Take Note(s)!

Inspiration always seems to strike me at the most unfortunate times. Sometimes it is when I am driving, sometimes in the middle of a conversation, sometimes while I am in class. Then, when I am actually in need of inspiration, my mind is as dry as the Sahara. Because of this unfortunate lapse of inspiration, I started to jot notes down wherever I could when I am feeling inspired. I have a note on my phone, one on my iPad, a notebook in my purse, and a stick it note on my desk. Looking over my notes is pretty amusing, because the thoughts are so random. Here is a sample:

“How do I paint a shirt stretched across a back
That bends forward to look at taughtened sails
As they glide across the sea,
pushed by the muscles of the wind?

Heroes are just ordinary people doing the right thing under hard circumstances.

life is such an interesting thing,
the peasant someday may become the king.”

Just shows you how random my mind is, right? I have found that it is helpful to be able to refer back to these notes sometimes, and build off of their ideas for my writing. Moral of the story? Write down all of those crazy, random thoughts… You never know when you could use them for a blog post!

Prufrockin'

  

                        

One of my favorite poets of all time is T.S. Eliot. My boyfriend introduced me to him a few years ago via "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock." The first time I read it, I thought it was really weird. Even so, it kept coming back into my mind... I couldn't seem to shake it.

In my freshman year, we studied Prufrock English 214, and I fell in love with the poem. Every time I came to read Eliot's words, I seemed to find something new. The abstraction of the meaning of the verses made it possible to look at each sentence in a different light. 

Prufrock's lament about measuring out his life in coffee spoons, and his continual self analyzation really stuck with me, and his eternal question "do I dare disturb the universe?" haunted me continually. 

Some things seem to always come back to me in my writing. They sneak in without my knowing it, and they influence all that I write. The sea is one of these things, but Prufrock is undoubtedly another. Perhaps it is because I see a little of myself in him, perhaps it is because I fear becoming him. Perhaps, it is because I continually ask myself "do I dare, and do I dare?"

Writing from Experience

One of the first stories that I ever sat down to seriously write was about two girls who went to college in England. After a few pages, I came to the mortifying realization that I had no idea what college life in England was like. My story sounded something like a mix between Harry Potter and the brief glimpses of school life from The Chronicles of Narnia, but with dialogue that could have been a bad parody of Hamlet. At that point, I was not in college, and had never visited an English school. I realized pretty quickly that I could not write well about something I had no knowledge of. Obvious, right?

Maybe not. It seems to me that a lot of young writers want to escape so badly into real or imagined worlds, that they start trying to write about places, cultures, and lifestyles that they have never experienced (I am definitely guilty of this!!). However, this leads to a story that is generally unrealistic, and could be called out as improbable by anyone, but especially anyone who has had actual experience in the field.

Occasionally, it is true, that a writer can write about something via reports, stories and interviews, but unless your specialty is in research journalism, or you are a genius at researching, it is probably a good idea to stick with the familiar, at least for your first few stories.

That doesn't mean that all you can write is nonfiction! Try putting a new story in a place that you know very well, or creating characters based on people you know, but in a city you are less familiar with. Beginning writers can certainly branch out into new locations and cultures, but it is probably a good idea to start from a point where you already have some experiential knowledge.

There are definite advantages of writing from your own experience. For example, I recently wrote a fictitious short story about two women who had a conversation at the SC State House, an area with which I am very familiar.  It was very nice to be able to concentrate on creating the two characters, without having to create a whole new location from my own imagination.

Additionally, if you write about local areas, your work has an added interest for the people who live near the area. Many bookstores host events to promote local authors, and sometimes the city or county council will do the same; pretty nifty, right?

Whatever you write, whether it be located in your own backyard or in a galaxy far, far away, just remember - your main audience should be yourself. Write things you'd want to read! Write from your own experience and point of view. At the risk of sounding like a cat poster, do as Oscar Wilde said and "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken."

Inspiration, Pinsperation, and Perspiration

Today I am going to post a little post about inspiration. It is not a simple "how-to" guide or a list of ways to "get inspired," but it may show you how you can find things in your everyday routine to give you that little burst of creative energy that you've been searching for.

To start off, I would like to tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a tired, drained, stressed college student who had two hours to write the last poem in her poetry class, and she had no inspiration. That student was me, of course, and that evening was very traumatic.

I had tried all day long to come up with something to write my poem on, but inspiration was at an all-time low. After hours of struggle, I decided to take a break. I fixed a cup of tea (always a good idea) and sat down with my iPad to look at Pinterest. I popped over to my "Words" board, where I'd stashed away all those great quotes that come flying across the Pinterest homepage. As I was scrolling through them, I saw two quotes from The Great Gatsby, and suddenly I had an epiphany. I tossed aside my iPad, grabbed a sheet of paper, and wrote down my poem. I incorporated the two quotes into a story I'd already been thinking about using, and the finished product was my best work to date.*
                   *As a side note, this story is very useful in justifying the amount of time I spend on Pinterest.

Since then, I have used Pinterest several times to help with inspiration, whether it is with a few great quotes, or just looking at some beautiful pictures of the ocean or beach.

Walking or biking is another wonderful way to find inspiration. One of my suitemates (I can't write a post and not include them, it seems!) recently sent me an infograph of the creative routines of various famous authors, thinkers, scientists and artists. My suitemate pointed out that many of these famous people included some amount of walking in their daily routine. She walks a good deal herself, especially when she is stressed, and she has encouraged me to do the same. It is remarkable how simultaneously calming and stimulating a walk can be!

I have already mentioned how important it is to write in community. Inspiration comes more naturally when you are surrounded by people who encourage your creative talent. It would be impossible to number the times that my writing friends have encouraged and inspired me, whether through their words, works, suggestions, or lives.

Lastly, the greatest, deepest, and longest-lasting inspiration often comes through reading. The works you read have a profound effect on your creative life, and influence the way you write and think. Just as "bad company corrupts good morals", so also does good reading affect (and enable) good writing. When I feel creatively dry, I love to pick up my old copy of The Lord of the Rings, or some other imaginative work, and immerse myself in the creativity of the author.

These paths to inspiration are available to most of us, and we needn't have a Walden-like nature exile to fuel our writing. Good writing, your writing, comes out of your daily life. Next time you need a little inspiration, go for a walk, call up an old friend, find a shady nook and read, or just scroll down your Pinterest page... you never know what magic may happen.

Rewriting The First Poem You Loved

A friend of mine (once again, it was one of my English major suitemates) pinned a pin on Pinterest that I absolutely love. The pin contained the words of Oscar Wilde: "They say you spend your whole life rewriting the first poem you ever loved." 

This may be somewhat of an exaggeration, but it certainly contains a lot of truth. One of the first poems I remember truly falling in love with was Frost's "Nothing Gold Can Stay." I heard the poem for the first time in a 200 level English class, and immediately was captivated by its use of concrete images and metaphysical ideas.

"Nothing Gold Can Stay"

(By Robert Frost)

"Nature's first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold.

Her early leaf's a flower;

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf,

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day

Nothing gold can stay."

Last semester, we wrote rhyming couplets for one of our assignments in poetry class. It was a rather difficult assignment for me, because I wanted to choose words that fit both in my rhyming scheme, but also fit the tone and purpose of my poem. As Dr. Cox said, "You need to control the rhyme, don't let the rhyme control you." After much trial and error, I finally came up with one I liked.

"Decline"

(By M.L. Campbell)

The roaring March days warm the moist winter earth

And buds pierce the snow in a show of rebirth.

But the flower of spring turns in summer to green

And brown spots appear on a leaf that was clean.

Then the sunset that fades in the cold western sky

Is the last golden color of autumn to die.

Obviously, the rhyme, meter, and even much of the overall meaning is different from Frost's poem, but I was surprised to see how much imagery I had accidentally borrowed. My suitemate (the one who shared the pin) also took the poetry class with me, and the tone of her poems often felt similar to the poems of Longfellow, her favorite poet. 

It has been said that "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery," but I think there is more to that in poetic imitation. Oftentimes, the poems you love seem to bleed into your soul and stay there. I've found myself perfectly recalling from memory certain lines of poetry that I loved as a child, even years after I had last seen the poem. 

Words are powerful things, and poetry has a wonderful way of remaining in your mind long after you have read it. Perhaps those beloved poems sit there when you write poetry, and blend with your own original thoughts that make their way through your fingers and out onto the pages of your poem.

Don't Be Dejected about Being Rejected

This past spring, I had the honor of being published in our school's literary and art journal, Ivy Leaves (http://www.andersonuniversity.edu/auvisualarts/ivyleaves/html2/index.html). I was ecstatic, partly because was desperate to check it off of my "Bucket List" for college, and partly because I had tried and failed before to publish something in Ivy Leaves. The sting of that first rejection haunted me, and I almost didn't try again. Thank God for my suitemates, who encouraged me to send something in!

Honestly though, this post is not about getting published, it is about getting rejected, because sometimes, you learn a lot more from failure than from victory.

I've mentioned before the poet who visited our campus this spring (http://jessegraves.weebly.com/). Jesse Graves inspired me in a lot of ways, but one of the most encouraging things he said was about his failures. "I'll send poems to journals," he said. "And 80% of the time, they get rejected." But that doesn't keep him from trying. He's now published two books of poetry, but that would never have happened if he had given up after his first rejection.

Kathryn Stockett (the author who wrote the award winning novel, The Help) was rejected by 60 publishers before her novel was finally published. As she says in an article: "In the end, I received 60 rejections for The Help. But letter number 61 was the one that accepted me. What if I had given up at 15? Or 40? Or even 60?" (http://www.more.com/kathryn-stockett-help-best-seller)

As disappointed as I was when I got the rejection email from Ivy Leaves last year, I am now grateful that I received it. Why? Because it taught me strive harder. When something is accepted, it seems finished. The publishers liked it, right? So why change anything? It is often failure that gives the motivation to try harder, dig deeper, write more richly.

Ultimately, it is the "try and try again" mentality of authors that usually leads to their success. Rarely does an author's first (or second, or third) work rocket them into fame. A few stars are born overnight, but for most of us, it is the slow plodding of a thousand late nights, large cups of coffee, and endless rejection letters.

I plan on sending some of my poetry to a few journals this summer. I'll probably get rejected, but you know what? I can be OK with that. I think I may start a Rejection Letter collection, it could be an interesting pastime.....

Remember, every "next time" could be THE time.... so don't give up trying!

Writing in Community

This past semester was the first time that I participated in a writing workshop. As a literature major, I don't take many creative writing classes, but I was blessed this year to take two: poetry workshop and creative nonfiction workshop. I loved both! I had excellent teachers, and the peer critiques of my fellow classmates opened my eyes to things I did well, and things I should avoid. 

Before this semester, I had never taken myself seriously as a writer. Since I was a child, I have written many stories, but they were mainly for myself, with no outside audience intended. However, after taking creative writing classes, I have realized two things: I do have a story to tell (that other people might actually be interested in), and I am learning the tools necessary to tell it. 

Another thing that greatly encouraged me to continue writing was a visit from a poet. Jesse Graves teaches English at East Tennessee, and writes poetry on the side. He has already has two excellent books of poetry published. His connection with our university is Dr. Randall Wilhelm, an English teacher here who knew him at school. 

Jesse Graves spoke to my poetry class, as well as to a group of students later that night. He read some of his poetry, gave us tips, and really affirmed what we were doing; English Majors need that, because we don't choose this major for the money, we choose it because it is something we love. Because of this, it can be discouraging or overwhelming when we think about balancing our passion and our careers. 

The most important thing that I learned from Jesse Graves, was the value of writing in community. He said that his biggest motivator is his fellow writers. This struck me very forcibly, because it is something that I have also been discovering over the past few months. Living with two English majors has immensely helped my work, and having the workshop classroom experience has aided me greatly as well.

Community is essential for English Majors, mainly because of the necessity of encouragement, support, and accountability that a community provides. Until my sophomore spring, I did not really know the English Majors in my year. When I started to form that community with them, I saw my love for the subject skyrocket. It is a wonderful thing to talk to people who are passionate about the same thing as you are! 

So my challenge to you is this: whether you are a writer or not, find community. Find a group of people who love the same things you do. They will help encourage you when you get down, or feel like quitting. Now go, be passionate! Find friends! Write! Do what you do best!