A writer sets her pen down

What a concept! A day off! Most of us manage to write while having day jobs, families, and other massive sets of responsibilities. I encourage you to take a day off. This may not seem like a wise suggestion if you haven’t been at your writing desk for a while. The fact is that you’ve probably been ruminating about your writing every moment that you’re not penning your ideas or story down. You can still have a productive day as a writer, maybe more so without the guilt, by planning a non-writing day.

Scan life with your writer’s eyes: Enjoy the visuals. See life colorfully; imagine it in play form, or as a movie. Do the players do what you’d expect? Are their mannerisms exaggerated? How would you describe that on paper?

Scan life with your writer’s ears: Do your neighbors dogs bark every night at the same time? Do you ever wonder what goes on? Does your woman upstairs drag herself up the steps, how would you really describe that sound? What feelings come up around that? Scary, empathetic, annoyed? Describe to yourself. Really listen.

Scan life with your writer’s taste buds: A coworker once told me I was earthy because she spied me pick up a fruit with my hands that everyone was cutting with a knife and fork at the lunch table. Think about the foods you eat. What words would describe the eating experience? Earthy, sloppy, or even primitive?

Scan life with your writer’s nose: City folk have always jumped from one train car to another after taking one whiff of one unwashed person. Has your character had to do the same or was she enticed by the aroma of aftershave lotion on the guy standing close to her by the doors?

Scan life with your writer’s skin:  Does the breeze feel good on your skin? I bet it would for your protagonist too. He may love the feel of the warmth moving toward him from the south. On the other hand, your antagonist may abhor the chill felt when she left the scene of the murder.

Make this day off a writer’s holiday or play day! Savor it and when you’re next sitting with your writing implements, go inside yourself and bring them forward. I’ll bet your writing will be very different!

 

Not reading?

OK, so you’re a writer. Readers write and writers read. I’ve attended writers’ conferences and have heard editors and agents bemoan the fact that writers tell them that they don’t read. Writers give all sorts of excuses for not reading.

Here are four excuses writers have come up with:

"I’m too busy": There are slices of life where you can pick up a book, an ereader, newsletter, or journal. Try reading on the subway going to and from work or before going to bed at night. It’s a nice way to unwind from a busy day. Audio books work if you drive. While you may not see the grammar you will actually hear a story. That, in fact, is a bonus. We should all be reading what we’re writing too. It’s almost weird to see how many changes should be made after we’ve read our work aloud.  And yes, don’t forget you can always open a book in the bathroom. Short stories and magazine articles are perfect for when time is limited.

"I don’t want someone else’s writing to mess up mine": And how will that happen? If you have a story to tell already you won’t be tempted to pick up what you’re reading as your own. If you do, that may be another problem. That would be addressed in another blog post on plagiarism. A beginner writer may not have developed his or her own ‘voice’ as yet. Keep writing while you read. You’ll eventually find your voice. A beginner is a beginner and that’s okay.

"I may find out my book has already been written": Fat chance. Your story is your story. You may find similarities because we are human with shared life experiences. We all wake up in the morning, come across other people, usually take a shower or bath, and we all eat. I’m writing a mystery that incorporates Santeria, Spiritism and the LBGT folks. I hope to make it a series because I have lots of ideas. I recently read a novel –a mystery- that had all those themes except for the LGBT. I loved it. I’ve fantasized that my protagonist who is quite similar to that other protagonist will meet and confer over another mystery. I may actually contact that author and throw the idea out. to them. Don’t be afraid.

"My kids don’t let me read": Read with them. Pick up whatever level of book they’re reading. You may find out you are a YA writer! You may find out that goo-goo and ga-ga are the finest words in literature. Your children will love to hear you read to them. That’s how I got started. My mom sat us around the kitchen table and we learned the power of storytelling.

I encourage you to "make the time" to read because you may not "find the time". Your writing and potential agent or editor will thank you for it.

What stumbling blocks have kept you away from reading? We'd love to know...

Save the Date: New Voices Reading Series, 4.21.13

It's been a minute, I know. But in my defense, I've been busy. Enough small talk, though, because although this site has been quiet the New Voices Reading Series still lives.

We've had a bunch of fun and successful readings with exciting new writers from all four corners of the City, and I have a feeling that this next one will be even greater. La Casa Azul Bookstore in East Harlem has been our home for a couple of these readings and it's one of the best locations we've used since we began. I mean, if you can't get inspired by our performers AND all of the wonderful books (by Latino authors) on the shelves, then I can't help you.

In the meantime, save the date for our upcoming spring reading:

Sunday, April 21 

4-6 PM 

La Casa Azul Bookstore 

143 East 103rd Street 

NYC 

See you then!

xoxo,
Raquel Ivelisse

The Artist's Way: Week 5

As promised, I will be blogging lessons and activities from Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" every week to help you (and ME!) unleash the artist trapped underneath work deadlines, household responsibilities and the new fall TV lineup. So often we allow outside stressors keep us from finishing that script or novel or blog post, even though, out of everything we do all day, it's the one thing we want to do the most. Cameron's workshop is not a cure-all, but rather a way to get in the habit of putting your creative life among the other immediate priorities on your list.

Okay Week 5, I see you! This week Cameron gently attacks the limits we put upon our creative lives and asks us to be open to the possibilities of life. "One of the chief barriers to accepting god's generosity is our limited notion of what we are in fact able to accomplish." YUP. PREACH, Julia!!

I am 100% guilty of this, and my lackluster participation in the very workshop I initiated is more proof. Also, I say things to myself like:

"How are you ever going to get a writing career off the ground with all the other things you have to do?"

"You're too heavily in debt to ever dig your way out."

"Your writing is good, but it's not bestseller list, Stephen King good. Stick to blogging...which isn't that great either because how many views do you get? Right."

I have definitely lost sight of my own possibilities.

To help conquer this negative thinking Cameron invites us to participate in activities that expose the Virtue Trap we're in- always sacrificing the things we need for others. There's a wish list and tasks that ask what we'd do if we had the faith or money (and youth!) needed for the activity. She also makes you come face-to-face with what our payoff is for staying blocked. What are we getting out of this? Why do we like this payoff so much better than the rewards of a creative life? Tough questions but oh so necessary.

Think of the greatness we can unleash by just accepting our limitless possibilities!

xoxo,
Raquel Ivelisse

The Artist's Way: Week 4

As promised, I will be blogging lessons and activities from Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" every week to help you (and ME!) unleash the artist trapped underneath work deadlines, household responsibilities and the new fall TV lineup. So often we allow outside stressors keep us from finishing that script or novel or blog post, even though, out of everything we do all day, it's the one thing we want to do the most. Cameron's workshop is not a cure-all, but rather a way to get in the habit of putting your creative life among the other immediate priorities on your list.

WELP! Another week gone by where I swore I'd be more diligent about this but instead let life get in my way. But this weekend no kids = writing and workshopping til my fingers bleed. I'll even post pictures of my crumbled appendages/digits on Monday (not really. stop being gross!) In the meantime, Week 4...

In this week's chapter, Cameron dares us to be true with ourselves and what we end up pouring out onto the morning pages. She points out that we're too accustomed to saying we're "okay" when in fact we're everything but. Therefore you're invited to (re)discover your true self: the one that can admit their marriage is a failure, their friendships are toxic, their job is stifling.

"The process of identifying a self inevitably involves loss as well as gain," writes Cameron. "We discover our boundaries, and those boundaries by definition separate us from our fellows."

While doing this workshop you might realize that you'd rather keep the veil on all these truths, maybe even quit the morning pages that forced you to come face-to-face with it all. But this is precisely what you must not do. Stick with it. Be your true self. Live your true life. It will ultimately help you create!

Week 4 exercises include one that helps uncover your 'buried dreams' (oh that's going to be interesting!) and another that challenges you to participate in 'reading deprivation' (GASP!). The latter is meant to remove distractions from your life and help you BE in the moment.

Cameron invites us to surrender to these truths and let go of the things holding you back that you didn't even know were holding you back! "Art lies in the moment of encounter: we meet our truth and we meet ourselves; we meet ourselves and we meet our self-expression."

Remember that when your reality make you want to give up. Until next week...

xoxo,
Raquel Ivelisse