Every writer should keep a notebook or journal. A stray piece of paper wouldn’t do. I have always had a notebook, but I have been using my iPhone as a notebook these last few years. I find that I lose my notebook, but always have my phone. You can also use apps, such as My Journal. I was thinking about the long relationship that I’ve had with notebooks, and their centrality to everything I do, the way that they foster my creativity across years and decades.
I’m sure that’s true of most other writers. And yet, whenever I see guides to keeping a journal online, I rarely recognise my own practice in there. I’ve seen so many idealised journals, designed for public display, written in overly neat handwriting using multi-coloured pens, filled with motivational quotes and orderly bullet points. This kind of journal feels wrong to me, reeking of an overly disciplined school: the people-pleasing, self-conscious, high-pressure spaces of my school books. The tyranny of good presentation and legibility.
In my view, a notebook should be unorganized. It should be random thoughts that you want to pick up later. I’ve written many poems from random thoughts I’ve had a movies, while reading, while listening to music, or just going to the supermarket.
Your notebook should be written for nobody’s eyes but your own. It’s a completely private space, where you are the only one writing and reading. You should never show anything directly from its pages, and certainly don’t let anyone have a flick through. This gives you the freedom to write anything in it That might be my darkest thoughts or my fragile feelings; but mostly it’s just terrible writing. Be incoherent, self-pitying, tacky, boring or stupid in this space. It’s nobody else’s business.
I’ll be taking a break from blogging for the month of August. Follow me here again on Thursdays after Labor Day.
Everyone, no matter their level of success in life, struggles with their inner critic.
The negative voice tells lies to keep you safe. It’s your brain’s defense mechanism against danger.
Anxiety acts as a guardian angel. Its intentions are pure, but we all know the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
When it comes to life or death situations, your anxiety protects you. But in the trenches of day to day modern life, we rarely encounter a life or death situation that warrants such an extreme measure. Anxiety acts like a guardian, but it can cause us to not act.
Learning to reframe your anxiety is important, so it doesn’t get in the way of your writing.Because the inner critic isn’t objective, whenever you find yourself at conflict with it.
Try to imagine the good that could come out of your writing. Even if what you write today doesn’t turn into something you can use, it is an exercise toward good writing in the end. Think of yourself as an athlete who has to practice before he/she gets really good. Your inner narrator should keep you grounded without discouraging you from moving forward. Don’t silence your inner critic. Think of it as a way to go in the opposite direction of what it wants you to do.
Turn the negative self-talk into an empowering message. Every time you hear yourself thinking that you’re not good enough, that your negative traits are far too many, that it’s not worth it, that it’s not fair, you tell yourself that it’s not so.
After all, the inner critic is kind of dumb, far from objective, and even though its intentions are good, it won’t help you get to where you want to go.
Anxiety, negative self talk, self-doubt should act as triggers to turn them into something that empowers you.
Charles Bukowski almost didn’t become the writer he had always dreamt of being. He worked in a post-office until his fifties, even though he tried and often failed to earn enough from his writing so he could quit his job.
Abraham Lincoln failed time and time again. He lost his bid for State Legislature when he was 23 years old. Six years later, he lost his bid to become Speaker in the Illinois House of Representatives.In 1848, at the age of 39, Lincoln failed to become Commissioner of the General Land Office in D.C. Ten years later, he failed to become a U.S. Senator.
If we try, we might fail. If we give it our all, we might fail. Sometimes I do believe the universe tests our commitment, and I often find that the people who try and fail, never, ever want to try again.
So, what’s the trick?
Follow your heart and intuition. There’s a dream hidden somewhere inside a drawer of your soul you rarely open.
“Do or do not, there is no try.” – Yoda
This is one of those clever quotes that get passed around quite often. When it’s do or die, most people tend to do.
Sometimes we don’t have to step outside our comfort zone. Sometimes we don’t have to take massive action in order to reach a certain goal.
Have you ever chosen not to do something because you were absolutely certain you’d fail?You were so sure you couldn’t, so you didn’t even try.
Doing the impossible will often lead to failure. But if we aim to do the bit that’s possible, if we just give it a try, then we might surprise ourselves by becoming good enough to do what we previously thought of as impossible.
The obvious paradox is that you never know if something’s impossible or not unless you try.Our attitude always determines our altitude in life. When we think we can’t do something, there’s no reason to even try.
It’s better to try something than to give up without even attempting just because you believe that you must do it.
Edison’s famous invention of the light bulb stands testimony to just how powerful such a mindset is. The trick that allowed him to persevere until successful was that he re-framed his failures as, “finding ways that don’t work.”
You, like Edison, you could try to do it before you can decide if it can or can’t be done.
The shadow of the dome of pleasure Floated midway on the waves; Where was heard the mingled measure From the fountain and the caves.
--Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
Coleridge wrote these lines in 1797. Just listen to the rhythm and music in the lines. Coleridge did not publish “Kubla Khan” until 1816, at Lord Byron’s insistence. Coleridge worried about the irregular meter and that sections of the poem were not coherent. Yet, it is considered one of the best poems published in the English Language.
In a sense, that’s fair enough. The poem does not hold to traditional poetic unity in the way other Coleridge work does: his long narrative poems “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “Christabel,” for example, and “Frost at Midnight,” his hymn to fatherhood. The poem began in a drug-induced dream.
So how many of us writers doubt the worth of our writing? Bertrand Russell, a famous writer in his own rite, had three tips for insecure writers:
Learn to recognize your writing insecurities and admit to their existence. You can’t address a problem if you pretend it’s not there. Look at your particular insecurities and recognize them. That way you’ll be prepared when insecurity strikes.
The second is to recognize that you’re not alone in your insecurities. All writers feel insecure about their writing one time or another. If you’re insecure about grammar, work on grammar. Remember no one writes a text right the first time.
The third tip is to let go of any concept of perfectionism that you have. If you finish a text and feel you can do better, it just means that you’re developing some judgmental ability. Being insecure with your writing is part of a writer’s life.
I recently finished a manuscript called Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth, with the Norwegian artist, Irene Christensen. Every time I submit a manuscript to a publisher, even though I’ve published three books, my insecurities come to play. The worst that can happen is that it will be rejected and I will submit it elsewhere.
Follow me here on Thursdays as I write about the writing process and the journey of my manuscript.
On Sunday, June 3 at 4 pm EST, I will be reading from the anthology, Poetry for the Dementia Journey, along with many other poets included in the anthology, including Gail Thomas, Ellen Rittberg, and Christine Jones. The book officially launches in both paperback and Kindle on June 1st – in time for Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. The book will also be published with Draft2Digital, which will put it in many other stores, such as Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Hoopla. The eBook will sell on all platforms for $9.99 and the paperback will sell for $14.99. All royalties will benefit AlzAuthors’ mission to provide quality resources for Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers. They are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. You can order a copy at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3CCK368. You can get the zoom link by emailing a request to alzauthors@gmail.com.
This is a moving, hopeful, heartwarming collection all written from the personal experience of dementia. Within its pages, readers will find nuggets of wisdom and glimpses of joy.
Follow me here on Thursdays for more book publishing news.
Zoom in to View Us at the Launch on June 3 at 4 pm.
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The book officially launches in both paperback and Kindle on June 1st – in time for Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. The book will also be published with Draft2Digital, which will put it in many other stores, such as Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and Hoopla. The eBook will sell on all platforms for $9.99 and the paperback will sell for $14.99. All royalties will benefit AlzAuthors’ mission to provide quality resources for Alzheimer’s and dementia caregivers. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. You can order the book on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3CCK368
This is a moving, hopeful, heartwarming collection all written from the personal experience of dementia. Within its pages, readers will find nuggets of wisdom and glimpses of joy.
A book launch is planned and includes a virtual reading featuring the poets on Monday, June 3 at 4:00 pm EST. I will be reading at least one of my three poems in the anthology at that time. This will be on Zoom and recorded for both our podcast and YouTube channel.
There’s no money and little interest in poetry. One of the reasons for lack of interest in poetry is the way it was taught in school. You were taught to find a meaning, which is work, like cracking open a walnut and digging out the meat. Sometimes poets add to their own problems by making their poems difficult to understand. A poet has to learn to connect with the audience.
So why do we become poets?
We become poets because we love poetry. When I read a good poem, it totally nourishes me. When I write a good poem, there’s no better feeling. Louise Nevelson, the sculptor, said “I’d rather work twenty-four hours a day in my studio and come in here and fall down on the bed than do anything.”
Seamus Heaney, the Nobel-Prize winning poet said “The aim of the poet and the poetry is finally to be of service to ply the effort of at the individual work into the larger work of the community as a whole.” Here he says the poet makes a contribution to society as a whole. Though it’s amazing to write a poem that pleases the author, to write something that touches the reader is about as good as it gets.
Letting the poem become part of your experience is invaluable. If you read a poem about a robin that touches you, it re-freshens the world. The next time you take a walk and see a robin, you will notice it.
Poets read other poets. This teaches us to write the kind of poems we like to read.
Writing poems can be exhilarating. Joy Harjo the Poet Laureate, says “I don’t know when the first poem was, where it came from, or exactly how. I just know how much I needed it…I was in the dark and decided to investigate the dark to find the light.” Writing poetry is just that, finding the light in the dark.
I collaborated on an eco-poetry manuscript with the Norwegian Artist, Irene Christensen called Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth. It’s currently out with publishers being considered for publication.
I’ll be blogging on Thursdays. Follow me here. Let me know about your own writing experiences and I’ll blog about the journey of my eco-poetry manuscript.
As a teacher, I relied on Bloom’s Taxonomy as a model.
As a career educator, I often used Bloom’s Taxonomy. I taught little ones on the elementary school level, and then college students. I always encouraged my students to approach study using this six-step process.
The model was named for Benjamin Bloom, who first came up with it. Here are its six levels:
Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysus
Synthesis
Evaluation
So how do you use Bloom’s Taxonomy to enhance your writing process? I think Bloom’s Taxonomy can be applied to writing. You may come across an idea for your writing and research the topic and comprehend it. Then you can apply it in your writing. In the analysis phase you break down complex ideas about what you’re writing. In the synthesis part you combine the ideas you have generated in the process and make it original, or your own.
In evaluation, you make judgments about the value of what you have created and decide if it is something you want to pursue. As writers, we have all written things we don’t think work, but even if you don’t come out with something good after this process, it’s bound to lead to something worth using later. It’s an exercise in how to get through the writing process, even if it’s not working. Nothing is ever wasted in the creative process.
I started writing an eco-poetry manuscript on my own as I feel passionately about climate justice. Then I met the Norwegian artist, Irene Christensen, and saw some of her paintings about women at the heart of the environmental movement, and decided to collaborate with her. We came up with a 60-page manuscript of ekphrastic poems and paintings called Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Planet. It is currently out being considered by several publishers.
I will be blogging on Thursdays. Follow me here for blogs about the writing/publishing process and the progress of my new manuscript.
A writer’s voice is their distinct worldview, transcribed into words and shared with the audience.
What we term a writer’s voice is the unique fingerprint that separates one writer from the next. It’s the output when writers dredges through the hidden depths of their psyche, confronting fears, dreams, and interests.
How does a writer find his/her voice? Your voice is actually a reflection of your entire personality, including your speech patterns. And you can have more than one voice. I recently collaborated on a manuscript of eco-poetry with the Norwegian Artist, Irene Christensen called Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth. In this case, my voice became joined with the visuals of this artist who created a series of paintings about women at the heart of the environmental movement. So in this case, my voice became an extension of the visuals involved.
Your personality comes out in what you write. Even if you use many voices , they’re still created by tone, attitude and style.
Tone in your writing is similar to tone of voice while talking. It’s not what you say—the facts—but how you say or write it.
Attitude is about beliefs, emotion and values. It has to do with how you regard the world and life or how you feel about something. It reveals itself in the way you talk, your body language, and your actions. And your attitude is part of what shapes your writing voice. It’s a lot like a professional singer’s voice.
Style is revealed with vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar, and the technicalities of writing. It also involves who you are and your personal taste or preferences.
What is your writer’s voice? I’ll be blogging on Thursdays. Follow me here.
So said the man who got rid of slavery in the United States. It is an inspirational quote.
How do we as writers stay inspired? Writers have difficulty carving out time and summoning inspiration.
One way that keeps me going is the occasional writing workshop. There are so many opportunities online and in your writing community. I don’t take multi-week workshops unless I’m really trying to focus on something new and learn about it. I just take the occasional one-shot workshop to get some fresh ideas about my writing. Just google under a topic you might find interesting and see what’s available. Sometimes they are free, or very low cost.
Another way of finding inspiration is in a writing group. Listen to what others are reading and hear what they have to say about what you’re working on. Most communities have pockets of writers who meet up. Join a community group and see if you can get invited into a small group of your own. My writing groups have sustained me through the years.
Collaboration is another way I find inspiration. I particularly like collaborating with artists. I like reading a artist’s exhibits. This gives you inspiration and brings people in to see the art or art lovers in to hear some of your writing. It’s a win/win situation. You can also write ekphrastic poetry, or responses to art pieces. I recently did this with the Norwegian artist, Irene Christensen. She did a series of full-color paintings on women at the heart of the environmental movement. I found the paintings so inspiring, I wrote a whole series of ekphrastic poems in response and we wound up developing a 60-page manuscript called, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth.
Follow me here on Thursdays. I’ll be blogging about writing, the writing process, steps to publishing, and the progress of our manuscript, Dread and Splendor: Paintings and Poems for a New Earth.
Eileen P. Kennedy Author 