All writers have a process that allows them to create. However, the art of "Writing" is often mistaken for that "Process." Hopefully this blog explains the difference, and inspires people to develop their crafts, become writers, or just keep on writing.

Friday, February 14, 2025

A Sonnet For My Love (of writing)

For Valentine's Day, I can think of no better theme than something along the lines of poetry - particularly, the sonnet. As far as writing goes, no form of poem is quite as intertwined with romance as the sonnet. Sure, limericks are fun and to the point, haiku have a beautiful simplicity, and sometimes a simple, "Roses are red..." poem is enough to make the point. However, when it comes to showing one's romantic interest without coming off too obsessive, the sonnet hits that sweet spot to win over someone's heart. And when it comes to sonnets, nobody could drop a rhyme quite like William Shakespeare.

Now, before we get into W.S. and his involvement with the sonnet, let's set some ground rules for what actually makes a sonnet. This structure of poetry has been around for at least 800 years in their current form and possibly more if other cultures are considered, but they really took off when they hit Europe, and someone realized this was the right size for a romantic poem. At that point, the royal courts all wanted to have the magical formula for the perfect sonnet.

I won't dive into more about kings and princes using poetry to romance their interests - let's just accept that as read and figure out what a sonnet is. In general, it's a 14-line poem, made up of three four-line stanzas and a two-line closer, and the typical rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG (the first and third lines rhymed with each other, the second and fourth rhymed, the fifth and seventh, etc., then the two closing lines rhymed with each other). Rhyme schemes have varied, and the meter can be played with in many ways, but that's the basic layout. As to the content, the sonnet needs to start off as a question, problem, or situation, discussed over the first 6-8 lines, then resolving itself in the final lines. Some forms have the feature of a six-line dilemma, a two-line "turn" that shifts the problem toward resolution, then a six-line solution. Whew - that's a lot of work to get a date.

Now, interestingly enough, sonnets don't actually have to do about romance, just like a haiku doesn't have to be about nature and a limerick doesn't have to be about a guy from Nantucket. This is interesting because, getting back to our friend Mr. Shakespeare, he is quite well-known for writing over 150 sonnets, yet his big collection was not necessarily just packed full of romance. Check out Sonnet 130 for an example. If Shakespeare put this in a Valentine's Day card, he might've spent the night on the couch.

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight
Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
   And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
   As any she belied with false compare.

Now, this isn't romantic by any stretch, but damn does it paint a vivid picture of this lady to whom he is bonded to. This isn't the "lady on a pedestal" style of sonnets that people write to praise their love, but rather a very effective descriptive tool for shaping out someone as dramatically human. It's a sonnet made for capturing a person and his tie to her, for better or worse.

So, if you ever want to give a wild shot at something, try writing a sonnet about someone. Let them inspire you, then just write about them in that ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme. They never have to read it, so never let that hold you back. But flex that creative muscle, and see what happens. You might really create a winning piece. And, as Shakespeare might've once said, "Chicks dig sonnets."         

Monday, February 10, 2025

The Rites of Spring

On February 2nd, we got to see a lot of footage of a groundhog telling us when spring would arrive. It's very cute and entertaining, but hardly scientific and wildly misleading. Furthermore, a lot of people have their own way of determining when spring is arriving. In meteorological terms, it's March 1st every year because it's easier to remember. Other people say it's after they see the first robin of the year. Some people place it at Easter. And all those people who've been corrupted by science and believe in what the shills from Big Calendar say, it's March 20th this year. However, they're all wrong since spring officially arrives when pitchers and catchers arrive at spring training, which started yesterday. Therefore, spring is here. Don't be fooled by the thermometer, or vernal equinoxes, or Big Calendar or those snowstorms heading toward Chicago - it's spring and we should enjoy it.

Now, as I see the pitchers and catchers for the Cubs starting to warm up and get into shape (aside from the Dodgers, the other 28 teams don't technically start spring training until next week), it means time to start the spring habits. This again differs wildly for people. For some, it means spring cleaning. For others, time to change the smoke detector batteries and get out the lawn gear (maybe after those snowstorms pass through). For me as a writer, it means time to get into some new habits, and spring is the perfect time for them.

Plenty of people might say they decided what new habits they would get into at the beginning of the year, kind of like a new resolution thing. Well, first, how's that working for you? But seriously, everyone has the time they dedicate for starting new things, and I choose the freshness of the coming spring to put me into motion. Yes, I may still be wearing layers and shoveling my driveway as I do them, but it doesn't mean they are any less valid. Here are the things I am dedicating as a writer to put into gear, and some things I will definitely check off the list:

  • Write a poem of no less than 200 words
  • Do some big rewriting of some old but publishable ideas
  • Finish the groundwork for two other books that need to hit the next drafting stage
  • Do my first draft on a new project

Those are the things I have on the list that relate to writing, and they speak for themselves. They are missions I have set out to do because they will settle my inner writer's tensions and anxieties, which will therefore free up some energies for the actual creative process. And on that note, I offer the reminder that anything that relieves tension or anxiety will free up energies, so I offer a few bonus things that will help me be creative even though they are not directly writing-related:

  • Finally go to that improv class (nothing exercises the creative muscles like improv)
  • Get the back rim to my off-road bike repaired (cycling puts me at ease)
  • Spread my mother's ashes (this, while very freeing, is actually also a baseball thing. #IYKYK)

And now that spring is officially here, I have every reason to get myself in motion and begin all those things that come with the renewal and awakening of springtime. As a writer, I have a lot to do, and as a creative, I have habits to build, both to be done in this new season. Amidst the warmer temperatures, the budding leaves, and the longer days, I can sum up my feelings about springtime's rebirth in two simple words: PLAY BALL!     

Friday, February 7, 2025

Pyramids and Snakes

If there's one thing my dear, departed friend Ranaa taught me about Egypt, it's this: Pyramids are big. Even the little ones - pretty big. Now, to be fair, it doesn't take a native of Cairo to understand that little fact about pyramids. However, it is one of those things that she said you couldn't really appreciate it until you are there experiencing it for yourself. Only then do you realize the grandeur and complexity of something that some might write off as just a large pile of stones. Nope. It's a pyramid of surprising mathematical intricacy, and it's big.

Now, here's what got me thinking about this. There are two structures you can follow when you are writing - the snake pattern or the pyramid pattern. Since I have already given a little update about my feelings on pyramids, let me discuss how a snake is actually different than a pyramid, Just to mention the obvious, snakes are nowhere near the same size, but they are lengthy and they tend to travel much faster than pyramids do. This gives them a totally different set of uses. Snakes can go places, do things, and actively adventure about, poisoning or crushing things, then invariably eating them. Pyramids can do none of these things (except for maybe crushing someone, but it would be incidental). However, pyramids are far better landmarks than snakes, and do draw more tourists every year. 

What does this have to do with writing? Well, three are two styles of informative writing: pyramid style and snake style. Snake style is a piece that remains narrow and well-defined, following a very specific path forward. This is a very efficient way for pushing forth a specific idea and getting your reader to the destination you want them to reach. Pyramid style, conversely, starts at a core point and builds upon it, the underlying points reinforcing further statements that build toward a critical juncture when the entire mass builds to a ultimate idea.

The weaknesses of these have to be mentioned as well. Snake style is narrow, so it follows a very specific set of ideas, one leading to the next. If at some point the reader loses the thread or doesn't appreciate a point, they are lost. The whole point of informative writing is to explain a broader concept such as a philosophy or a mindset, so at no point are you allowed to lose the reader. This problem doesn't eliminated the structure as a useful tool, but it places a very high demand that each point clearly needs to the next.

Pyramids do not suffer from this fault, since the building process is massive. Once the first point is made, the second point makes constant reference to the supporting ideas beneath it. This goes level by level, but each point is more tightly defined, making a narrower, more defining statement until the final conclusion is reached. However, this style travels nowhere. It dwells in the same place, staying firmly planted in one place. Pyramids don't wander around, and nor should the writing, otherwise it loses its effectiveness.

Snakes are best for informative writing about adventures, travels, and explorations of life. Pyramids should be explanations of life, concepts, and more abstract things that are constant and absolute. The next time you read an essay, a self-help book, or anything involving philosophy, examine the structure and ask what form it's taking. Then do the same with your writing.

And at some point, see the pyramids. I've heard they're impressive. And big.          

Monday, February 3, 2025

Writing and Good Deeds

I have been doing a lot of family research lately, and coming across a lot of road blocks in finding information about my ancestors. Granted, some of those roadblocks are in the form of a paywall, but more often than not the problem is that the information just isn't available. Either the physical record was lost to the ages, or it was never digitized along with apparently every other piece of paper in existence, or nobody cared to write down the details. Whatever the case may be, the information vanishes into the cosmos, never to be seen again. What happened to my great-aunt Olivia? We may never know. Did I have a great-uncle Southard? Well, good question and very little evidence that I will ever discover the answer. Even with the grand power of the internet, there are limits.

Now, while many of these official records have vanished, a number of unofficial records remain intact - in some cases the original is still in my possession. Nobody knew that my great-uncle's son Elijah had a twin sister until I found that little piece of paper that talked about her birth, her death the following day, and the funeral arrangements. Someone took the time to write down the service they wanted for this infant, and someone took the time to put that paper into the pages of the family Bible. My great-uncle's daughter may have only lived for one day in 1899, but thanks to that sheet of paper, she is still known here in 2025.

I hope you can see where this is going. You see, I am a firm believer that no good deed is ever forgotten. And to be quite honest, I believe that we often do not understand what a good deed is when we do it. However, when we do things with intention and from a position of upright principles, they are usually considered good things, and they have repercussions on down the road. We might never see our deeds bear fruit, but that's not what life is about - in my opinion anyway. I am a believer in that old adage of planting olive trees even though I will never last long enough to enjoy their shade. As writers, we have a grand tool to do this very task - we commit our thoughts and ideas to the written word.

Now, I often get pushback from people who insist they have nothing significant to write about; they have no story to tell. Well, tell that to my great-uncle's daughter who lived for one day. She barely had a story, much less an important one, but that one piece of paper makes her memorable. Our existence is what makes us worth writing about. The fact that other people circle around us makes them worth writing about. 

In summary, when someone says, "My story isn't important," I give them a polite response that goes along these lines: "When you say your story isn't important, you are focusing on the word, 'story.' Try focusing on the word, 'your,' because that's the important part. It's yours, and that alone makes it a story worth writing."

So, if you are looking for some good deeds to do, you can plant those olive trees (which I found out require a surprising amount of maintenance), or you can write about people. Write down those stories, those details. Memorialize them. Give them a chance to live forever. That's a pretty good deed.         

Friday, January 31, 2025

A Little Something About Documentation

I had the privilege to see the Orphan Train display today - a traveling exhibit discussing the many thousands of abandoned children who were sent from the big cities to the Midwest and even further in the name of finding homes. This was a project that started in the 1850s but actually continued into the 20th century, and these children had every story imaginable. Some of these orphans were listed as foundlings, others lost their parents through more conventional ways such as cholera and gangrene (this was before medicine was really popular), and plenty were given up because of crushing poverty. My great-great-grandfather was (likely) one of these children, and actually maintained some writings about his experiences and stories from back in the 1870s - a priceless trove of information that became a treasured family heirloom.

Sure enough, someone threw those letters away.

Probably my great-great-grandfather
Now did my likely great-great-grandfather (ask me about the "likely" part later) have any idea that these correspondences with his lost family would become such valuable pieces for me four generations later? In all likelihood, no. He just happened to have the good fortune to be literate and the concern for the rest of his known family, and managed to stay in touch. However, as time went on, future generations would express an interest that he may have never expected. His simple letters became a window into another world that I might have a genealogical tie to (or possibly not). More to the point, his story as one of the Orphan Train passengers was contained at least in part within those papers. A part of me died a little when I discovered those letters were tossed into the trash.

Now, as writers, we have a certain obligation to hold on to our writing as well. Even if we merely write fiction and don't connect our words to the real world, our creations still show the world something about our real selves. My first stories were atrocious, hands down. They stunk on ice. However, that's the beauty of re-reading them. Those horrible stories show a stage in my humble, stunted progress as a writer, and offered a little insight into just what I was overcoming with my creative shortcomings. If anything, those crappy write-ups were priceless in that they would let anyone know that no matter how horrible they felt they were, they just needed time to improve.

And if you also keep journals - please hold on to them. Maybe you will never revisit them again, but the information they offer into the development of your writing process is irreplaceable. More importantly, journals and personal writings from any particular point in time give an unvarnished look at that period. My father's journals are priceless in that regard, mostly because I can see a person I could never know, read about stories that changed over the years, and get a better understanding of him growing up in the early 1950s - a world he didn't talk about much when I was young and never talks about now, mostly because he's dead.

I recently finished reading a special print of Conrad's Hearts of Darkness that included the author's notes in the margins. The book has so much more depth when it is seen along with Conrad's creation process and everything he did and didn't feel about different scenes. None of that insight would be available if he just tossed his old notes, so to him I say thank you.

And to you, let me thank you in advance for never deleting your Word files; even the ones with embarrassingly bad writing. Generations from now, people might just learn a thing or two from them.         

Monday, January 27, 2025

Authenticity

I hate to go back on my own words. Unfortunately, sometimes it is required. In this case, I am offering a modest retraction of a statement I made in my January 20th post, "Next-Level Writing." In that post, I requested a little latitude because I was typing with a hand I recently injured, though it was not broken. Well, funny story: It's broken. The fifth metacarpal broke just above the hamate, and now I get to wear a brace for a few weeks and the upcoming CT explores for tendon damage. So, on that note, sorry I led you to think my hand had the proper number of pieces. My bad.

As I prepared for this apology, I did get to thinking about a related subject: the authenticity of our writing. Now, the whole concept of authenticity is pretty simple and doesn't require a lot of explaining. Simply put, you write that which is valid and reliable. This is mostly associated with journalism, memoirs, research pieces, and other factual things. However, for the creatives here, it holds a special place - something that might even be considered a higher seat than just the telling the truth.

For those who write fiction, or sculpt poems, is there a degree of authenticity that must be held to? In the simplest terms, I would argue yes, they must be very authentic. By this, I mean they must convey feelings and emotions in a very sincere and unfiltered way. True, fiction allows you to create whoever you want and let them do whatever they care to do, and poetry doesn't even have to capture any specific point in reality. However, if you want to communicate an idea, concept, theme, or emotion, you must bring it to the page without pretext, decorations, special lighting, PhotoShop filters or anything else. It must be the unvarnished truth. It must be authentic.

Here's a simple example. Every now and then I refer to a very good friend of mine who died when I was in college. He was only 25, so this was a lot to handle for me even though my friend had basically been on death-watch for four years after receiving his diagnosis. Nevertheless, his death hit me hard and I tried to use this great tool of writing to process all the horrible feelings that comes with the grieving process. However, writing didn't seem to work very well, and I couldn't figure out why. I poured out all my anger, frustration, and sadness onto the page, yet there I was, still in pain. 

Eventually, I shared these writings with a friend and she said exactly what I expected, but then some more. She felt my pain, my anger, my grief - that was all there. However, she wanted to know why I was holding back. Everything I wrote was from grief, but there was so much I wasn't writing about yet. I wasn't getting to the areas that were still too painful to touch. I wasn't bringing out the feelings that troubled me, so the things I did write felt very much unauthentic because they were only pieces of a greater story.

Writing with authenticity is incredibly difficult. Hemingway implied it was easy - "Just sit in front of the typewriter and bleed" or something like that - and let those things come out. However, this takes practice, especially when we write about those things close to our core. If I write about my parents, a part of me might feel very uncomfortable that they would be offended or upset, even from beyond the grave, if I mentioned a simple, brutal truth such as my father's utter inability to make liver and onions remotely edible. Writing about my darker feelings might be tough because I'm not ready to face more than a couple at a time. And Heaven help me when I write stories about my close friends who are still alive and might be offended if I mention which one is the most annoying when they're drunk (she knows who she is).

The closest we can come to authentic writing is to write with only ourselves in mind, focused solely on the purpose of expressing everything in its purest form. We will discover a lot about ourselves and just how we see the world, but the purity of what we write will communicate these truths to the reader. Regardless of whether the reader knows us, they will feel they are reading something genuine and honest. That's the only thing you need to create.         

Friday, January 24, 2025

...And That's When the Fight Starts

For those who don't pay attention to college sports, or were kidnapped and hidden away on the dark side of the Moon for the past few weeks, the big college football championship game was held Monday, pitting the Ohio State University against Notre Dame. Now, if you went to either of these institutions, you probably have certain feelings about the game (spoiler: OSU won). However, even if you don't, you probably know someone with some kind of tie to either or both schools, and now that person acts like they have some skin in the game as well. Fine for college athletics, tricky when it comes to writing.

Now, I dropped in this picture of my beaten, battered OSU cap as sort of a trigger mechanism. A number of my friends who are OSU alumni, those who enjoy the school in general, or those who live near the school and gave me the cap (you know who you are) are now beaming with pride. That being said, a lot of my Notre Dame friends and family (side note: my father's family basically lives within smelling distance of the school) are now gritting their teeth and preparing to send me some very nasty letters (they still use the post office out there; they worry that e-mail and the internet are dangerous and might lead to greater sins such as dancing). Whatever the case may be, however, emotions are on edge for both camps.

Now, as a writer, how does one manage such a situation? Plenty of other jobs have pre-defined behaviors for approaching the big game: Most presidential candidates won't even take sides on the World Series if a swing state is involved and it's an election year. Other people will try to be diplomatic and say, "Well, this team has a great offense, but the other team's defense is pretty strong, so it should be a great game," (in essence saying nothing). The bottom line, though, is that as someone creating a piece of reality, if you are writing a perspective about such a room-splitting subject, you have to choose a side. There is no "right" side. It's more like two wrong sides because you will lose some audience one way or the other. The only thing you can do is make your point as clear as possible.

Now, let's bring out our favorite fictitious character, Tom, for a little example. Frankly, Tom would just shrug off the OSU-Notre Dame game because he's not really invested in it (unless he placed a bet with his bookie/best friend). However, that's not his jam - he's a baseball guy. How do we know this? Well, Tom lets everyone know. He wears his Cubs cap proudly to work on the first day of Spring Training. He never works on Opening Day - as he says, it's for religious reasons. However, if he encounters a White Sox fan, he doesn't get very confrontational. Usually he takes a passive swipe, such as, "Well, you're a Sox fan, and you're entitled to make whatever choice you want. I smoked for 17 years before I figured out there was a better way to do things. Your call..." And that's usually when the fight starts.

Yes, writing about Tom might lose some appeal to Sox fans, and to Cleveland fans as well (if you know, you know). However, Tom's real strength is the fact that he has opinions which are consistent and unapologetically displayed. This is where a character builds their strength - not from choosing the right side of a no-win situation, and not from choosing the more favorable position, but staking their claim and sticking to it. Tom didn't get a cell phone until 2003 because, "they're just a fad." Well, you can laugh that he was wrong, but you know him better because he staked out a position and held onto it until his girlfriend made him get a cell phone. (That's another story.)     

Monday, January 20, 2025

Next-Level Writing

I knew what I was going to type up for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I had it all readied in my brain, and committing it to the blog was just a matter of typing. The only thing I did not account for was falling on the ice and mangling my hand (that might be an overstatement - nothing broke, but a lot of things bent the wrong way for a bit). I am still writing the piece for MLK Jr. Day, but I apologize in advance to my loyal readers and to Dr. King himself for any and all typos.

If you ever get a chance, take the time to go to any of the libraries dedicated to Dr. King - there are over a dozen of them in our country, plus the main one in Washington DC. These are always informative trips, and they help bring your attention to some of his less-famous but nevertheless important writings, speeches, and notes. One thing that really stands out to me is in both his oratory and his essays, he had a very ingenious technique of writing that not only reinforced his point (that's the easy part), but then took it to the next level and introduced you to an idea you never saw coming. This is Next-Level Writing.

Normally, I would give an example from his writing, but in fairness, the examples I know are pretty wordy and would take a lot of time to break down and demonstrate how they worked. Therefore, I am going to use an example from a lesser writer - myself - just to show how the idea operates.

It's no secret that I spent most of my childhood living in poverty. It wasn't the obvious type, but rather a quiet, stealthy poverty that hid in the shadows and tore away at the foundation of our lives. This was a life where we depended on the social safety net to keep ourselves fed and with a roof over our head while the world unwove that very net. My family's health struggled while availability to get care vanished. Inflation took more away from us every year, and we had to run faster just to not fall behind. These were the days of government cheese and second-hand stores, all while being seen not just as a sad story in need of help, but as a deadweight society didn't want to carry.

Now, looking over that last paragraph, it just seems like a lot of discussion about poverty, perhaps even sounding a little self-victimizing, but definitely all about being poor. At face value, that's what it is, and that's what a lot of people would settle for. However, this becomes next-level when I bring up one special thread. All those points I made relating to how poverty felt had this common thread - the fact that these were all the result of government policies of the early 1980s. Leaving the last paragraph on its own would be fine, but when I point out how all these things were a direct result of specific government policies, then people see the real point of it. At that point, it's no longer just me saying, "Oh poor me, I was poor," but rather an indictment of policies that hung large portions of the population out to dry, criminalized poverty and poor health rather than helped it, and really saw how people embraced the "Me" in America but left the "Us" out of the USA.

Martin Luther King Jr. mastered this as a writing technique. Sometimes it would seem like he was just bringing up several examples that merely reframed what he had just said, but he was actually setting a stage for making a much stronger point. As a writer, I appreciate that kind of style and technique particularly because it doesn't hit you in an obvious manner, but boy does it hit you. So, while acknowledging he did some other things that were pretty important as well, total respect for the writer that Dr. King was.             

Friday, January 17, 2025

Staying On Target

A recent writing assignment handed to me was to go over the lyrics to any song of my choice that told a story - basically, a ballad - and explore what made it work for me. This is a pretty straight-forward assignment, and I knew the song I wanted to work with. (That part took a little thinking - I thought about going dark, or some real deep cuts that maybe nobody knew, but I kept it mainstream) I made my choice, and that's when things started getting out of hand.

I went with the 1976 song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot. After all, it's very much a ballad, it tells quite a story, it's very familiar to anyone living around the Great Lakes region, and I knew what moved me about it. However, when the writing began, a bunch of thoughts started popping up in my head about the song, the ship, writing, the meanings and meta-meanings of different aspects of the song and of the wreck itself. I had one assignment to do. My mind started working on about five of them.

Example: As a point of trivia, the last broadcast received from the Fitzgerald was the ominous line, "We're holding our own." It wasn't an emergency call, it wasn't a rescue plea. She was responding to a situational request with that simple answer. Then she went under without another word. The song speculates as to just what brought down this mighty barge, but my mind wandered into other territories. Before I knew it, I typed up a quick haiku:

The last words sent from
the Edmund Fitzgerald were,
"We're holding our own."

I looked at that for a while, and my mind drifted away from ships. I thought about people going through their own tough waters, struggling just to stay afloat, but when someone asks how they are doing, they say, "Hanging in there." I thought about how those words were a veil hiding what that captain probably knew was inevitable. Maybe the captain didn't want any ships to come back for them because they would end up at the bottom of Lake Superior as well. Maybe he didn't realize just how much water she had taken on until the lake swept her under. We will never know, but I thought about this a lot.

Yes, at this point I was way off course. I wanted to talk about the social commentary of hiding our feelings even in the face of terrible situations. I wanted to talk about the nobility of sacrifice in order to not take others down with you. I wanted to talk about the beautiful terror of sailing across the Great Lakes. I wanted to tell all these stories, but I had one thing I was actually required to write about, and it was none of these things.

This can be a writer's curse: something sets off a series of creative tangents regarding everything we can create, and now we want to make them all come true - often at the cost of what we are actually supposed to do. The only cure I know to address this is to write down, in one sentence and no more, the idea that pops into your head. Make it real, acknowledge it, and keep it where you can see it with the promise that you will get to it once your responsibilities are covered. In your mind it already has value, so by acknowledging that importance you commit yourself to that next creative task.

Needless to say, I have a bunch of tasks to do that all spawned from this one song. They will all get done, they will all be created in some form or another. The world will hear about them in due time. However, the assignment comes first. The reward of finishing that assignment is not a job well done, but gaining permission to jump to that next idea that sprang to life from the creative soils of your mind. Then the fun begins. 

   

Monday, January 6, 2025

Verbal Heavy Lifting

With the arrival of 2025, I think there's a slight chance I might've caught some kind of bug. Why? Well, I woke up with every symptom of having a bug - runny nose, dry throat, exhaustion, coughing, sneezes so violent they scared the cats - so I am beginning to think there's a chance I caught something. Maybe. The jury is still out, but the smart money says it might be a bug. And when I catch a bug, this usually means I take a time out from the more strenuous parts of life. However, that doesn't mean I become an unproductive lump on the couch (which is actually an option). I just get involved in tasks that provide more return than the effort might suggest.

While this is an important endeavor in managing one's life, it's also important in writing as well. We can communicate ideas and describe thoughts and places with a specific batch of words that will paint an accurate picture of what we are trying to portray, which is... nice. However, our word choice carries a lot of weight in how effectively these things are communicated. Deciding on the verbiage we use can set the stage for mood, intention, and all those other things existing underneath the description.

Consider the following sentence: "It was Spring Break 2010, my sophomore year in college, and I knew it would be an epic vacation the moment I stepped onto the beach and its white sands." So, here we go - the sentence sets us up with a time, a place, and an aspiration. The sentence is... nice. However, can a few extra words help us get a lot more mileage out of this? Let's explore "white sands" for starts. This is perfectly suitable, but it's an opportunity for so much more. What if we make it, "sands as white as..." and then throw in something that is white but also carries some extra baggage. If "as white as" is followed by "purity itself," there's the implication that this experience will be transcendent, perhaps even cleansing. If we use "confectionary sugar" instead, it suggests more indulgence. If we go with "cocaine," well, now we are in the realm of hedonism. These few extra words don't give us any insight into the whiteness of the sand but tell us instead about the character's expectations. 

And if we're going to talk about verbiage, let's go straight for the verbs themselves. In our example, our character stepped onto the beach. "Stepped" is fine. It's... nice. However, there are so many ways to step that can bring the world forward so much faster. Going with "strolled" or "sauntered" creates a relaxed atmosphere. "Staggered" or "stumbled" would fit in nicely with the hedonism idea. Or we could explore that step a little deeper and put the heavy lifting behind the actual act of that first step. What about, "...the moment my sore feet sank felt the healing warmth from the soothing white sands," or, "...the moment my bare feet again connected with the pure, unblemished white sands." A few extra words, but now focus is claimed by this singular experience; one moment in time tying everything together with just a few words.

When we do our first drafts, we often don't do a lot of heavy-lifting phrases because we are just looking to create our piece. However, once we do that, we usually become more in touch with what we want to communicate, themes we want to touch upon and points we want to make. At this juncture, we take the opportunity to find ways to tweak pivotal phrases and enhance specific moments so they do that lifting for us. We turn a few phrases, doctor up a few sentences, and realize the story is immensely better with just a small amount of work.

Now, as for this bug I think I might have, I think the only heavy lifting I will be doing is lifting bottles of cold medicine. However, I will make sure it is done to its best effect, and only when I am absolutely sure I do have a bug that I think I might have. (or not.)       

Friday, January 3, 2025

That Post-Holidays Lull

For me, the holiday season has always had the same elements as a wild party. Things start off slow but as more people get into it, everything seems to come to life. Everyone really gets into the spirit of things, they put aside their reservations, and the party culminates in a raucous and rowdy celebration of anything and everything. The wild party of the holiday season pretty much wraps up by the end of New Year's Day, with everyone really too worn down to do too much of anything. They've celebrated for the past month, so relaxation is needed.

Then the holiday lull hits. 

Just like the day after that raging party, the next day expects everything to go back to normal. People go back to work, trains run on their regular schedules, and life goes on the way it did before Thanksgiving. However, we are burned out from all the activity, and it's tough to get back up to speed. After all the holiday parties, overeating, overdrinking, traveling and general merriment, we find ourselves ten pounds heavier, sleep-deprived, socially burned out, and ready to sleep. The "I need a vacation from that vacation" syndrome is in full effect, and add to it that the weather is colder, the days are pretty short, and we start receiving all the bills we racked up from the fun we had. (Science note: A paper published a few years ago demonstrated that the third Monday in January was the most depressing day of the year. Just saying) So, how do we get out of this?

This is where the writing aspect comes in. If there's one thing that writing does for us, it is the gift of allowing us to experience things any time we want. In particular, I like to write a few pieces in early January discussing some of the highlights of the past vacation season. If I allow myself to embrace those memories, to relive them in a way where I can actually engage with the feelings and emotions of the experience, it's like I am back at the party again (but without all the alcohol). 

This does take practice, and it's easy to get distracted from. After all, when you are worn out from all the activity, anything becomes twice as difficult to do. However, it is very similar to other things you say you might do in the new year, like going to the gym. The first couple of times you really have to press yourself, and it's easy to say no, but if you consider just what the benefits are and give yourself permission to just engage in the process a little, you set into motion some positive habits that will build upon themselves the more you do them.

I am not suggesting making this a New Year's resolution or anything - ultimately it's up to you. I am only passing on the wisdom of someone who found the hangover cure after too many years of wild parties and horrible mornings-after. Whether you choose it is up to you. As a writer, however, it is a great way to put your writing tools to work while also getting past the post-holiday lull.