Dance with the One That Brought You
What do you mean I have to write this?
Oh hi there!
If you missed my first post, which explains a bit of my motivation for this project, you can find it right here: https://magicmikewrites.substack.com/p/the-sequel
I’m late this week because of the holiday weekend, but here I am. And I’m here with an exercise that I myself needed this week. Even though I’m big on “following my energy” there comes a time every now and then where I need to write something creative and am not in the mood to write that specific thing (or write at all). Sometimes it is because of a deadline and other times it is because we need to prove to ourselves that we can finish something.
This exercise might also help a bit if you’re struggling with writer’s block.
I’m not having writer’s block at the moment, but I have had some rough moments emotionally (as I assume we all have as we are stuck trying to live in pre-pandemic, pandemic, and post-pandemic worlds all at the same time). And so I need some help getting my eye back on the prize.
The Exercise:
While some writing exercises are like surgery, where the are clear instructions for every aspect, this exercise is more diagnostic in nature. We are going to poke and prod our own brains, or works-in-progress, and our writing energy. Think of that story you can’t seem to finish, that piece where the ending doesn’t seem right, that essay that is due next Friday. Think about what you like about it and what you don’t like about it. Measure your anxiety and frustration as you weave through the maze of it in your head.
The Steps:
Okay, we’ve got a cup of coffee handy. We’ve got a few minutes to work. Now pull out that blasted story that you can’t finish. Or, if it has been lurking in your head but refuses to pour out, gather all of the brain goop it takes up in your head and put it into a bucket right behind your eyeballs. The way we start this is with an audit of everything we’ve got. If what you’ve got is in your head, start putting some of that down on paper. If what you’ve got is in your notebook or in your computer, re-read and feel free to take new notes as you go along. As you re-read, do as I said above; measure your feelings, positive and negative, and keep track of what stresses you out and what makes you feel hopeful.
Now that you’re up to speed on what you’ve already done, it’s time to think about what the piece needs. The first part of this is structural, and this is particularly important if this is something with a due date. Does this piece have a beginning, a middle, and an end? If there are structural deficiencies, then you need to fix those - or at least throw some tape over them - before you get to the fun stuff. Are you missing a conflict that you know the story needs, or a climax? At the very least, put a big old note in the part of the piece that something is missing from a write out what you intend to do there. My drafts are littered with highlighted, bold notes to myself that say things like “THIS IS WHERE THEY KISS.”
Once that structure is more-or-less in place (or outlined), now we need to figure out how we’re going to get this piece to the finish line. This is where you need to think honestly with yourself about how you feel about each part of your piece. If you have no inclination to write something then it is very unlikely anyone is going to want to read it. So figure out what you do want to write. If you have no interest in writing a love scene but know your characters need to fall in love in that part of the story, write something like “and then they kissed, and it was love” and move on to the part you want to write. Having a structure in place allows us to bounce around and write where we want without having to worry too much about it all coming to together.
If you get any electricity, a buzz of any motivation from any specific aspect of your piece, jump on it. Maybe it started as a science fiction story about an alien but you’re much more interested in the spaceship. If the spaceship gets your pulse moving, write about the spaceship! Be really honest with yourself here - what got you excited about this topic in the first place? What do you feel like writing now, in this moment? What is something you recently got very excited about, and how can you channel that excitement into this piece?
As you write, keep the overall status of your project in mind. Make sure you’re filling the holes without feeling too beholden to the shape of the holes.
When you’ve reached your word count or your story has a coherent plot or your poem feels at least long enough, now you can put on your gloves and revise. I find that revision uses a different part of my writerly brain than generative writing, so even if I struggle to finish a story revision can go quite easily. Remember to start small. Fix what obviously needs fixing while keeping track of bigger picture items.
Bask in your success!
What I’m Reading:
I got Rainbow Rowell’s Any Way the Wind Blows yesterday and I’m not ready for the Simon Snow trilogy to be over. Rowell is so good at following her characters where they want to go. Though I selfishly wish sometimes that she would just give me the instant gratification I want, her books really make her characters real and then lets them fly.
I’m still listening T.J. Klune’s The House in the Cerulean Sea on audiobook and I’m charmed by how committed the book is to blossoming at its own pace. Little moments feel earned because we are made to wait for them.
Go read PJ Vernon’s Bath Haus this second. I need to write a whole spiel about it, but I loved, loved, loved it and want you to go enjoy it right this second. What a thriller! What Vernon does so well is that even though his book is breaking down barriers and pushing buttons it does all of the foundational things so well. Such a beautiful mix of old and new, of fresh and classic.
What I’m Watching:
I watched a Japanese found-footage movie called Noroi: The Curse and it is so scary and so weird. The less you know going in, the better (except definitely check for appropriate trigger warnings, it gets pretty grim).
I also watched the first of the new Fear Street trilogy and I think they did a really good job of it. I loved the queer elements and I think the filmmakers did particularly well in capturing the spirit of the books. And while it isn’t the scariest scary movie ever, it is pretty fast-paced. I wish they would have gotten a little weirder with it and I wish the villain was scarier/more tangible, but it left me really excited for the next two movies. Also, I can’t get over how much Maya Hawke sounds like her mother (Uma Thurman). They have such interesting voices!
What I’m Playing:
I’m still deep into the new Ratchet & Clank (which is so gorgeous I feel like I’m playing a Pixar Movie) but my husband has been binging Assassin’s Creed and though I don’t know what the gameplay is like I’m just boggled by how well they recreated Ancient Greece in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. I spent a beautiful, formative month in Greece back in 2004 and watching him play the game makes me feel like I’m there again!
Where I’m Shopping
I ordered Leonora Carrington’s Major Arcana tarot deck from Fulgur Press a few months ago an it was the perfect purchase. It came beautifully wrapped (and with its own signature scent). In their own words, Fulgur Press “is the leading independent publisher for esotericism and magic in visual culture.” If you get the chance to order directly from them, go ahead and do it, because they’ve got such a flair for the dramatic!
My Work:
So I’ve needed the above exercise a lot of times. Last year, my friend Christina Wood had just opened submissions for her beautiful echoverse and I wanted to get something to her before the deadline. I had this story that was kind of based on a book I read to my kids (Heckedy Peg) but it just wasn’t moving. So I went in and figured out what parts of the story I was actually excited about, I ended up writing a new version of “The Lady of Shalott” - which was a surprise! Here’s how it turned out: “Evergreen”
Okay, that’s it for this week. Do something magical!
Mike