Post-From-the-Past, September Archives

Of all the quotes on writing I've collected (many of them posted one time or another here at Words and Such over the past nine-plus years), the following is my all-time favorite. It's recorded on a small slip of paper and sits on my desk as a daily reminder. I run this post once again as my post-from-the-past choice for September in the hopes it inspires others, too:

Thursday, September 29, 2016

Inclination and Connecting the Dots

courtesy google images

"No pen, no ink, no table, no room, no time, no quiet, no inclination." --James Joyce

"The fourth quarter of the year is upon us (fourth? what happened to the other three??) and I'm determined to read this quote every day for the next three months. Simple words but very motivating. For the inclination (n: disposition or bent; something to which one is inclined) to write truly starts with something as basic as a pen. Add to that then a place, time, quiet...

And the dots begin to be connected, the story picture we have in our heads begins to be drawn. Inclination is fostered, not squelched. Nothing new here, but reminders are always good."

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Excavating, Change, and Treasure

viewpoint from top of hill 2016

"My theory in anything you do is to keep exploring, keep digging deeper to find new stuff." 

                                                                                                                        --Blythe Danner

We did it again, hubby and I--walked up a nearby hill that overlooks the valley where our house is. As always, we hoped to be able to see our red roof from up there, but like our other excursions (we've taken this walk several times through the years--like here) the brush and tangled tree cover on the hillside precluded us being able to see anything but a neighbor's house on the hill beyond and the historic 1860s barn below. Even so, the view each time was most often about the same. 

Until this time. This time we came upon an excavation site.

Oh, we've known this was happening. A whole collection of new homes would be built on the ridge above us. But until now, building had slowed and the few new homes up there were scattered. But now? Now there is a house being built that will be able to see us from their upstairs windows. Seems a bit intrusive after over 35 years in a neighborhood that hadn't changed much in all that time. Sigh.

I've been doing a bit of excavating of my own--in my office, through my books, and through my files. Seems I've done quite a bit of this, too, through the years (such as here), but such an exercise does give occasion to unearthing some gems of writing advice.

Papers long forgotten surfaced containing such words of wisdom as:

"Whatever part of the craft you look at--voice, images, narrative, character--it all begins in the writer's heart. It is from there that the voice, images, narrative, character--indeed the story itself!--emerge. Say it a different way: how much does a writer love his or her story; it's that passion that becomes the obsession that drives all the parts." --Patricia Lee Gauch

"Rhythm used well creates musicality in our stories. A variety of slow and fast beats work toward an exciting and interesting text. Rhythm is like the blood flowing or racing through the body of a story...An author can reinforce a mood or create interest in his or her story by altering sentence length. To increase tension, excitement, or action, try using short staccato sentences. When using description or a pause in action, use longer sentences. A mixture of long and short sentences creates interest. Try reading your story aloud several times. It's a great way to catch snags in the rhythm and flow of a text." --Barbara Santucci

"Tight writing is related to focus. There are two aspects involved, which for lack of better terms I'll call close-up and wide-angle. When taking pictures with a camera, you usually use one or the other, but when editing, you need both. Close-up focus is the line-by-line, word-by-word process of trimming out unnecessary words and phrases to streamline each sentence...Equally important is wide-angle focus, in which you examine the structure, organization, and development of the entire manuscript. Do you have a clear narrative arc that builds inexorably to a memorable climax and then resolves quickly? How much backstory is actually necessary? How much detail is required, and how much is padding? Could you delete the first paragraph? The first page?...When you're tightening a manuscript, read it multiple times. Focus on either the close-up or the wide-angle in each reading--but not both at once." --Paula Morrow

"Writing your book simply has to do with tapping into whatever we have. We all grow up, and all we're doing is simply making use of something that is as common as gravity-memories. When we grow up, our past is not irretrievably lost to us, like the juice squeezed from an orange. The past stays with us. Tap into it for your writing...It's just a matter of extracting it refining it, and purifying it until you're laying out pure wrought iron." --Jerry Spinelli

"Kids aren't afraid of risks. It's a wonder we're all here alive for all the risks we took when we were younger. You'll be more able to do what you need to do and take risks if you kind of let the other parts go. Let the marketing go. Make the marketing the lower rung on the ladder rather than the top rung. The top rung needs to be the writing and the joy that you derive from it, even if you never get published." --Eileen Spinelli

Changing the face of a neighborhood is one thing. Digging through piles of papers and files is another. Though time-consuming, I like my excavating better than what's going on on the hill above us. At least here I can hope to uncover a treasure or two beneath the mess! 

What treasures have you unearthed lately? Any words of wisdom or books you've read that resonated with you? Are there changes going on in your neighborhood?

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Sensory Details: 5 Reminders from a Tube of Watermelon Chapstick

"Think of your story as a living, organic entity. It breathes, it smells. It touches and it tastes. Your job is to feed these senses, to keep them alive amidst the challenge and conflict and turmoil your hero must confront." --Nancy Lamb, The Art and Craft of Storytelling.

A memory-maker. Little Angelica was scheduled to stay the night with us. When we got to her house to pick her up, we found her suitcase packed, ready, and propped up by the front door.

"She packed it herself," her mommy told us. "She's very excited to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house."

What does a three-year old pack? Well, pajamas, of course. Boots. An extra shirt and pair of leggings. A child-sized toothbrush. Oh, and a tube of chapstick. Watermelon-flavored, to be exact.

"See, I put it here, in the pocket." She unzipped the side pouch of the suitcase to show me. And, I think, to reassure herself it was still there.

Let the adventure begin!

Curious George stories. Puzzles. Bathtime with Grandma's tub toys. A wake-up call at 2 a.m. that involved a nightlight, a fly around the shade, and sounds that go buzz, flick, buzz, flick in the dark (but that's another story). Helping Grandpa bake his famous chocolate bread. A trip to the park. Dress-up with hats from the box under the bed. But sprinkled throughout the whole experience was the effort it took to keep track of the watermelon chapstick. And uncounted requests to apply it "just one more time."

"Where's my chapstick, Grandma?"
"Can I put more on, Grandma?"
"See, I put it on this shelf. So I don't lose it."
Later: "I put my chapstick back in my suitcase so I won't forget it when I go home."
"Just one more time, Grandma, okay? Then I'll put it away again."

And so it went. By the end of the visit, the smear above the top lip had expanded with each application until the area all around her mouth was covered with a pink film.

Children. They learn about the world through the five senses--sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. In the case of Angelica's chapstick, there's the palm-sized tube with a red cap and picture of a slice of watermelon on the label, the snap of the cap on and off, a sweet (albeit "synthetic") scent, the watermelon flavor (which, truth be told, was the biggest draw), and the smooth glide of the tongue over lips smeared with wax. I don't think she'll ever forget it!

Still, children aren't the only ones to learn about the world through the five senses. We all do. And our readers learn about the world of our books when we include sensory details in our writing. Such details are instrumental in engaging readers, transporting them into a scene, evoking emotions, and providing a memorable experience (the old "show don't tell" adage). Sensory details breathe life into the story--which is what we're aiming for, aren't we? Something we certainly don't want to lose track of.

And so I take note. Along the way I've gathered five reminders of what sensory details in our writing can accomplish. The reminders include:

1. See. "Sensory details awaken sleeping thoughts and feelings, allowing our imaginations to exist in two places at once." --Nancy Lamb, The Art and Craft of Storytelling

2. Smell. "Appealing to more than one sense at a time will not only orient your readers but will make scenes more vivid and memorable. After the sense of sight, smell is often the most evocative." --Rebecca Rule and Susan Wheeler, Creating the Story, Guides for Writers

3. Hear. "Writing can only get better when sensory details are added to the narrative....Using the five senses, or sensory details, to create an atmosphere and mood can add great depth to writing." --Sarah Lynne Davis, suite 101.com

4. Taste. "The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where human perception begins. He appeals through the senses, and you cannot appeal through the senses with abstractions." --Flannery O'Connor, Mysteries and Manners

5. Touch. "In the big scenes, try to incorporate all five senses. Sensory details pull the readers into the story in a way that allows them to transcend thinking about your story to feeling it." --Martha Alderson, Blockbuster Plots.

There is yet one more thing, however. And that is, as important as sensory details are to a story, we don't want to overload our readers with them. There is a balance we need to strike.


Sort of like too much watermelon chapstick?


Do sensory details come easy to you in your writing, or do you find yourself struggling to include them? Are you liberal with them in your first drafts, or do you have to go back to plug them in? How much watermelon chapstick do you use?

______________________ 

Sharpening Pencils

A new week--a new writing month. Time to sharpen pencils and get down to work. July's goals? Tie up loose revision ends, tighten up query letter--and target initial markets that I've researched. Maybe a bit optimistic for what I might actually accomplish--after all, it is summer--but a girl can dream can't she?

Like Joyce Myers said, "A #2 pencil and a dream can take you anywhere."

What else has been said about the pencil? Well, how about this: "The average pencil is seven inches long, with just a half-inch eraser--in case you thought optimism was dead." --Robert Brault.

Optimism is not dead.

Other pencil-themed thoughts (thanks to BrainyQuote):

•  "When you write down your ideas, you automatically focus your full attention on them. Few if any of us can write one thought and think another at the same time. Thus a pencil and paper make excellent concentration tools."--Michael LeBoeuf
• "I don't know how many thoughts we have a second, but it's quite an amazing number, and just to pin down the appropriate sequence of those, all you really need is a pencil and a piece of paper." --Robert Wyatt
• Ideas are elusive, slippery things. Best to keep a pad of paper and a pencil at your bedside, so you can stab them during the night before they get away." --Earl Nightingale
• "The idea is to get the pencil moving quickly." --Bernard Malamud
• "I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil."--Truman Capote

And a personal favorite:

• "You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be led."--Stan Laurel

Happy writing this week...this month! What current goals have you sharpened your pencils for?