“Perhaps this very instant is your time.” ―Louise
Bogan (Literary Granny 2013)
I didn’t particularly feel like sitting at my desk to write
this morning. I have somersaulted into the post-traveling blues, my dogs are
barking as if the loch ness monster flew over from Scotland and took up
residence in our street and there are two PG & E staffers investigating the
work that was done on our street this week after the explosion that caused our
block to be evacuated as I was flying back to the West Coast on Monday.
This is not the ideal writing environment and I was not in a
particularly favorable frame of mind.
Beth just let a shouting barkety bark escape her lips as if
on cue.
If I wasn’t involved in a blog challenge right now I
probably would have retreated onto the nearest bed and slept the day away, but
because I am involved in a blog challenge, I stayed at the keyboard.
I looked at an image: a photo I took and then the same
photo, edited.
That simple, five minute edit imbued the scene with an
entirely different meaning.
Here: look –
Image Number One - Unedited. Look at it, closely and carefully.
Image #2 - What comes up for you when you look at the roots now. Has anything changed?
What does the first image say to you?
What does the second image say to you?
How does this relate back to your day today?
Tomorrow – I will
answer those questions here – I would love to know if you are joining me in
this thought process. Comments, participation, waves to me as I drive down the
street: each and all of these simple things make me happy.
Never try to be in control of which direction your creative process wants you to go....
One of the assignments I have given myself this April is to “curate”
my vast body of work and then sculpt them into several different… somethings. I
am thinking books to start, probably with Kindle or other ebook methods to
begin.
I have tons of writing lessons I created, how-to’s on
writing, essays on writing and I even take photos about… writing.
This morning I pulled out a lesson I wrote three years ago
to see if I could morph it into a new blog post as a part of my curation
process. I decided as I wrote along here, telling you about my process, I would
go one step further and give the “proper” definition of “curate”.
I was completely surprised at what I found.
I was expecting “curate” as in “curator” at an art gallery.
I have been involved with enough art shows and even curated one of my own, so I
know from firsthand experience a curator does this: “Select, organize, and look
after the items in (a collection or exhibition).” Naturally I’ll be doing some
clean up, revision and restoration along the way, dusting off cobwebs and other
things curators usually do.
What I didn’t realize was the second definition of “curate”
which actually fits as well when you think of it for a moment longer than your
knee takes to jerk up to your chest. Curate = “A member of the clergy engaged
as assistant to a vicar, rector, or parish priest.”
Just like that I have a new mindset about what I do when I
am editing, revising and sculpting my work into specific forms like
teleclasses, e-classes, books, stand alone lessons, collections of essays,
how-to or info products. No longer is this drudgery and I am required to shove
my creative mind into the dungeon. Now it is a soulful process where a
different kind of touch is required, someone to come along that whirling
dervish creative side and teach her about stillness.
I wonder if you can tell from reading what I just wrote that
this blog post was supposed to be about Rainer Rilke’s love for the questions
combined with blind contour drawing?
That blog post will have to wait for later.
This “a-ha” blog post that is begging to be shared with you
is what wants to be born NOW.
One of the biggest challenges my writing students have is
they get stuck on revision. They remember the red slash marks of their teachers
in the past – they obviously were not curators – and they see it as something
bad, scary and most likely with a negative or hurtful outcome. What if instead
we begin to approach this “second part of the process” as sacred, holy and
gentle.
My mind is immediately seeing a second side of me, I am
wearing my robe and a floral headpiece of some sort. No, wait – I am wearing
lots of lace… sort of loose flowing yet tight around the bodice. I look at my
ethereal best and I take gentle care of these words the world is waiting to
hear.
That feels much better than angry red slash marks, doesn’t
it?
Yes. In April, I will be curating and curator of my life work.
I feel softer, lighter and I have an enormous yet peaceful
smile on my face.
Tomorrow, perhaps – we will meet up with Rilke and Blind
Contour Drawing, but today is our day to simply sit here and consider how our
writing would improve if we gracefully put on our curator costume before we
revise or edit. Instead of red slash marks and frustration with your whirling
dervish creative self, minister gently with her – showing her both her
brilliance “as is” and her brighter brilliance with a bit of polish and
panache.
How does this shift how you approach the second stage of
your writing process?
This post is Number 4 of 30 and was inspired by the Ultimate Blog
Challenge. Throughout the month I will be posting writing tips
especially to make your writing (and your writing experience!) better.
I am back and ready to spring into the ROW80 community once again.
On Sundays, my ROW80 post will be goal updates – the to-do’s
of my writing life.
On Wednesdays, my ROW80 post will feature “the being” of my
writing life. For example, what lessons am I learning along this road marked “Julie
the Writer.”
Now, as we begin Round One – I have several specific,
shortish specific goals. I stopped trying to keep up last year and gave up, so
I thought if I kept it simple this year instead.
Read a new collection of poems monthly.
Read ten minutes a day from a writing technique
book.
Write 1,000 words of “useful” words daily. (I write very quickly so this is not a stretch for me at all, for those of you who are thinking I am nuts.)
Edit 30 minutes daily toward the WIP.
Participate in Team Sprinty as regularly as
possible.
Hop around Row80 posters aiming for 3 comments
per day a minimum
Remember I do this because I am deeply in love
with words.
Now its your turn: tell me about your writing goals now!
I have so many books I have written sitting in Word Docs and notebooks and blogs and articles I use to keep me warm, like a quilt, somehow afraid to stitch together and watch fly away into other people’s hearts and minds.
The irony is people ASK me where they can “get” my books.
“Oh, I’m in poetry and essay anthologies. I have a couple ebooks…” my voice trails off.
They want a book, a real bound book with pages to turn and margins to add their thoughts in purple ink.
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
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I never knew my cell phone would become such an important part of my life. I thought I would be texting and searching the internet, catching up on facebook and twitter and other fun, playful aps, but I didn't realize it would actually help me with so many of my writing adventures.
Here are ten ways you may use your cell phone as I do for writing purposes. Try one of these you don't currently use and please comment to share either a new way we may all use our phones OR let us know how you experiment with these ten ways to use your smart phone.
10 Ways to Use Your Phone to Write Articles, Top 10 Lists, How-to's, Poetry and More
Listen to conversation being spoken around you. Eavesdrop to capture rich/true dialogue
Take photos, especially those surprise images to write about later. Once you set the intention to be surprised visually, your eyes will begin to see more and more intriguing sights.
Collect "jots" of writing in three words or less... what you see, hear, smell, taste, touch, feel emotionally
Use your timer: Do timed stream of consciousness writing at any time in any space. Do timed writing with your notebook while on a hike. Do timed writing on your laptop sitting in a coffee shop. Do timed writing directly into your smart phone.
Keep a one sentence journal. At the end of the day, write a one sentence summary of either the entire day or whatever stand out event happened, even if it is “The intersection at Stockdale and California was more annoying than infomercials as I drove through it fourteen times today.”
Haiku everywhere and then tweet what you write from your smart phone. You may want to make one day a week your haiku day or make it a practice to see the normal differently – such as writing the dawn every day for a week or month.
In your calendar note times (and set alarms!) for sunrises, sunsets or other "time attached" subjects. For example, an older slightly battered truck rolls by my house at about 6:40 a.m. daily. I consciously make a point to be out there so I can wave as I take notes. This truck and its driver has become a rich part of my writing life and we have never officially met.
Take notes when people think you are texting. I recently did this at a birthday party where I didn’t know anyone. Since people are used to texting, in some circles this isn’t seen as rude. Be careful to not be totally oblivious to social nuances. Interaction at the party itself will also give you gems you can capture as you sit in your car before leaving or on the bus on the way home after the party is over.
9. Create writing prompts from what you see. There is never, ever, ever “nothing to write about.” Look around as you live. Examples: “The waitress with the very red lipstick reminds me of…” and write, using your timer, for at least five minutes stream of consciousness style. “The fallen tree on the side of the road made me feel…”. “The old man waiting at the bus stop looked….” Or “I wonder where the old man at the bus stop is going? It could be…. Or… or… and why isn’t someone from his family driving him?”
10. Write how-to articles. What technology do you suppose I used to write this one?
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
What would happen if you changed your perspective in that current blog post you are writing?
You know, what if instead of speaking in the first person, you let your first person become Marilou or Martin.
Who is saying your first person voice is the best voice for this blog post?
Why couldn’t the YOU be the storyteller behind the story.
Sometimes I feel stuck when I write constantly from the same place. My writing becomes fortress like. I am in a tower that appears, to most people, to only have one window which is sandwiched between concrete so I cannot see anything else.
Well, what if we made the tower into your first person (or my first person) writing.
The tower I am in – my writing - seems as if there is no way to get out, either. I discover by opening my vision a tiny bit wider I need to get on my belly, to look differently, to seek perspective that is neither obvious or my first choice.
I only believed I had a small window. That’s true as long as I stay standing up. If I am willing to get down on my belly, I can look out to see any perspective I want to see and write the story from whichever direction I choose.
From these openings in the floor, I see green vines with pregnant looking berries. From this opening I can see the boat and all the workman, starting their day with singing and intense work. They look so happy. From this opening in the floor I can hear the fluttering, very faint, of wings. I need to listen carefully.
Watch what happens when I change it to third person:
Sometimes she feels stuck when she works constantly from the same place. Her work literally becomes a fortress. She is stuck in in a tower that appears, to most people, to only have one window which is sandwiched between concrete so she can only see out in one direction.
She turns to ask me, “Perspective is a fiction in this case, isn’t it?”
I stay silent, urging her to tell me more without giving her a simplified how-to.
She continues: “The tower I am in – my worklife - seems as if there is no way to get out. I am stuck unless….”
She steps back into the door of the turret. She surveys from the ceiling… to the floor. Without words, she discovers by opening her vision a tiny bit wider she sees the answer comes in getting down on her belly and looking out from the floor.
She looks first at one floor level window. "Ohhhh, yes. There it is... I see... oh my gosh, I wouldn't have thought of that!"
Now she is finally able to look differently, to seek perspective that is neither obvious nor her first choice.
You've read this mini-change-in-perspective. What value do you see in doing this exercise for your own writing or in your own business or life work?
This is my Ultimate Blog Challenge Writing for the Day. Be watching for my challenge posts which will include Writing Prompts, Writing Tips and General Life Tips and Essays. This is Blog 12/31 for July!
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
I am not sure how I got started promoting the concept of maintaining an “Unpolished Gem” file. I can’t even remember when I started one myself. I do know it pops up when I teach bloggers and writers how to keep an unending flow of content coming into their blogs, guest posts, essays, articles and poetry.
I do remember when I started writing as a way to make a living: I built my life coaching business by writing articles and having them republished (back then primarily in ezines) so since that time I have had essays, how-to’s, top tens and almost anything else you can imaging published both on the internet and also in magazines, compilations, ebooks and ecourses.
The blood flowing through all of this is… The Unpolished Gem: little snips and nuggets of writing I started and didn’t necessarily use right away but I knew it was worth returning to – maybe – someday. Sometimes people hesitate to start a file, thinking it will be too overwhelming but part of the point of an Unpolished Gem file is it takes pressure off.
How? Well, it tells you “if you don’t have the juice, passion or desire to finish this right away, you don’t have to! If you are blocked half way through or even just have a title, you may tuck it into your unpolished gems file and move along to whatever else is on your agenda.
Your unpolished gem file also reminds you the truth of content: you will never run out of material. Certainly other people have written articles similar to this one. Maybe you have read a few. The difference is I have not yet squeezed out all the goodness from this topic. You reading this today is a fine example of that.
When you are blocked, you have multiple choices of where to go to write next. Just pick an unfinished one and write a sentence. If anything else comes, yes! If after one additional sentence you’re done, then you’re done for now. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Cliché and true.
How do you start an Unpolished Gem File? I am very simple with mine. I make a folder I call “UPGs”. Within my UPG folder are subfolders for both the month they were written and the topic it falls under. This particular essay (should it remain unfinished for a bit) will go in July2012 and Writing-Editing and maybe Writing-Inspiration.
Perhaps you are thinking, “This is all well and good, Julie, but I don’t have any writing I haven’t used on my blog.”
This makes me raise an eyebrow. Really?
Perhaps it is time to look at all the writing you do as possible future content. I am going to share seven places to look. Choose one place and glean – or collect – nuggets to write from later – every day this week. I guarantee if you try this, by the end of the week you will have more than enough content for your blog for a month or more.
Gold nugget paragraphs in emails, blog comments or facebook messages. When do people tell you, “Oh, that was so helpful!” or “Oh, please tell me more about…” these are hints that you should write that content. So do it. Copy, paste and just like that: an unpolished gem!
Tweets that get responses and interaction from people. Diamond Nugget: Anyone who has been using twitter for a while knows some tweets naturally attract conversation and questions. Look for patterns via your unpolished gems. Copy and paste the tweet that has garnished the most attention this week. Write an additional 140 characters. Tweet it and UPG it. This is repurposing at its finest.
Top 10 lists that seem to ask you for more details (especially if they have gotten lots of comments on your blog).Opal Nugget I started an ezine more than ten years ago based on this idea. At the time I thought I was writing a book. I still may be. But in the meantime, this fed my entire business! Look at any Top 10 lists you created (don’t have any? Create some! This right here is a Top 7 list: same concept, different number.) Choose one (or more) of the tips and put it into an UPG…
If you keep a journal (a diary, a “notebook” as I call mine) I am willing to bet there are sections without that are pure Ruby Nuggets. Take some time daily for a week to crack open journals from at least six months ago with a yellow highlighter and sticky notes in your hand. Highlight your best sentences, phrases and paragraphs. Mark the page with a sticky note. In the back of the journal, write a table of contents which may go something like this: “Item 1: Writing Gratitude Item 2: Forgiveness Item 3: Ending Procrastination Item 4: Befriending Block.” This is sooooo easy! Don’t make it harder than it is. Please.
Revisit Sections of earlier writings that call you “come back, come back!” Pluck, glean and write. You know that blog post from last September? The one about? Revisit it and just like with the journal, see what has stood the test of time. Revise the blog post accordingly. Maybe there is a Top 10 list waiting to be born or a poem or a How-to. You won’t know unless you glean, write and revise. Perfect Silver Nugget!
Emerald Nuggets from Stream of Consciousness Writing Exercises: This actually assumes you spend times when you write with NO purpose at all. Just to write. Well, if you don’t, I urge you to start. I write from quotes, from memes I find online and from images, works of art and even photos I take. Without thinking, just write and write and write. Time your writing and keep it to fifteen minutes at the maximum. What I find is I can get a lot written in 15 minutes and even though I originally sat down to write about Virginia Woolf’s Room of Her Own, I end up writing about an experience in a restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado that was waiting for me to listen. Take those “waiting” pieces of writing & morph into something publishable.
Finally, scoop up a handful of Garnet Nuggets from conversations that won’t stop replaying in your head. In my case, these conversations are sometimes actually overheard conversations I wrote into my cell phone note taker. I have written a lot of “overheard poetry” but this also helps the fiction and memoir writer in creating and recreating dialogue. Because I did this yesterday, I can’t get the image of the two men at the table across from me at Jack in the Box out of my head. I know they are there to write about, so when I am done with this, I’m going to set my timer and just write… and see how the Garnet Nugget mixes with the Emerald Nugget so I can hit blogging and writing paydirt!
The bottom line is creating places where you have work-in-progress helps raise your confidence and simply enjoy your writing more. Isn’t that why you started to blog in the first place? Maybe it was to build your business, but I am willing to bet a big part of it was to find and stretch your voice more deeply and widely out into the world.
So today, start your Unpolished Gem file and put some writing nuggets inside.
Julie Jordan Scott has been a Life & Creativity Coach, Writer, Facilitator and Teleclass Leader since 1999. She is also an award winning Actor, Director, Artist and Mother Extraordinaire. She was twice the StoryTelling Slam champion in Bakersfield. She leads Writing Camp with JJS & this Summer will be traveling throughout the US to bring this unique, fun filled creative experience to the people wherever she finds the passion & the interest.
Did you enjoyed this essay? Receive emails directly to your inbox for Free from Julie Jordan Scott via the Daily Passion Activator. One inspirational essay and poem (almost) every week day. Subscribe here now -
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