The Depot Coffee House
Week two of NaNoWriMo has been rough. Rough.
At week end, I managed to punch out: 5,049 words.
It’s ok, but I wanted a bit more. I won’t lie.
I had to pause at the beginning of the week to take in the unfortunate outcome of the Election.
Yep. That happened.
I found it difficult to ideate for a few days; my mind was distracted, full of "what ifs?" / "why?" and "hows?!".
Even though I am disheartened, I have to keep writing.
I found an article circulating on twitter through lit hub, that offers solace in the wake of the terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad news.
Deep. Breath.
Ok.
Moving on:
I’m at a point in my story where I’ve run into some brick walls; I’ve gotten past the introductions where I set the stage for the larger story, so that’s good.
Bravo, lady!
I’ve made it clear to the reader[s] who [some] of my characters are, and what I’m shooting for in terms of goals.
[I’m still kind of questioning some of this - I'll work it out].
The other day, I picked up a book at the library entitled, “This Is Not A Writing Manual,” by author Kerri Majors.
Truth be told - the cover art stood out and I had to grab it!
It’s sort of a non-conventional, words-of-wisdom [less of a how-to] type of book, as implied by the title.
Basically: lessons that have been learned throughout her writing career.
After thumbing over a few of the chapters, I came across, “Leave Your Ego At The Door.”
Majors opens with a couple of quotes from other esteemed authors/poets:
“I also have long loved Keat’s idea of “negative capability” and find it tremendously helpful in the creative process and in life in general.”
- Gibson Fay-Leblanc
“Nobody prepared me for how goddamn much of myself would be in whatever I wrote, and how I had better be comfortable with those parts of myself before I put pen to paper.”
- Bradley Philbert
She goes on to define negative capability in the words of Gibson, from an article he published:
“…negative capability, that is when man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts without any irritable reaching after fact and reason…when we can sit with our doubts, when we can take risks, embrace danger, and overcome the fear that all might be lost, that is we -- as writers, as organizations, as humans have the most to gain.”
As I’m writing my story - this narrative of mine that is largely based on my own experience, it becomes crucial to tap into the neglected emotion from every major event. I mentioned in another post how cathartic writing this would be...
A moment of honesty, please: sometimes, SOMETIMES, I don’t want to go there.
But it’s necessary. I’m discovering that many of these “scenarios” had remained untouched for a very long time.
This exploration creates a better understanding of myself and perhaps the people who were around me, way back then. That level of intimacy is profound.
Majors talks a lot of about being brave:
“Do you think that to live the life of a writer, in a constant state of “negative capability” – with all of the doubts and risks associated with that life – that you need to be brave?...even if you didn’t put a single detail of your own life into your fiction, you’ve put your heart and soul into it. You are very much on every page of that story.” [p. 54 / 56].
In other cases, re-writing history in the way that it should’ve gone, not as it was, gives me an out. I get to look at the situation in question, from another angle – reframe it as I want.
It’s important for both myself and my reader[s] to identify with the characters; to somehow resonate with their experiences.
In the grand scheme of things – it’s all universal.
It really is.
Ha.
Mood Music: Because [cover] - The Beatles
[Sorry, I couldn't find the original! This one is pretty good though - I love this song!]