Writing Full Tilt

Thomas Mann was asked how he would define a writer. He said, “That’s easy. A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.”

Douglas Adams said, “Writing is easy. You only need to stare at a piece of blank paper until your forehead bleeds.”

If these experiences are true, why would anyone be a writer?

Writers certainly access the pain they have lived and give expression to it. But beyond the accessed pain there are a variety of external discomforts that translate into creation being painful. Ambition, the act of wanting to be a writer, can cause conflict and anxiety. Deadlines certainly create pressure. And for an artist, being given a subject rather than allowing content to arrive organically can feel like being put into a room with no doors. And then there is the long line of critics that show up early and stay way past their welcome in every artist’s head. As we approach our work, the voices start in.

Is what you have to say important enough? Are your expressions artistic enough? Do you know enough about your subject? Do you know enough about your craft? Who are you to speak up about this experience? Who are you to speak at all?

The voices can seem endless and contain every facet of doubt. They are impediments that freeze us before the blank page and bleed us as we strive for creativity.  All the writers have these voices. Of course they do. Everyone has been told No repeatedly.

So I return to the question and only speak for myself, but I suspect I’m not alone. I write because I have to. As writers, it’s what we do to arrive back at ourselves. Imagine breaking your pens and sealing off your pages. What would you do? Would you be able to breathe? I wouldn’t. We write for our survival.

Which brings us to the myth of the lonely writer. Something different happens when we write together. We give witness to our work and we collectively defy No. We lend each other courage and company, creating an agreement that what we do is valued. What we have to say is worth listening to. Out of this shared compact we arrive at a place where the voices in our heads can go for coffee and relieve us of their vigilant judgment. We build our confidence together, and soon, whether writing by ourselves or in a group, we can bypass the nay-sayers and restore our intimate relationship with art. Whenever we create, we artists, we writers, should feel free to go for broke, experiment, discover, develop craft, play, search and fill our pages with ink, ink, ink. Not blood.

Upcoming Events

Maud & Addie, the novel so many of you have listened to as I wrote page after page in workshops and retreats, is a finalist in the 2019 Kraken Book Prize for Middle-Grade Fiction! Regal House Publishing will send it to press in 2021. Stay tuned for more details! https://regalhousepublishing.com/the-kraken-book-award/

August Retreat Hawley, Massachusetts: August 11 – 14, 2019 Four days of writing bliss. The setting is perfect for letting your writing emerge! https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

February Retreat Malibu, California: February 3 – 6, 2020 All writers welcome, no matter the genre or experience level. This is your time to celebrate your writing! https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

Weekly Workshops Amherst, Massachusetts: Thursday Evenings & Friday Mornings, beginning September 19 & 20, 2019 https://www.writingfulltilt.com/workshops/

Online Weekly Workshops: Monday Evenings beginning September 16, 2019. https://www.writingfulltilt.com/online-workshop/

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Believing in our own writing doesn’t end when we have set a period after the last line in our first draft. In fact, that moment is when the hard work of keeping our confidence up begins. Too often, we take our authentic and electric first draft and hammer the life out of it. We polish it to within an inch of its life, rub out its distinguishing features and make it proper. We make it sound like what we think it’s supposed to sound like. We re-create it so it reads like something that takes no risks and will be a guaranteed B-. We edit out the strangeness, the uniqueness and the surprises. We don’t trust that our spontaneous creativity has merit, so we sand it, bleach it, boil it until it’s smooth, see-through and limp. I’m not arguing for ignoring all language conventions; our readers do have to comprehend our intent. But we need to attend to our writing the way we honor moonrise and sunset. We are excited by these natural phenomena because each and every one is specifically different depending on atmospheric conditions, where we are on the planet and what is in our hearts at that moment. The genius resides in the infinite details, and we should hold to our writing no differently than we do when we rejoice that today’s sunset is like no other.

Upcoming Events

Workshop Reading: April 7, 2019 2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Amherst MA Thursday Evening & Friday Morning Workshop Members will read from their work. Free & Open to the public. maureen@maureenbjones.com

Malibu Retreat: February 3 – 6, 2010 All writers welcome, no matter the genre or experience level. This is your time to celebrate your writing! https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/P

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There is a great deal of discussion in writing circles about Voice. In terms of craft, voice can mean two different things. There is your voice, and there is the voice of a character you have created. A character’s voice may or may not be very similar to or the very same as your own voice, especially if the character or narrator is I. All of us have more than one voice, even when we are in the world and having conversations. We don’t use the same voice when leading a staff meeting as we do when telling an anecdote to a friend. We are flexible and creative every day in the voices we choose. The same is true when we write. We decide the stance we adopt as we begin to put words on the page. All of these are true voices. What most writers mean when they refer to authentic voice is the voice that comes most naturally, even subconsciously, especially when writing something that has emotional content. When we dive deep and draw on a rich mix of memory and imagination, the voice that emerges is one that readers can believe in. Often the response to such writing from listeners is, “That character’s voice or that dialogue is exactly right.” If you aren’t sure of your voice, start with memory, and write a description of the sounds, smells, tastes, and feel of a specific place and time. Be the person you were in that moment. Let go of what you think you are supposed to sound like. Say what comes, in any order, with as much detail as you can recall. Does it feel right to you? Have you said not only what you wanted to say, but how you wanted to say it? Have you gotten close? Too often we borrow someone else’s voice, thinking it has more authority than the way we express ourselves. Our stories and poems depend on our authentic voices. Let them have their say.

Upcoming Events

Hawley Retreat August 11-14, 2019 Write in the western hills of Massachusetts; allow yourself to find your voice and share your work with other respectful, inspired writers. All writers welcome. https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

Online Weekly Workshop March 18 – April 29, 2019 6:30 – 9:00 EST. Need a workshop to come to you? This is it! https://www.writingfulltilt.com/online-workshop/

Weekly Workshops in Amherst: Thursdays 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.; Fridays 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Join other writers for adventurous writing and profound listening. https://www.writingfulltilt.com/workshops/

Malibu Retreat February 3 – 6, 2020 All writers welcome, no matter the genre or experience level. This is your time to celebrate your writing! https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

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Each year I teach a poetry class at Smith College. The writers expect to analyze published poems as well as create their own. They are surprised when I tell them that their first job is to notice the world rather than other writing. “You are detectives,” I tell them. Notice what is around you. Notice what you never noticed before. Notice what is new to you and what is as familiar as your old socks. Pay attention to what you hear as you walk from classroom to classroom, what you smell as you head downtown, what you taste when the air gets damp, what you feel on your fingertips when you open a door. Being awake and alive to what is around us is the first and most important job of a writer. These sensations are the primal elements of how we know we are sentient beings and how we can communicate to other sentient beings. If the responses to these questions find their way into poems or other writing, then that writing will have living energy. It will not only ground the reader, it will transport them physically and emotionally. Elemental sensory experiences are the basis for great metaphors. I offer you, as awake and curious writers, to notice your world too. What have you never noticed before? Be attentive, be a private eye to your own world of imagery. Then translate those observations into your own unique similes and metaphors. Try it. It’s your secret until you tell.

Upcoming Events

Malibu Retreat February 4 – 7, 2019 All writers welcome, no matter the genre or experience level. This is your time to celebrate your writing! https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

Online Weekly Workshop January 7 – March 11, 2019 6:30 – 9:00 EST. Need a workshop to come to you? This is it! https://www.writingfulltilt.com/online-workshop/

Weekly Workshops in Amherst: Tuesdays 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.; Thursdays 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.; Fridays 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Join other writers for adventurous writing and profound listening. https://www.writingfulltilt.com/workshops/

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Do You Believe?

Every week I listen to incredible writing. The writers in my workshops offer their work and we marvel at the innovation, the nuances, the true character voice. And nearly every week I see the look of surprise on a writer’s face as we notice these essential ingredients of authentic work. The surprise is a way of saying, “I had no idea my writing was that good.” It’s hard for us to believe in our own work for so many reasons: We are told so often that what we have done is ‘wrong,’ so we attach that value to everything we write; We are so used to our own voice that we no longer consider it novel or special; We fear the strange genius that emerges when we let our pens fly. It takes courage to put ourselves on the page. It takes conviction to stand behind our creations. I wonder what would happen if a writer believed in their work, really believed in the power, the extraordinary perspective, the cumulative observations, the personal rhythms, and the one-of-a-kind imaginings. What would happen if you believed in your writing? Would the energy strengthen as you write? Would you take an extra risk? Would you move into ‘forbidden’ territory? Would you plunge deeper into familiar subjects? Would you find a voice you didn’t know you had? Surprise starts with the writing itself. Surprise yourself. Give yourself a gift: Believe.

With joy in words,

Maureen

Upcoming Events

Malibu Retreat February 4 – 7, 2019 All writers welcome, no matter the genre or experience level. This is your time to celebrate your writing! https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

Online Weekly Workshop January 7 – March 11, 2019 6:30 – 9:00 EST. Need a workshop to come to you? This is it! https://www.writingfulltilt.com/online-workshop/

Weekly Workshops in Amherst: Tuesdays 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.; Thursdays 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.; Fridays 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Join other writers for adventurous writing and profound listening. https://www.writingfulltilt.com/workshops/

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Finding the Heat

We all have stories inside us. Big stories. Lots of characters, important settings, loaded dialogue, objects that hold meaning, and winding plots. Whether from memory or imagination, the natural question is: Where to begin? For many writers, logic says: Start at the beginning. Which would make wonderful sense if we were writing a chronology of a life, or an historical reporting of events. But we’re writing something from deep inside us. So where does it make sense to touch down on the page? My experience with both my own writing and in working with other writers is to ask: Where’s the heat? What scene rises up out of all the others and lays itself open for you to enter and become immersed? When that moment shows itself, start there. Then notice the sounds, the quality of air and light, the movement or stillness, the furniture or trees. How are the characters positioned, do they have anything in their hands? What are they doing? How do their bodies tell you what is happening to them? Listen carefully. What are they saying? Be a faithful scribe and write down exactly what you witness. Don’t intrude, don’t expect, don’t assume. You will vanish from the room where your hands spell out words. You will live in that moment, in that place and encounter what your characters experience and feel. You will sidestep logic and embrace the creative genius that our senses offer us. Your scene will have life and be a more accurate depiction of what you set out to write. Don’t worry if the scene that unfolds is the very heart of the story. Of course it is. It’s where we, as writers, most want to exist. Once the scene is written, you can backtrack, go sideways and forward, always asking the same question: Where is the heat? The next scene and the next and the next after that will show themselves. Then, like beautifully crafted puzzle pieces, you will be able to fit them together in the order the story needs. You will have given yourself possibilities for a uniquely constructed tale.

In these days of confessed gratitude, I have an embarrassment of riches: You. All of you who have written with me, who seek out my writing company and who read my thoughts on how we approach our work, share something better than a best seller. Thank you for your genius, your playfulness, and your courageous vulnerability. I am always and ever humbled.

Yours, Maureen

Upcoming Events

Malibu Retreat: February 4 – 7, 2019  Join me for a spacious and inspiring four days of writing deep within your imagination and memory.   https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

Tuesday Afternoon Workshops: January 7 – March 11, 2019  Write with a group of writers who offer respect and invite adventure. https://www.writingfulltilt.com/workshops/

Winter OnLine Workshops: January 8 – March 18, 2019. Snowed in? Too cold? Write in the coziness of your own home, in your slippers.  https://www.writingfulltilt.com/online-workshop/

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Capturing the Complete Experience

Has it ever happened that you write a scene, it doesn’t matter whether it’s from memory or imagination (but perhaps this does happen most powerfully when we work from memory), and when you are done writing, you feel dissatisfied because the writing feels incomplete? You maybe feel that the writing hasn’t captured the complete experience and the full depth of emotions. I have heard writers say, “This doesn’t get at what I’m trying to show.” I have said this myself. What I’ve come to understand is that some experiences and even some imaginary scenes not only require but demand and deserve to be written more than once. Sometimes dozens of times. I tell writers who are experiencing this frustration that they haven’t failed, they haven’t demonstrated a lack of skill. The truth is that powerful moments are like rooms vibrating with tension, nuance, meaningful detail, powerful metaphor and strangeness. In order to first understand this room completely and then convey it to an audience, we have to enter it multiple times, and not always from the same door. We have to enter through the window, from the ceiling, a crack in a wall, a heat vent, a space between the floorboards. In other words, we have to write the scene from different perspectives, in different voices, moods, with emphasis on differing details, dialogue or gesture. It’s perfectly right not to be satisfied with one telling of a dynamic and powerful moment. That moment is a treasure trove of human interaction, awareness, misunderstanding, missed opportunity, subtle connections and realization. Every fiber of that room has something to say. Mining a scene over and over should be a writer’s joy. So when you feel disappointed after writing a scene because you haven’t capture the entirety of what you know is there, give a whoop of delight! You have struck gold.

Upcoming Events

Malibu Retreat: February 4 – 7,  2019  Four days of writing above Malibu Bay. Bring your imagination, stories, and poems. The surroundings are secluded and inspired. Join me to write your heart out in February! For more information: https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

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Where do characters come from? Everywhere and nowhere. They arrive like old friends we have always known, perhaps remnants or compilations of neighbors, siblings, uncles, colleagues. They arrive like strangers we want to discover, revenants of who we want to understand. Whatever the origin of characters, the trick is to let them come and let them have their say. Try not to argue with them. Follow them around as if you are a sleuth who has to uncover not only what they do, but why they do it. Because you don’t know. Not yet. And that is the miracle of writing. Ask them lots of questions: What happened before you got here? What are you going to do in the next few minutes? What are you afraid of? What’s in your pockets? If they don’t answer, be patient. They will answer in their own way. Sometimes by saying things, most often by taking action. Which means that very often the fastest way to understand a character is to give them something to do. Like sorting laundry, chopping an onion, putting gas in the car, feeding an animal, cleaning the gutters. You get the idea. An ordinary task will reveal a great deal. Yes, you want to include conversations both external and sometimes internal. Be patient there as well. Characters will only say what they are comfortable saying. Let them say what they want to say in their own voice, not yours. But the most important thing to remember about getting along with your characters is to let them surprise you. Let them drive the narrative. They will take you places you never expected, and isn’t that exactly why we write?

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Upcoming Events:

Weekly Workshops: Thursday Evening 6:30 – 9:30 September 13 – November 15; Friday Mornings 9:30 – 12:30 September 14 – November 16  https://www.writingfulltilt.com/workshops/

Online Workshop: Monday Evenings 6:30 – 9:00 September 17 – November 5  https://www.writingfulltilt.com/online-workshop/

Malibu Retreat: Four-Day Retreat in the Malibu Hills overlooking the Pacific. February 4 – 7, 2019  https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

Have you ever gone back to a piece of writing that you had to abandon because you ran out of time, or you ran out of steam, or you ran out of knowing where you were going? It happens to us all, all the time. When you go back, do you struggle with picking up where you left off? Is it difficult to find that thread? It’s not surprising that trying to re-enter a work in progress is difficult. What exactly were we thinking at that moment? What were we feeling? How were we trying to say what we wanted to say? The answers are there, embedded in our words. The trick is to re-discover the creativity behind them. Most often we want to pick up the last sentence or phrase and carry on as if we had never left off. The problem is that the last words we write often, unconsciously, have a way of closing off the entrance. Something like brushing away our footprints. It’s a natural instinct. The idea of tidying up, finishing, making our work sound complete is drilled into us from the moment we are taught to put forth ideas, arguments and stories. But this story is not done. How do you break into your own writing? Here are two strategies. 1. Ignore the last sentence. In fact, ignore the last two or even three sentences. Let the fourth sentence in be where you pick up the thread. That line will be much more open, much more in the heat of your writing. Tug on that line and start to write again. 2. Re-read your piece. Then re-read it again, this time looking for the line or phrase that is the prompt you inadvertently hid for yourself. It’s there. It’s the one that has heat. The line that surprises you. The line that sets off that spark and sends you back into the dream. You’ll know it when you hear it. Pick up that line and follow it for all your worth.

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Upcoming Events

Weekly workshops: September 13 & 14 2018 https://www.writingfulltilt.com/workshops/

Online Workshop: September 17 2018 https://www.writingfulltilt.com/online-workshop/

Retreats: Malibu California February 4 -7 2018  https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

What does it mean to discover our voice when we write? Is it that moment when we forget that we are writing, and what we most want to say finds its way to the page? When words boil over and spill in an avalanche of phrases, dialogue, images and rhythms? We know the power of feeling the direct connection of emotions, storytelling, and writing. It’s like being thunderstruck and struck open. So often we are surprised by the experience and often when we read what we have written to fellow workshop members, our voice fails us. Believing in ourselves can be very difficult especially when we’ve only just created something and that creation expresses our vulnerability. Our written voice can shake us into uncertainty and sometimes tears. It is right to be astounded at the vehemence of what we have to say, and awed by how we say it. It is also right to respond to our own strong words with respect. Often this means a writer reads their work quietly. Reading immediately after writing, we hear our immediate and deepest voices. We witness our dual courage of putting our words into writing and then saying those words out loud. What daring! What instant discovery! Those who are listening can take courage too. We share our acts of bravery and forge our way as our voices grow sturdier and more vibrant.

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Upcoming Events

August Retreat: Hawley MA   https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/

Weekly Writing Workshops  https://www.writingfulltilt.com/workshops/ 

Online Writing Workshop  https://www.writingfulltilt.com/online-workshop/

February Retreat: Malibu CA https://www.writingfulltilt.com/retreats/