The Missing Piece for the New Year of Writing

After much pondering, I set out three resolves for the new year that all have to do with allowing me to work more effectively and write with more freedom.

And I LEFT OUT THE OBVIOUS: finish my novel COBALT BLUE and have it scheduled for speedy publication by an appreciative editor with deep pockets for my advance and for an unparalleled promotion budget.

How did I manage to leave that out? It's a mistake I've made before: forgetting the most obvious and pressing and important thing. I discovered that finishing my book isn't on my to-do list either. Jeez! Well, that has changed.

Now I formally add to my resolves for 2006: finish COBALT BLUE, and get a terrific deal that will set the book up for next year's resolution about New York Times bestsellerdom.

And in the future,I'm going to KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM. To the contrary of conventional wisdom, it's quite possible to miss it.

Now, ABOUT THE PICTURES: They show more samples of my cross-training in the visual arts--playing at it with no standards at all to refresh my creative engines. And being so bold as to have the results on display all around our house, even when company comes.

On our shed is the Buddhist image of the Eyes of God which I saw so often in Nepal, when I visited there after my winter in Varanasi to research SISTER INDIA. The way the boards were falling off the wall and door suggested this image, which has long hung in my mind.



The pages of squiggles are nothing but that. However, the impulse to make those marks is relevant, because COBALT BLUE is a novel about the mysterious rising of psychic energy called kundalini. Looking at them, I feel that I'm visualizing that movement, and I've had a strong impulse lately that has led to the covering of many pages with these swirls.

A NOTE ON CREATIVE CAPITAL STRATEGY RESULTS: The seminar I went to in December has kept me excited about running my writing consulting business in a way that is better for me and for my work. I've been putting the lessons I learned into effect as fast as I can.

I decided to make a comparison. How did my income compare this December with last December? the holiday season being an invariably slow month for me for any kind of business. Well, I can't directly attribute most of the improvement to the new strategies--or to my new-in-October office with my friend Carrie; but I am pleased to say that my INCOME INCREASE was 275%. That sure dashed the notion that the writing business is always slow in December.

New Year--New Leaf--New Artistic Resolves

Some time back I was promoting here the idea of CROSS-TRAINING FOR ARTISTS of all sorts: doing some work/play in an art form other than the one that's the main focus of serious ambitions.

FOR THREE REASONS:
*It's fun and refreshing to be entirely playful with art.
*It's good practice; that playfulness, which is so productive, will come more easily than otherwise during the "serious work."
*It keeps the engines of creativity, the source of new ideas, well-oiled.

So this is why I have this picture of my personally-hand-beaded leaf here. Or at least it's how I'm justifying showing you this.

My work is words. I fool around, with no standards to meet, with lots of kinds of visual arts and crafts.

Last summer I beaded this roughly 3x4 foot item you see hanging from a tree next to my driveway (we live in a cabin in the woods.) Sewing on this many loose beads allowed me to play with colors and filmy material and gave me lots of time for thoughts to float up. Which they did.

I got the thing ready in time for a party at my house in July. I thought of it as my New Leaf party, though I wasn't really turning over any new leaves at the time. Now I am.

Now this leaf is my New Year's New Leaf: reminding me every time I come and go of my fresh career strategies I learned in the Creative Capital workshop that I've been detailing here for the last month.

And so my New Year's Resolve, which is: value myself (more and in ways that I can feel.) The pieces to put this into practice are:
*increase my income by 20% this year
*spend a minimum of one hour a week organizing my house better, so that everything I use is easily accessible, uncluttered, and pleasant to live with. This hour will, of course, turn into more than one, but if I start with a high requirement I'm likely to put off getting started.
*stop berating myself about anything. Do or don't do--but no wasting energy and time on self-nagging. My plan for doing this is to write down every time I start haranguing myself, and congratulate myself on having caught it. (This tactic came to me at lunch today from the creative mind of my friend and fellow writer Stephanie Bass.)

I will report here how I fare. And I'd like your encouragement.

Happpy New Year and New Resolves to you. I'd love for you to use this space to commit yourself to small definite steps toward what you want most this year.

The Courage to Flourish

At a bonfire last night, standing close as I could get for the warmth, I took part in a small wonderful celebration of the solstice, the longest and darkest night of the year.

Kelley Harrell, author of Gift of the Dreamtime, led this ceremony. The heart of it was her reminder that: OUT OF THE LONG DARKNESS CAN COME CREATIVITY. (I certainly have felt a burst of creativity after a difficult time, and then the same pattern again: almost like stitches in a fabric, the thread sinking, then reappearing.)

In last's night's cold, we each tossed into the fire some symbol of whatever we wished to be finished with from the past year. Because OUT OF DESTRUCTION, SOMETHING NEW must inevitably come.

I threw in a handful of dead leaves; I'd forgotten to bring a home-made symbol. Those leaves stood in for the dead, dry images of the "starving artist" stereotype, whatever limited ambitions I have had that allowed me to run a business that "gets by." This choice had emerged weeks ago from the Creative Capital seminar I've been writing about these recent days.

Now those no-longer-useful ideas are smoke that has dispersed out of existence. I replace them with practices that will allow me and my work to flourish.

For once, I do not fear that this is a New Year's Resolution that will go away. I know it's here to stay.

After solemnizing this vow, I warmed myself with a new taste sensation: hot chocolate made of white chocolate and laced with Triple Sec. Mon Dieu! it was good. A toast to all the births and re-births of the season!

An Uplifting Thought about Artistic Productivity

Here's a piece I (significantly) forgot to mention when I posted the writer work-day recommendation from the Creative Capital seminar.

Part of the 60% of our time we're advised to spend on productive work should be UNCONVENTIONALLY PRODUCTIVE.

That means that taking a walk to clear my head counts.

In a comment to my previous post, "Billie" described ending her work day with a bath in which a MISSING PIECE for the revision of her book popped up in her mind. Obviously, that counted. But this time need not be immediately productive to be crucial.

The RULE OF THUMB advised for unconventional productiveness (whether it produces immediately or not) is 20% of total productive time. For an 8-hour day, that works out to be roughly AN HOUR. I think that's right; feel free to check my math.

I didn't always know about the value of this kind of time. Years ago, I did a lot of work for ad agencies. I remember times I worked in agencys' offices and saw a copywriter sitting at her desk flipping through magazines, and another making paper airplanes and sailing them out a window.

Pretty brassy, I thought, to be loafing like that with the door open. Then I saw how much faster and easier it is to come up with an ad concept and headline with a variety of visual stimulation coming from a lot of different unrelated directions.

So take a walk or a bath for an hour, or more precisely for 57.6 minutes, if I've figured correctly.

And another thing--thanks for visiting here. I feel your presence and I'm glad you're here. Please won't you leave a comment about your own experience. It would help a lot of other people (not to mention keeping the wonderfully-wise-and-frequent-commenter Billie and me company)

Writer Work-Day Report

Today, as promised, I tracked my work-time to see how closely I came to the Creative Capital guideline for a good writer's workday.

What was recommended was 60% of the time spent in production, and 20% each on administration and promotion.

MY OUTCOME: Today I spent half my time on production, about 20% on administration, about 6 percent on promotion, and nearly a quarter on personal errands.

MY REACTION: Well, could be worse since it's almost Christmas.

The awareness of time was very interesting. I did those personal phone calls, last Christmas cards, etc. a lot faster than I might have. I was terribly efficient.

BOTTOM LINE: This practice is going to be useful to me. I do think I got more done, with less lying to myself. And I felt LESS STRESS. Paradoxical, but true.

More later on the lessons from the Creative Capital seminar on Strategic Planning for all kinds of artists.

The Writer's Work Day

Here's a rule of thumb I learned at the Creative Capital seminar for effective organization of a work day for a writer or artist of any other sort.

It's very simple. APPORTION THE HOURS in this way:

Production------ 60%

Administration-- 20%

Promotion------- 20%

This looks like a reasonable plan to me, designed to keep me from spending the whole morning on e-mail. The numbers probably aren't magic, but they seem about right.

So, here's MY PLAN. Tomorrow, Friday, I will track my time all day and see how I actually spend my day.

MY EXPECTATION: I'll be much more productive, spend much more time on my novel and my manuscript consulting than I otherwise would, BECAUSE: I'll know I'm watching. And I don't want to face being unhappy with myself.

I will also report back to you what the day produces. That's A SECOND STRONG INCENTIVE to do right. So, thanks for being in on this with me.

More Arts Marketing Strategy

I just talked by phone with my partner from the Strategic Planning for artists seminar--a conversation that re-inspired me about my work, as if that were currently needed.

During the Creative Capital/NC Arts Council workshop, we paired off into buddies to continue to stay in touch and encourage each other. Of course those conversations work as deadlines too: I want to have some progress to report.

My partner Bridgette Lacy works a few blocks away from me in downtown Raleigh; she's writes features about authors and others for the News & Observer, and is finishing revisions on a novel.

We found that we'd taken similar steps since returning to Raleigh from the conference a week ago. We both began to ORGANIZE RUTHLESSLY.

I'm whittling down my desk pile of stray things-to-do. This usually feels like procrastination; now that issue is not worrying me. Getting my mind and desk organized feels NECESSARY.

I also made a decision about an offer to teach at a university. I'd been agonizing over it, because the school is a Christian evangelical one and I knew in my heart that I wasn't really a fit. I'm a Christian among other things; I and my upcoming novel COBALT BLUE take a serious interest in voodoo. END OF AGONIZING: I said no and didn't look back.

Bridgette--well, her story is hers to tell and she promises me she's going to tell it here pretty soon. But you can rest assured that she is on a roll.

And she left me a bit of wisdom from the weekend that I had forgotten. Here it is:

BIG DREAMS, SMALL STEPS, WRITE IT DOWN

That probably doesn't need a lot of explanation, but here's a bit anyway. Set your goals as large as you can imagine. Break them into the smallest possible steps. Write the steps down and then tackle them, tidbit by tidbit. The power of those little steps begins to accrue, thus beginning a CAREER GROWTH SPURT.


A personal BOLDNESS ADDENDUM: This weekend, as a graduate of a class called Singing for Non-Singers, I sang a solo at the talent show at my husband's office party. I had had nothing to drink but a lemon-lime soda. And I was fairly at ease.

My husband Bob Dick is a psychologist in a practice with 31 other psychotherapists. I had learned a song in the class called "Be Gone, Dull Care" that I thought was appropriate for this group. I told them it was an ancient psychotherapy song from the British Isles. People were very kind and encouraging to me, even though I had to follow a terrific rendition of "Bobby McGee."

An Artist's Life Plan

Last night while I was waiting for the AAA guy to come get my keys out of my locked car, I sat in a Whole Foods grocery store and started writing my obituary.

This obit-writing was an ASSIGNMENT from the Creative Capital how-artists-can-make-more-money workshop I attended last weekend.

THE IDEA: focus on what I want my life to be and amount to, so I can be sure I'm doing what I can to make that happen.

RESULTS SO FAR: I learned that: it stirs me up to think long about this stuff. That I'm pretty much (except for my procrastinating time) spending my time in the right pursuits. That I can be much more effective with less effort by a little more focusing and with a lot more THINKING BIG.

And that I mean to spend my 100th birthday on a round-the-world cruise on the QE2.

I'm still working on this obit. My plan is to post it here when I'm done, in hopes that going public will strengthen its impact on me and help me measure my progress.

The Elevator Pitch for Selling Your Art

Pretend you're in an elevator and suddenly realize that you're standing next to the person you want to publish your book or stage your play, to carry your project forward. What do you do?

This is what we each practiced at the Creative Capital arts careers seminar on Saturday. We took turns pitching our hottest projects at seminar leader, Daniel Jones, a writer/performer/director recently named by American Theatre Magazine to their list of the top 15 upcoming movers-and-shakers. In this case, Daniel was playing the part of whatever mover-shaker we each most wanted to meet.

First we each assembled what we'd say.

THE HOW-TO:

*LIST three nouns and three verbs that describe the piece of work. Very precise and concrete. One of my nouns to describe Cobalt Blue was "novel." The other two were "painter" and "sex." My verbs were "arouse, offend, seduce."

*WRITE a sentence or two using those words, or most of them, to tell the person what the project is about. No arts jargon, nothing flowery or scholarly. Tell it straight and get across your own excitement about it.

*PRACTICE the roughly 30-second elevator moment with a friend.

*INCLUDE THESE ELEMENTS:
Introduce yourself.
If you can, say something about the luminary's work and how it's relevant to what you're doing.
Say what your project is, using a relaxed, conversational version of your sentence.
Give them a business card or some other way to contact you.
Close with a way to keep the connection going, such as an invitation to a signing or an art show.
Say thanks and withdraw.
Be prepared to say something else useful if the person wants to extend the conversation.

MY SCRIPT: I said approximately this to Daniel who was playing the part of an unsuspecting publisher:

Peggy: Hi. I know who you are. I just read in The Times about your new imprint. Congratulations.

Daniel: Thank you.

Peggy: I'm dazzled to get to meet you. I'm just finishing my third novel Cobalt Blue about a painter who has a religious experience while she's working that causes her to go hog-wild with sex. It's about tantra. It's pretty serious literary stuff. Sort of like some of the books you've done: a bit disturbing. It'll either offend or seduce you. May I have my agent call?

Daniel: Oh, yes!

Peggy: Let me give you my card. (awkward sympathy-inducing moment of trying to get one of my cards out of the plastic sleeve of my nametag where I'd stashed them) Here. Thanks. Good-bye. (getting off "elevator" dizzy with the rush of adrenaline)


Well, by the time that experience was over I was more excited than ever about working on my book, and ready for any elevator.

What was also cool was to see the others in the group do their pitches. People were very good at it, it was just a matter of loosening up and getting into the spirit of it.

For anyone who didn't see the previous post, this one-day seminar is offered at locations across the country by Creative Capital in cooperation with other agencies. This particular class was co-hosted by the the N.C. Arts Council and held at McColl Center for Visual Art.

HIGHLY Effective Marketing for Writers and Artists

Saturday I showed up, brimming with eagerness and high expectations, at the long-awaited arts marketing seminar.

BOTTOM LINE: What I learned there met all my hopes.

I am as excited about my work and my career as I have ever been in all these 33 years of freelance writing. This excitement is based not, as usual, on a piece of good news like a book contract. Instead it is based on having some new tools to better take charge of my own career and the fate of all my books.

For anyone who didn't see the previous post, this one-day seminar is offered at locations across the country by Creative Capital in cooperation with other agencies. This $30 class--I couldn't believe the price--was co-hosted by the indefatigable crew at the N.C. Arts Council and held at McColl Center for Visual Art.

I'm going report here about what I learned. Because there is so much material--even just hitting the high points--I'm going to spread it out over many days.

Some of what I learned amounted to A CHANGE OF PERSPECTIVE. And some was NUTS AND BOLTS. These two are equally important.

Here are TWO EXAMPLES OF WHAT I TOOK HOME, one from each category:

*The most important change of perspective: Shift from thinking "what do I need to get by?" to "what do I and my art need financially in order to flourish?"

*Nuts and bolts item: Create a financial team.

HOW TO DO THIS: Get a free consultation at your bank. Choose a bank that's a patron of the arts. Talk with friends who are passionate and successful with the workings of money about who to consult and what to do.

Study what you spend and find out what you need, then ask a consultant: how can I get x amount of passive (no work-involved) income, by x year. Find out what it will require, what step you need to take next. Do it even if you're currently insolvent. Especially if you are. It's possible to buy your freedom; it takes some time-and-money figuring, and developing new and expanded and alternative markets and possibilities (more on this later). Create financial stability rather than a constant hand-to-mouth crisis.

Realize that artists are good financial managers. Nobody squeezes more out of a buck. So don't "diss" yourself.

Find an accountant who is proficient in arts tax laws.

When you talk to bankers, etc. don't bad-mouth money and say you don't like financial stuff. However you word it, ask these folks to be your partners. Get the person's interest in what you're doing and make them part of it. In addition to using their advice, as appropriate, invite your financial team to your book-signings, art openings, or your movie premiere.



In addition to these notes I jotted, I (and the others) received written materials on types of funding sources and how to approach them.

In summary: attendees typically increase their income by at least 20% in the first year, with significantly less time spent at earning. And that came with added visibility of the art work and wider opportunities for more work.

MY RECOMMENDATION: If one of these day or weekend workshops shows up near you, GO! Or fly to wherever it is. Everyone I spoke with was wowed.

I'll keep reporting in this space about what I learned, how I'm putting it into practice and how it's working out. I INVITE YOU to add your thoughts, experiences and questions about each of these topics. And if you've attended one of these classes, please share any stories about how this approach is working for you. It'll help the rest of us.

Thanks!

Marketing for Artists

This Saturday I'm planning to have all my business and professional problems solved and my future assured.

You may think I'm exaggerating, but I have extraordinary high hopes and excitement about a seminar I'm participating in. The title is Strategic Planning Workshop for artists, run by a New York-based organization, Creative Capital Foundation. These workshops are given periodically at locations scattered around the country.

THE MOTIVATION: I saw one of my friends come back transformed from one of these classes last spring. Carrie Knowles, a visual artist as well as author of THE LAST CHILDHOOD, attended a weekend class.

When she got back, she bought a historic house, moved her office out of her house and into this new arts center, established an art gallery/studio in the building and a writing office, and rented space to me and others.

Moreover, six months later, she's still steaming ahead with her writing and art a lot faster than she used to.

THE RESULT: I'm going to go to this thing day after tomorrow and see what happens to me.

One of the exercises, I'm told, is doing an "elevator pitch." That's putting together--and practicing--a sentence that will sell your book to the publishing luminary you find yourself squeezed in next to on an elevator.

I will report here what happens.

Courage Advice From Another Site

Another creative courage strategy that works, reprinted from the Confidence & Courage Tips link on my link list to the left side of this site. Do give this one a shot; it's good for the just-back-from-the-holiday Monday.


Rise, Knight...
Slay The Dragons In Your Path...
Then Claim The Golden Crown

By Gabriel Daniels


The following is a powerful technique you can use to conquer your fears...and attain your dreams.

Imagine yourself being a brave knight, complete with armor, shield, helmet, and sword (or any weapon of your choice...ex. spear, bow and arrow, etc.). In other words, “act as if” you are a brave knight (one who has fought and won countless battles). You can do this with eyes open or closed...whichever you find more comfortable.

Stand the way a brave or fearless knight would stand. Breathe the way a brave knight would breathe. Gaze the way a brave knight would gaze. Feel yourself having the same kind of resolve and determination a brave knight would have.

And in your mind’s eye, focus on your target (your dream...visualize it vividly) in the distance (for the purpose of this article, let’s just use a “golden crown” as the target to symbolize your dream...when you’re applying this technique on your own, visualize exactly what it is you want instead of the golden crown), with such intensity, that you’re absolutely sure that nothing can stop you from attaining it. Better yet, believe that it’s already yours.

Imagine the golden crown with a bright light around it...as if it were drawing you towards it like a magnet...as if it were saying to you, “Come claim me. I’m yours.”

Then, in your mind’s eye, walk confidently and courageously towards the glowing crown. (If you wish to ride a horse instead, then go right ahead. You can even fly and do all kinds of acrobatics...just like what they do in The Matrix. Use your imagination to the fullest.)

And on your way to the crown, imagine one fire-breathing dragon after another flying towards you...trying to stop you from reaching the crown. (Include as many senses in your visualizations as possible. Hear the dragons’ wings flap. Hear the noise they make...including the sound of their breathing. See their huge, red eyes staring at you. Feel the heat of their breath. And so on.)

As each dragon comes towards you, strike it with your sword. And as your sword hits each one, imagine it getting blown to smithereens—just like the vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Blade. (If you wish, you can make it even more graphic. It’s up to you how you want to see the dragons defeated...how you want to see “your fears” defeated.) Use your imagination to the fullest. Don’t worry, no one will know you’re doing this. Remember, you’re merely visualizing all of this. So just go all out.

Let the glowing crown (your dream) in the distance inspire you to persist with courage and determination.

And when each dragon tries to breathe fire on you, simply use your shield to protect yourself. Imagine yourself being invincible as you continue to walk towards the brightly shining crown. Even though you feel intense heat all around you because of the fire coming from the dragons, it doesn’t bother you or make you retreat. You simply keep moving forward...with the confidence and conviction that nothing can get in your way.

Remember, you are a knight with absolute courage and unshakeable resolve. You are determined to get what you want...and absolutely nothing can stop you! In fact, nothing will stop you! The golden crown is as good as yours.

(Tip: As each dragon comes before you, you can label/name each one as a particular fear you may have. For example, as you look at the dragon before you, you can say, “Come on, rejection, let’s see what you’ve got.” Then without hesitation, strike the dragon with a quick swing of your sword...“POOF”...smithereens...like it was nothing. Or if a voice keeps playing in your head, telling you that you won’t succeed because you’re simply not good enough, bravely meet the dragon flying towards you and say, “You think you can stop me, negative critic? Well, you’re wrong! Take this!” Then drive your sword into the dragon’s body...“POOF”...smithereens. And continue to do this with each of your fears.)

Then after you’ve slain all the dragons, walk up to the golden crown and reach for it. Claim it. Hold it proudly with both hands and place it firmly on your head...knowing you deserve it. And as you do that, smile and experience the great feeling of victory.

Do this regularly or whenever you find all kinds of doubts, fears, worries, etc., creeping in. Then you will notice a difference in your attitude towards them...in the real world. You will feel like nothing can get in your way as you pursue your dreams.

So, now, I say to you, “Rise, knight. Slay the dragons in your path. Then claim the golden crown.”

About the Author:

Gabriel Daniels publishes Confidence & Courage Tips...To Help You Realize Your Dreams. For tips, strategies, stories, quotes, and more...to inspire and empower you to take action...so you can get what you want out of life, visit his website at: http://confidencetips.blogspot.com
You are free to reprint this article in your ezine or newsletter, or on your website, as long as you include this resource box—and as long as the article’s contents are not changed in any way.

Comfortable Creativity

A life-changing piece of news just in. The Compuserve What's New window today cites a study showing that creative thinking is best done lying down. People were tested on their skill in solving Word Jumbles in various positions. The clear winner: horizontal! Good news indeed.

Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Let Intention Take You the Rest of the Way

Some years ago, I attended the publication party at Carnegie Hall of a novel about a musician, BODY & SOUL, written by Frank Conroy, who was head of the famed creative writing program at Iowa.

Turns out that Conroy was also a terrific jazz piano player; he stayed at the piano much of the night.

When I got home with his novel, I came to a passage about being a musician that offered a bit of wisdom that works as well for writers.

The talented young man in the story was trying to play an exceptionally demanding piece. He told his teacher that he couldn't quite get all the way to the sound he was aiming for. He could come close but then he would come to a sort of wall; his fingers were too stupid to make the leap over that invisible barrier,.

THE BIT OF WISDOM: His teacher told him to let his fingers carry him as far as they would. Then while playing he should focus on the result he was aiming for, and imagine the sound lifted over the wall. Eventually, the force of that imagined music, that aural "visualization" would take his playing where he wanted it to go.

MY WRITERLY APPLICATION: Keep writing, letting knowledge of craft do all it can. Keep in mind, while working, the emotional heart of the story. Then let imagination send its shooting currents--unpredictable but ultimately trustworthy--and ride them to see where they go.

Writing Goal for the Day

I seem to be having a hard time managing myself lately. I tell myself I'm going to work on this or that and then I don't.

Since I'm self-employed I find this particularly unnerving. I have the feeling, right or wrong, that everything depends on my doing what I decide to do.

So I'm resorting to a SOLUTION that has worked before: I'm STAKING MYSELF OUT, making an irreversible public commitment: today I will spend a minimum of one hour on my novel revisions and a minimum of one hour on the project I've been putting off for a week. I know that once I get going, I'll go on longer than that on at least one of these items.

THEN: I will report at the end of the day in the comments on this post that I've done what I decided to do. And I will feel very good. In fact, I'm feeling less irascible already.

I invite you to join me and make a commitment of your own here, today or at any time. Remember that it doesn't have to be large to work. Some days I've gotten myself started by committing to a mere 5 minutes.

My Writing Breakthrough

So I made my roughly annual visit to my psychotherapist, bringing what seemed to me an intractable writing problem.

THE PROBLEM: I didn't have a reliable sense of how many times I have to say things in a story to make them clear to most people. I'd write something that I felt hammered the reader over the head with the point. Yet not everybody got it. And I'm talking about people with good sense.

In no time, Nick Stratas (my doc) offered a plain and simple and effective solution. So simple it seemed like a no-brainer. And yet I, and later my writing group, were stunned by the power of it, and the fact that none of us had thought of it after 23 years of meeting, a stack of published books, several movie deals, a couple of stage adaptations, and decades of writing struggles.

EVOLUTION OF THE SOLUTION:

Nick: How long does it take you to figure out the point of one of your novels?

Peggy: One full draft.

Nick: And then you write that down and keep it in front of you while you write?

Peggy: No.

Nick: Why not?

Peggy: Because I know the point by then.

Nick: It takes you a full draft to discover it!!! This is preconscious material. It can slip away. That's why people keep a notebook beside their bed. I wake up with some wonderful idea and by the time I go to the bathroom, it's gone.

Peggy: (flooded with memories of times of re-remembering the point of a story, after not thinking of it for months) Oh. (pause) Yeah. (pause) You're right. (in wonderment) Jeez.

THE PUNCHLINE: Write down the embarrassingly simple idea that underlies the story. Keep it visible during writing times.

Turns out the problem hadn't been that I didn't know how to be clear; it was that I periodically forgot what I was talking about.

THE CHEEKINESS OF IT ALL: It takes confidence on the part of an advisor to make such a simple suggestion. A few years back I visited a notably astute psychic on my January birthday, a tradition I maintained for while. My annual question was: how do I make the most of what's going on for me in the next year? On one visit her answer was: eat more vegetables.

What a letdown. And how true. It would be easy to think that it's necessary to look good by saying something more complicated. It takes boldness to say the simple effective thing.

MY WRITING BREAKTHROUGH: Putting the idea in front of me is working. That's what it took to get fully clear.

Stay Loyal to Your Writing Passions

On a blog called Daytips for Writers I just ran across a reference to a Ray Bradbury book which jogged my memory of a chat with him on the QE2. Which led me to tell his story on that blog, and now to bring it back here. I'd like to make sure I NEVER FORGET it again.

I interviewed Bradbury when I was writing an article on writers at work on the ship's transatlantic crossing (Francis Ford Coppola was finishing a script on that same voyage.)

Bradbury told a story about staying true to our callings. He was saying that we need to stick with our passions, however odd they may seem to others. He told about being into some cartoon spaceman for years after he was considered too old for that kind of interest. Kids made fun of him and he went home and threw out his collection of Captain Whoever.

Then as an adult he tried to succeed as a writer of mainstream nonscifi fiction. Didn't work.

On a lark, he went back to his old interest, wrote a story about a dragon. Years later he picked up the phone. It was the director John Huston. He had run across the old story about the dragon, wanted Bradbury to write a script for him that had the same feel to it. The story was about a white whale. The movie Moby Dick turned out to be Bradbury's breakthrough. And all because he came back to the fantastical that was his love.

A Courage Tip: Nerve in the Curve

I don't remember where I came across the idea. I have a vague sense it was in the book LEARNED OPTIMISM by Martin Seligman (worth reading in any event.) But wherever it was, this idea I now think of as NERVE IN THE CURVE.

It seems some study showed that the race drivers who won races were most often the ones who didn't slow down on the curves.

The way I translate that for myself as a writer is: don't back off from my strategy at times when things have gotten difficult. Just ride through those tough periods full steam, focused on what's up ahead, doing what I planned and giving that plan a full chance.

EXAMPLE: going ahead full-tilt finishing my novel SISTER INDIA though it took three months longer than I'd planned and put me into my line-of-credit (in debt) for a while. I did sell the novel, and I did come out okay with the bank.

There's always a point in a project when I start getting nervous about whether I should be putting as much time or money into it as I first planned. My knee-jerk impulse is to slow down. Sometimes it might be the right thing to do. Or it might be like slowing down the boat when you're pulling a water skier. The skier sinks. Withdrawing fuel from a project at a crucial moment can make that project sink.

So when things get a little scary, I remind myself: nerve in the curve, Peggy. It might make sense to back off, but it doesn't make sense to get wobbly just because I'm running into the predictable delays and risks and difficulties. It doesn't make sense to slow out of a reflexive fear.

I hope these mixed sports metaphors make sense. Tell me if I didn't quite get it across.

Short Bursts of Writing

It's late on a Friday--been working on revising my novel COBALT BLUE. I found that I could work for only about 15 minutes before getting antsy and nervous. (The changes I'm making are small but BOLD) Some of the time it was abougt 3 minutes.

My jumpiness felt rather discouraging; it gave me the feeling that I wasn't going to get anything done today. Wrong--I got a lot done.

MY METHOD: I quit about every time I felt like it. Then went back to work 5 or 10 minutes later. It took me about 5 hours to do about 3 and a half hours worth of writing. And toward the end of the afternoon, I was starting to be able to stay with it longer.

I consider this approach a variation of the LOWERED EXPECTATIONS approach, essentially it's to do what I can. I'm happy with the way it turned out this time.

I don't think I was evading any subject matter by quitting so often. But next round I think I'm going to experiment and explore that possibility.

Why I Write Spooky, Literary, Metaphysical Fiction

I used to be a newspaper and TV reporter, covered politics and school boards, one motorcycle gang shootout, a few fish kills, a lot of other odd occurrences. Then as a travel writer for magazines and newspapers, I tended to accidentally turn up wherever events were about to explode: in Israel for a war with Lebanon, in India in a city where riots broke out, in Poland in time for the second round of Solidarity strikes.

As a novelist, I still fancy myself a reporter of sorts. I'm interested in "things unseen," the shapes and stirrings in our deepest recesses, in mystical experiences of the divine, in the paranormal and the barely conceivable.

MY METHODS: I meditate, though not very much
I write a fast see-what's-there chunk of story
I revise to develop-what's-there
I get feedback from the writing group/class I've been a member of for
22 years
I do more exploratory drafts and more polishing drafts
Maybe get more feedback
And all the while I count on what floats up into my consciousness, the
unexpected connections and images

GETTING THE DEEP IMAGES:
The surprise thoughts rise to my mind usually after two things have
happened: I've prepared the ground by writing about whatever it
is I'm currently most drawn to, and then I've taken a break and done
something physical like exercise, taking a shower, sleeping, raking.

EXAMPLE: In the case of the the novel I'm working on now, COBALT BLUE, the deep connection came to me while I was doing something rather quietly
physical: sitting out on my porch with Bob on a summer night,
thinking about nothing but the slight stirring of the damp air.

What came to my mind on that porch was the phrase: "it's kundalini." I
knew that the "it's" referred to the major event in my novel. In COBALT BLUE, the main character Andie has a sudden mysterious inner rush, followed by a blast of creativity as well as some rather extreme sexual episodes.

There were psychological reasons for this of course. But then this word
that I didn't know the meaning of showed up. I had overheard it
once but didn't know what it meant.

Kundalini, I learned, is a concept of unused life
force stored in every person. When the kundalini
spontaneously "rises wrong" a person can get more than they can
handle. The word is Sanskrit, but the idea exists in the history of
many religions.

I felt the idea slide into the story as if the story had been built
for it in every detail.

So I think of myself as a reporter, doing a sort of reconnaissance. I'm watching for what shows up and,in my way, reporting it. I want to know what's there.