We’ve been at home with ourselves for a long time now. Some of us have cleaned out that storage closet, some of us have established new exercise routines and some of us have learned to play the flute. Many of us have also dived into writing as a way to process and escape. The question I’m hearing is: What do I do with these pages? This is a fine time to step back and see what you have. The writing you have been doing this past year may feel random or disconnected or very personal. None of those designations mean that the writing isn’t worthwhile. Just as you set aside time for writing, also set aside time to go through your work from the past, even if the past is yesterday. Look for the following things:
- Repeated themes or characters. These repetitions can mean a collection of poems, essays or stories is emerging. They can also mean the beginning of a novel or a memoir or a chapbook of poems. What you have is the start of a larger project you didn’t know you were creating.
- Lines that stand out. We all write pieces that are essentially journal entries. Those are valuable for many reasons. What I’m suggesting here is that in those pieces there are hidden gems. Lines that are embedded prompts just for you. Copy these phrases, images or whole sentences into a document and begin to use them as springboards into new writing.
- Pieces of writing that you discounted at the time, but now appreciate for their craft and value. I’m not alone in reading something, enjoying it and being surprised that I’m the author. Time can do that to our relationship to our voice.
- What’s missing? Notice what you haven’t said yet. What subjects, characters, settings, forms, and moments have been omitted? Perhaps one of the lines from #2 can be the portal to help you through to filling in this empty spot. There is always something more that we haven’t yet explored. Writing it and finding where it fits with what has gone before is a good catalyst for writing again and again.
Notice what has changed. Each writer returns to foundational themes. Each writer also evolves as their craft develops and their understanding of their own life unfolds. These changes are reflected in the writing. Taking note of what is different acknowledges the distance you have come and how writing has been the vehicle to carry you. After cleaning out this closet, take a good walk or listen to the birds and then start writing again.
Upcoming Events
Save The Date! May 13, 7:00 p.m. A virtual reading for Maud & Addie at Broadside Bookshop of Northampton MA. A link to the event and more information to follow.
Release Date: May 6, 2021: Maud & Addie, a middle-grade novel. In 1910, sisters, Addie and Maud Campbell are swept out to sea off the coast of Nova Scotia. With a half-filled picnic hamper, a carriage blanket and their wits, they survive the North Atlantic and landfall on a deserted island. As castaways, they become scavengers and inventors, facing the truth of who will save them and who they might have become.
Available for pre-release purchase:
Regal House Publishing for advance hardcopy & paperback: https://www.regalhousepublishing.com/product/maud-and-addie/
Join Maud & Addie on Instagram: maud.addie
and
Facebook: Writing Full Tilt
Online Writing Workshops & Retreats:
March 20 & 21 Two-day Poetry Retreat: 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. EST. $200. Want to write your way into Spring? Let your muse go wild? Try on something new in imagery or form? Join me for two days of literal and metaphoric free-wheeling and shape-shifting. You never know what’s waiting to arrive! Contact: maureen@maureenbjones.com
Prompt Photo
