Don’t Think, Just Write

When life gets hectic, it’s impossible to get your creative writing done. Inspiration might be knocking but the house is so full, you’re not sure you can open the door and let it in.

There is simply no room for it.

We all have responsibilities to fulfill and obligations to meet. We’ve got bills to pay, jobs to do, children to care for, and pets to play with. The lawn has to be mowed, garbage taken out, laundry done, dishes cleaned; the list just goes on and on and on.

How do we find time for creative writing?

Creative writing happens when the muse is happily seducing a writer’s imagination. When new worlds magically appear on the page and when fictional characters seem more real than some of the people we know in our day to day lives.

Creative writing is one of those pursuits that for many people, is a dream. Like music, dance, acting, and art, it seems unattainable. Like athletics, entrepreneurship, and presidential leadership, it seems meant only for the chosen few. Every day a creative writer is born. And every day, a writer gives up, overwhelmed by all the things in life that require time, energy, and attention.

Every day, another blog is abandoned, another novel shelved, poem left half unfinished. “I just don’t have time anymore,” a writer says, then deletes a file that was going to be the next great American novel, or crumples up a poem that would have inspired the next great world leader and throws it in the trash.

Don’t Give Up

What if J.K. Rowling had given up on her fantastical story? What if George Lucas had given up on his groundbreaking film? What if the Beatles hadn’t taken a chance on that new sound everyone was calling rock and roll? What kind of world would we be living in?

I almost gave up on my creative writing. For several years, I rarely wrote, other than the writing I had to do for work, which was technical or business writing. It was only by sheer luck that the company I worked for closed, forcing me to find some other path, and only by an odd combination of chance, drive, and a willingness to dream did I return to my writing so that I could sit here a year later amazed that now I make a living doing it.

And I’m willing to take the dream a little further. I’m willing to dream of writing a novel. Whether it’s this year, next year, or in five years, that dream is mine, and I’m not giving up on it.

Neither should you.

Make Time for Creative Writing

If you don’t have time to write, then make time. You don’t have to sit down and write ten pages a day. In five minutes, you can jot down a few paragraphs. In fifteen, you can run off a page. Some days, you’ll get lucky and be able to steal an hour or two. Other days, you’ll have to crunch just to get a couple of minutes.

A few years ago, I came across this website called One Word. It’s one of those sites you bookmark, then forget about, but rediscover every few months when you’re cleaning out or surfing your favorites. Every time I visit, I use it (because it’s interactive), and by the time I leave, which is maybe a minute and a half later, I feed strangely refreshed and revitalized.

One Word gives you just that — one word. Then it gives you something else. It gives you time. You get sixty seconds to write whatever you want, inspired by that single word, that gift.

It doesn’t sound like much, but every time I’ve visited that site and cranked out a minute’s worth of words, I always feel good when I leave. Like my right brain just got a little massage and the rest of my body is thanking me for it. And whether it’s been hours or days since I last took time to work on my own creative writing, One Word always reminds me that my passions need to have a priority in my life.

It’s a lot like the way I feel when I hear an inspiring, uplifting speech that motivates and moves me. Except at this site, the words aren’t someone else’s, they’re mine. Well, except for that one.

Feed Your Soul

Here’s the thing about creativity: It is food for the soul. It’s the one thing that has a guaranteed return on investment. The more creativity you spend, the better you feel, the more creative you become, and more nourished is your spirit.

People like us need to feed the fire to keep the passion burning. Giving up on your creative writing isn’t an option because if we give up, we dry up. When you feed your right brain, your whole body benefits, and when you feed the fire that is your passion, your whole life and everyone in it reaps the rewards.

It’s called happiness folks.

I like to post writing exercises on Fridays. I’ve been doing this for a year, and it’s starting to feel a lot like a tradition. I think creativity is a phenomenal tradition, don’t you?

So make some time this weekend, take some time, to write. Go to OneWord.com and write for just a minute (surely you can spare sixty seconds — how about right now?) or close all those windows and open up Word, turn off the computer and pick up your journal and just write. Write creatively and then come back and tell me how damn good it feels.

Yes we can.

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How to Master the Writing Process

What steps do you take to get a writing project done?

Is Method Madness?

One day, many years ago, I was working in an office. The executives were having a meeting to discuss new procedures. It was a hot day and the conference room was small and crowded, so the door was open. As I passed by on my way to the filing room, I overheard my boss saying “Melissa can handle that. She’s very methodical.”

Methodical. I tried it on and decided yes, it fit. “I am methodical,” I declared, and went about my business.

And it was true, too. I was organized to a fault, always looking for systems and processes that would streamline the workflow and make business more efficient and therefore easier. Hell, my closet was organized by season, length, and color. I didn’t have to flip through my hangers to find an article of clothing. Everything was neatly filed in its place.

Selling the Method

Writing gurus and mentors often want us to believe that there is only one true writing process. It usually goes something like this:

1. Brainstorm (and/or mind map)
2. Outline, research
3. Rough draft
4. Revise (repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat)
5. Edit, proof, and polish

This is a good system and it works. But does it work for everyone?

Considering the Writing Process

I’ve been thinking a lot about the writing process because NaNoWriMo is coming up in about two months and I’m determined to get to the finish line and write 50,000 words of fiction in 30 days.

How will I tackle this beast of a project?

In preparing for the word count marathon that is NaNo, I’ve thought about the steps I take with my own writing and realized that the writing process that I use varies from project to project and depends on the level of difficulty, the length, and even my state of mind. If I’m feeling super creative, a blog post or an article with come flying out of my head. If I’m tired, hungry, or unmotivated, it’s a struggle. Brainstorming and outlining can help. A lot.

It occurred to me that I don’t have one writing process. I have lots. And I always use the one that’s best suited for a particular project.

You Might Not Hear My Drummer

One of my favorite sayings has to do with marching to the beat of your own drums. I like that saying because that’s how I walk. To my own rhythm. If I didn’t, then I probably would have never started my own business, or believed that I could make it as a writer. In fact, I probably wouldn’t be a writer at all.

Some writers can sit down and pound out an article, a short story, or even a novel without ever planning or outlining. Some only revise once, and take care of the editing during revision. Others have to follow the writing process or they get lost and confused, tangled up in their own words.

But we all start with an idea and hope to finish with a completely riveting piece of writing.

So Listen to Your Own

Like I said, that day when I overheard my boss saying that I’m methodical was many years ago. Since then, I’ve loosened up my methods. Oh, I can still whip up a streamlined procedure and implement it. I have to do that for my own business all the time, whether it involves maintaining my client contact list or managing my quotes and invoices - having a system for that stuff is good.

But my closet no longer looks like it’s maintained by Martha Stewart. Sure, it’s still pretty organized, but not by color and season. It helps to know when a system works and when it’s all hype.

Writing processes are good. The reason our mentors developed these processes and share them, along with a host of other writing tips, is to help us be more productive and produce better writing. A lot of the techniques and strategies they share with us are beneficial. But it’s our responsibility to know what works for us as individuals and as creative (and sometimes crazy) writers and to know what will have us spinning our wheels all the livelong day.

I Showed You Mine

…now you show me yours.

What’s your writing process? Do you have one? Do you ever get stuck in the writing process? How do you get out?

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Slam Poetry’s Wonder Woman

Disclaimer: This post is safe for work (SFW) but some of the links and the video are not!

Back in June you met the lewd, loud, and proud dudes of slam poetry. Now meet one gal who could take them all on.

She’s got all the ingredients — talent, spunk, and a penchant for performing. Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is to slam poetry what Wonder Woman is to the Justice League. She can get down and dirty like a porn star and just as easily, she can wax literary about love.

IndieFeed’s Mongo introduces her as a “boot-stomping, whip-slinging sass machine,” an apt description to be sure.

Here’s the skinny:

Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz is a New York City-based poet and author. Founder and host of the three-time National Poetry Slam Championship venue, NYC-Urbana, Cristin has authored four books of poetry and has performed throughout the U.S. and Australia.

Want to learn more about her? Visit Cristin online at www.aptowicz.com.

Now, let’s dig in and check out some of Cristin’s performances. We’ve got video, audio, and text. She’s made herself available to us in every format so let’s take a peek at a true poetry rock star.

Watch Her Live and in Color

Check it Out Loud

Here are a few select audio pieces. To listen, follow the link, then click on the POD symbol next to the title.

To Whom it May Concern - I have a feeling every Writing Forward reader will relate to this poem. Listen all the way to end and notice how loudly the audience is stomping and cheering. That’s the mark of a slam master right there.

Mother - This is one of the earliest slam performances I ever heard and to this day it’s still one of my favorites. I love it extra because it reminds me of my own mom.

Estephania - An ode to the grit and glory of life as young, awkward misfit.

Now, Give Back

If you’re crazy about Cristin, show your love and buy her books, and if you’re ever in New York City, be sure to stop by the Bowery Poetry Club on a Tuesday night to check out Urbana Poetry.

Kristin recently published Words in Your Face: A Guided Tour Through Twenty Years of the New York City Poetry Slam. The title says it all. If you’re interested in learning more about the history of slam poetry in New York City, this is the book for you. Cristin is is a fixture on the New York slam poetry scene and given her skill with word craft, it’s sure to be a captivating read. Check out the news page at Cristin’s site for reviews of this book as well as to find out if Cristin’s coming to a city near you (if not, then maybe you can book her!).

Cristin also has four books of published poetry. These are all on my wish list. Which one are you going to get?

Do you have a favorite performance poet or piece that you’d like to share? Are you enjoying slam poetry month or are you eager to move on to some other writing topic? Let it rip in the comments.

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Work Your Jaws

photo credit: Taylor Hain

We’re writers and that means we spend a lot of time alone tapping on a keyboard. Maybe there’s a little music playing in the background or the occasional sound of an airplane flying overhead or a dog barking off in the distance, but for the most part, I bet most of us spend our days in relative quiet.

Many writers have commented that computers brought ease, speed, and flexibility to the writing process but good penmanship has been lost. Another thing we’ve lost, which hardly anybody mentions, are our oratory skills.

Before the advent of readily available paper and writing instruments, stories, poems, and history weren’t written down at all. They were passed along through the oral tradition. Today, the ability to read a piece aloud either from memory, from notes, or from a full text, is rare. Yet there are still many venues and mediums in which this skill proves to be quite useful:

• Reading aloud to children either at home, in a classroom, or at a library.
• Recording the audio version of a book, article, short story, or poem (did you know most authors retain audio rights when their works are published?).
• Performing a script for stage, TV, film, or internet video delivery.
• Poetry readings and slam competitions.
• Podcasts!

Even if you’re not going to be the one performing or recording a piece you’ve written, it’s helpful to be able to practice reading it aloud privately so that you can write and revise it accordingly. Read just a few paragraphs of anything you’ve written for print and you’ll quickly realize that preparing text to be recited out loud is completely different.

For this week’s writing exercise, let’s work our jaws by practicing reading aloud. In fact, let’s do more than read aloud. Try to actually perform a piece of writing! You can choose something you’ve written or a work by someone else. Pick a short story, a poem, or a script (monologues are perfect for this!).

Some tips:

• Choose a piece you like enough to read over and over.
• Select something short, about a page or less.
• If you can, record your readings and play them back, making notes about what you can improve next time.
• Pick something in your area of specialty — if you’re into fiction, choose an excerpt with dialog. Poet? Choose something with emotional flair.
• Go big with intonations, flourishing your voice, shifting between loud and quiet, and make it your goal to evoke the emotion of the piece.

I’ve heard many professional writers and freelancers say that they hate talking to clients on the phone. Some of us are just better at communicating in writing (I’m one of those people!). Exercises like this will help you build speaking confidence and improve your writing by readying it for performance or recording.

Also, lots of people squirm when they hear their own voice. If you record yourself and play it back enough times, this discomfort will pass and soon you’ll be able to listen to yourself with ease.

One last tip: if you’re really serious about improving your speaking skills or if you’re interested in getting better at public speaking, check out Toastmasters. They’re sure to have a chapter in your area.

Have a great weekend!

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An Introduction to Slam Poetry

photo credit: el_floz

This month we’re exploring the world of slam poetry. What better way to kick off our adventure than with a basic, no-frills introduction to the world of slam poetry and poetry slams?

You might think poetry is just a bunch of dull rhymes about nature or silly lines that drone on about romance and love and all things thick and mushy. But that’s not what slam poetry’s about. It’s loud, it’s in your face, and it’s colorful. Or, it’s eerily quiet, mysterious, and muted. And it will stop poetry’s greatest cynics dead in their tracks and have them frothing at the mouth, begging for more.

From sex and politics to religion and culture, no topic is off limits. Slam poets are artists, performers, teachers, cops. They craft their words and then deliver them with flair and gusto. Shakespeare would love it.

What is Slam Poetry?

The big difference between slam and other forms of poetry is that slam poetry is written to be performed in a competitive setting. That’s why sometimes you’ll hear it referred to as performance poetry. However, note that performance poetry is meant to be performed while slam is distinct in its purpose for competition.

Unlike open mics and other venues where poetry is read aloud, slam poems are composed with all the trappings of a stage performance — vocalization, gestures, facial expressions. Props and musical instruments aren’t usually allowed in actual competitions but some recordings or even live performances will have musical accompaniment.

What is a Poetry Slam?

A poetry slam is an event at which poets perform their work in a competitive setting. Audiences are encouraged to participate by hooting, shouting, and even booing. Performances are scored by a panel of judges.

The most important poetry slam in the U.S. is the National Poetry Slam. According to its website, the National Poetry Slam “started as a bardic grudge match between Chicago and San Francisco poets in 1990.” It continues to this day with dozens of teams of poets competing for the most coveted title in slam poetry: winner of the national championship!

Is Competition Really Necessary?

No! That’s why performance poetry and slam poetry are so close they’re often used as interchangeable terms. There are plenty of venues where poets may perform slam-like poems without entering into competition with one another.

The most well-known venue for performance poetry is HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. If you have HBO, then you already have a front row seat at one of the greatest shows on earth.

How Did it All Begin?

Mark Smith, also known as Slam Papi, started the slam poetry tradition at the Get Me High Lounge in Chicago in 1984. In his own words, Smith was “looking for a way to breathe life into the open mike poetry format.”

Less than two years later, Marc Smith took the show to the owner of Chicago jazz club The Green Mill. Smith proposed a weekly poetry competition that would take place on Sunday nights, and the Uptown Poetry Slam was born. According to Smith’s website, “The Green Mill evolved into a mecca for performance poets, and the Uptown Poetry Slam still continues nearly 15 years after its inception.”

It didn’t take long for slam to reach out and capture the passion of poets all across the nation. By 1987, slams were popping up in Michigan, New York, San Francisco, and even as far away as Alaska.

Poetry slams stepped into a more official arena in 1990 when the first National Poetry Slam was held in San Francisco. Today, teams and individuals compete annually at the National Poetry Slam, which makes its way around the country, visiting different cities each year.

Are You Ready to Slam?

The best thing about slam poetry is that you have two opportunities to enjoy it — as a performer and as an audience member. What strikes me as odd about slam poetry is that most writers are known for being somewhat withdrawn, if not all-out anti-social. Slam flips that stereotype on its head and puts writers front and center where they can bask in the spotlight and use a few of the tricks they learned back in high school drama class.

Have you ever been to a slam? Better yet — have you performed poetry of your own in any capacity? At an open mic or any other kind of poetry reading? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments section and stay tuned because there’s more slam coming next week when I’ll highlight a few key players in the slam community.

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