts to get us to think out of the box, if not out of the bag, and it worked. My short piece was entitled, "Strange Brew." Sometimes we wrote with music playing in the background to learn how ambiance influences the mood of a piece (and of the writer) and its tone. Every class Jamie kept us guessing, and that kept our imaginations limber.

I'm sure it's her wit and penchant for story that prompted French Women Don't Sleep Alone, which Fear of Flying author Erica Jong calls "Adorable!” And Jamie's desire to pass along the ability to tell a story is undoubtedly what prompted her to create The Writer's Toolbox, wonderfully reviewed in The Writer as a kit that enables writers of all genres and stages to jumpstart their creativity. As mentioned, for the month of April, Jamie will be our guest blogger, and we're inviting you to join the fun. With each post, Jamie will offer a writing prompt. Respond to the prompt by sending your entry to wordforwords@sbcglobal.net.

We'll judge the entries, and the winning entry will be announced and posted on the blog, and the winner will receive The Writer's Toolbox. To get to know Jamie's work in the meantime, visit her Web site http://www.jamiecatcallan.com/.

Take Down Your Scaffolding, Reveal Your Art

I’d like to thank Adele for asking me to guest blog for her. I’ve known her since we were in the Wellspring Writers’ Workshop, and I’m thrilled that she’s asked me to share what I’ve learned in my years of writing.

The topic I’m addressing is editing. Not the massive editing that happens after you complete the first draft of your novel. I’m assuming you’ve fixed the plot holes and gotten rid of unnecessary characters. What I’m talking about is much more subtle. Aspects we often overlook or excuse—things often referred to as “scaffolding.”

These instances may seem minor, and you may be tempted to think they're issues for a line editor once you’ve gotten “the deal.” That might have been true 15 or 20 years ago, but not today. Publishers and a very tight market demand nearly “perfect” writing. (We all know poorly written books that made The New York Times bestseller list, but these are exceptions, not the rule.) It’s no longer enough to have a great plot, because if the screener reading the first page of your novel spots enough “amateur” mistakes, your book goes into the rejects pile. No one will get far enough to even consider its other merits. A few days later, you receive the infamous, hateful much-copied rejection letter.

Even if you decide to hire a book editor, you need to learn how to discover amateur mistakes and get rid of them. To do this, I recommend a book called Don’t Sabotage Your Submission, by Chris Roerden. Chris is a former independent book editor for authors published by Intrigue, Midnight Ink, Rodale, St. Martin’s, Viking and others. She highlights which aspects announce that you’re a “beginner,” and gives examples of what to look for, how to fix mistakes and how to break the rules properly.

Here are some pointers I’ve discovered while editing my manuscript. One of the most important things to look for in your writing is “scaffolding.” Every writer uses words and phrases that support the story as they write the first draft. You can’t find the perfect word/phrase the first time around—you’re just trying to get the story on paper while the passion and energy are still hot. (If you struggle with this, I’d recommend Stephen King’s On Writing). But, once the story’s on paper, the scaffolding has to go. When art restorers finish their work, they have to take down the scaffolding; otherwise, the exquisite paintings are blocked from view.

Every writer has his/her structural supports, and here are some of mine. To provide the “beat” my dialogue needs, I often have the character make some physical movement. However, by the end of the first draft, there are so many instances of shook his/her heads that skulls should be rolling on the ground. And there are more look/looked/looking than I believed possible. Not to mention myriad mentions of he/she ran a hand through his/her hair. These all have to be dealt with. Often, they’re not easy to fix, because it’s not enough just to vary the phrases. The way to a beautiful novel is to replace these instances with texture. In other words, if a character is doing something, it has to have meaning—a significance that advances the plot or reveals the character. If not, it’s what I call a “cheap beat,” and it says “I’m an amateur writer” in big, neon letters. Then, you get a rejection letter before the agent has a chance to discover your bold, fascinating storyline.

If you learn to see these things in your writing, you can take them out and your story will shine through. Then, you’ll be on your way to getting that e-mail asking, “Hey, when can we talk about your book?”

For a way to put this method into action, see the top tip below. Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

Limited Bandwidth: How Much Is too Much?

It's great to be busy, especially these days, until you're too busy to write or your energy is sapped by the realization that the writing field has nearly reached saturation point. I recently attended a group that just a year ago would have considered twenty writers a boon, especially on a weekend. This time there were seventy-five. I almost left. I didn't realize how important the uniqueness of writing is to me until it felt like part of my identity was being erased. It was like suddenly learning you have a twin. I decided to face the fear and stay, but as the speaker began I pulled out a pad and listed reasons why I write. Publication wasn't first on the list. I write primarily because I've always been drawn to it. I'm what Betsey Lerner referred to in Forest for the Trees as a natural writer. "The natural writer would almost always rather be reading, writing, or alone …" Thankfully, I got enough perspective to enjoy the talk. Good thing—the topic was how difficult it is to get published.

To put today's musing into action, check out the writing tip at the top of the list below. As always, let us know how it goes.

Flashpoint Inspiration: Rembrandt in Your Attic and Memoirs of a Geisha

What would we do without moments when inspiration strikes like cloud to ground lightening? I've had a copy of Memoirs of a Geisha on my shelf for, well, since author Arthur Golden was the keynote at a National Writers Workshop some years ago. I hadn't read the book and stuffed it into my bag. While waiting for the train (what else is there in life these days), I pulled it out, and as I sometimes do, turned to any page. Here's what I read on a dreary February morning. In Chapter 9, the protagonist is musing about a moth, really about her mother, who along with her father has died. She realizes she has felt dead, too, but that she's not—she's alive. " … I felt as though I'd turned around to look in a different direction, so that I no longer faced backward toward the past but forward toward the future." She wonders what the future will be. Suddenly, she realizes she will receive a sign, as a result of a man in a dream who tells her: "Watch for the thing that will show itself to you. Because that thing, when you find it, will be your future." The scene was so elegantly framed, the scenario so finely drawn, it was finding a Rembrandt in the attic and feasting on the wonderful placement of light.

To put today's musing into inaction, see the tip at the top of the list. As always, let us know how it goes.

Without Glasses: Seeing the World With New Eyes

While driving the long and winding road to the train station before dawn, I realized I forgot my glasses. How would I see my laptop, besides zooming in so close I'd see about a word a page? Maybe I wouldn’t write, or read. Maybe I'd look out the window at the stands of pines along the track, watch the sunrise over the Norwalk River, see things I haven't seen in a while, or not at all. But to not write—after all those entries pushing people to write, no matter what? I felt decadent, but the more I contemplated taking that cheap vacation of looking out the window, the more enthusiastic I became. It doesn't take much these days to find a bit of happiness. Anything decent will do. When I reached the station, I found my glasses, but I decided to look out the window anyway. The result? A bit of living, essential to writing—and life. "From the time of Greek science till now, Western culture has usually had a lively, unselfish, and intellectual interest in the phenomenal world for its own sake." Annie Dillard, in Living by Fiction. Go ahead, indulge.

To put today's musing into inaction, see the tip at the top of the list. As always, let us know how it goes.

Letting the Dust Settle: Settling Down to Write

The only thing worse than not having time to write is not using the time when you get it. In this fragmented, fractured world, where activities are sandwiched in like so many bologna slices, it's hard to stake out writing time, but it can be just hard to use it. Why? Because it's difficult to settle down to do the actual writing. I find it easier to write on the train than at home. The train is compartmentalized, literally, and I can close myself off to my surroundings because the space isn't mine; I'm not responsible for it. At home, everything calls my name, and there can be more than a little sense of guilt in taking time to put a word on paper, cyber or otherwise. But it has to be done, and we can't always wait until we feel comfortable enough to do it. "My cabin here on Remnant Acres is finished—more or less. As I sit at the table writing, I can see a few cracks to be sealed before the cold weather hits. And I must put a sealer on the exterior. But those are small tasks to be done later." Poet, John Leax in Grace Is Where I Live.

How does one approach the wide-open spaces, wherever they are, to settle down and write? To put this musing into practice, see the writing tip at the top of the list, and let us know how it goes.

Summer: You Have to Be a Happy Person

You have to be a happy person to enjoy summer—it's the season everything is "out there," our bodies on the beach, people in outdoor cafés, the sun in splendor, lighting and warming everyplace. It's hard for a melancholy type to enjoy such exposure. Though I was born in July, I was a winter baby. I enjoyed darkness, cold, hibernation. As time passes, I'm increasingly drawn to summer—light, warmth, people. I still enjoy solitude, but I enjoy it more in company. Sound like a non sequitur? Ever go into a café and see how many people sit alone, enjoying a moment of calm? Yet, they're out there in company, experiencing and observing—vital aspects of humanity, and the creative process. In a 2004 interview with the U.K.-based Independent, Bob Dylan noted that a vital part of his creative process evaporated when he was forced into seclusion to write. "Creativity has much to do with experience, observation and imagination, and if any one of those key elements is missing, it doesn't work." Ideas, like seeds under snow, may be planted in dark days, but their full bloom comes in summer. As we in winter climes await the sun, we can imagine those days and use the experience that germinates from the light of our imagination to create.
Put today's musing into action with the writing tip at the top of the list, and let us know how it goes.

Old Conductors Never Die: Writing in Motion

Old conductors never die, so the saying goes; they just take the midnight train to Georgia. I'd like to take credit for that observation, but somebody else made it, someone on the evening commuter train from New York's Grand Central Station to the Connecticut suburbs. Not only did the comment give us all within earshot a good laugh—somebody picked up the thread of the comment and started singing "Midnight Train to Georgia"—it also gave me an idea, not just for this blog, but for an article or a short piece on conductors, maybe a sitcom about commuters. It also reminded me of the importance of listening to and reporting—my journalism roots are showing again—what's around me. Overheard conversations make wonderful titles, whether short fiction, articles or novels, and they are instructive in how people converse. This exchange was made by older people; you can tell partly because of how one topic split off to another, a fairly common tendency among older folk. Yet, if I hadn't had my writers' hat on (I was working on the novel), I might not have taken notice. Okay, I did need a blog entry, but taking note of the ordinary can make for something extraordinary. "Writers write about things that other people don’t pay much attention to." Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones

To put this musing into motion, check out the writing tip at the top of the list, and let us know how it goes.