Write Within Yourself: An Author's Companion by William Kenower

By Kate Phillips

          When I started out to become a writer, I didn’t know any writers except the ones I read and loved. I didn’t know how to write an article or a book or what comprised a workday. I only knew I wanted to write, too.

          Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg gave me an on ramp into the writing life. As I have mentioned previously, it was a great help to start a writing career.

Since then, I’ve become a professional writer. I know and edit many writers, but the writing process is different for each one of us. Because I write alone, I'm always looking for writing companions.

I’ve found a few books like: For Writers Only: Inspiring thoughts on the exquisite pain and heady joy of the writing life from its great practitioners by Sophy Burnham; The Writer’s Home Companion by Joan Bolker, Ed.D.; Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury; The War of Art: Break Through Your Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield; The Writing Life by Ellen Gilchrist; Blue Pastures by Mary Oliver; The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life by Julia Cameron; Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott; and Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman. As for blogs, I recommend Writing Wednesdays by Steven Pressfield and Kristin Lamb’s award-winning blog.

While browsing for something to read recently, I came across Write Within Yourself: An Author’s Companion by William Kenower. In his 80 concise essays about writing, Kenower shares some life stories, beliefs, insights, advice, topics to consider, successes, failures as well as quotes from other writers.

On pages 12 & 13:

Every day when writers sit down to write, they must ask themselves this question of, “What do I most want to say?” over and over again…

…What do I most want?

Life, and well-being, is really as simple as that…that question remains the most courageous , the most meaningful, and also the most frightening  question you will ever answer…as a writer, if you answer authentically you may see a combination of words on the page that you have never read before, which is both exhilarating and frightening…

On page 97:

Through writing you can learn the endlessly practical discipline of trust. You learn to trust because you are forever the judge and jury of all decisions in your life, and writing draws this fact into stark relief. You must trust yourself finally, or nothing will ever get written.

          On page 149:

…I only got to discover that I love to write once. And yet writing, like some marriages, can be a constant discovery. As with writing, love is not some destination but a portal, a window through which to see life as I intend to lead it.

          On page 159:

So do not think about writing beautifully, think only about writing clearly and about what you care the most. Let the words take the shape of whatever your clarity demands, and then let it go. If you manage to say precisely what you mean, you will have provided another person the opportunity to share in what you love, and there is little in the world more beautiful than that.

         

          Like the other companion books I listed, Write Within Yourself sits on a shelf near my writing desk. I write alone, but I have a support system.

Short Edition: Vending Machines for Literature

By Kate Phillips 

          On the July 10th on the CBS Sunday Morning show during “The Man in Paris” segment, reporter David Turecamo discussed vending machines for literature spread around Grenoble, France. Patrons can choose free stories that take one, three, or five minutes to read while they are waiting in line. The machines choose the stories randomly based only on the chosen time frame then print them out on long, narrow rolls of paper.

When the inventors of the Short Edition vending machines showed the mayor a prototype, he had the first one placed in Grenoble’s Town Hall. Now there are eight machines in municipal buildings around the city including the Tourist Information Office.

Since word has spread about these machines, the inventors are receiving requests to place them all over the world. Short Edition has ordered 45 machines to start meeting the demand. Hopefully, there will be one near each of us eventually.

In the five years since Short Edition began, there are now 10,000 contributing authors and about 150,000 regular readers. The best of the stories are published in a Short Edition book each year.

This is great news for writers who want to contribute their work and for anyone stuck in a line without something to read.

For more information, visit the CBS Sunday Morning web site or, if you can read French, short-edition.com.

Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It by Steven Pressfield

By Kate Phillips

Normally this week’s post would be an essay on writing, but I just finished Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t: Why That Is And What You Can Do About It by Steven Pressfield. It’s a perfect companion to last week’s writing book recommendation Invisible Ink by Brian McDonald.

I’ve been a fan of Steven Pressfield since I read The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. I reviewed it on this blog in my first post. It’s the book that turned me into a professional writer. Do yourself a favor and read it, then reread it.

In Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t, Pressfield recounts how he became a writer as well as sharing all the truths he learned about writing along the way. Like McDonald in Invisible Ink, Pressfield uses movies and TV shows to illustrate his points—showing, not just telling—because using a story structure works for any genre that you want to appeal to an audience.

                    Why?

Because a story (whether it’s a movie, a play, a novel, or a piece of nonfiction) is experienced by the reader on the level of the soul. And the soul has a universal structure of narrative receptors…

The soul judges a story’s truth by how closely it comports to the narrative templates that are a part of our psyche from birth… (pp. 63-64)

          For his screenplays, Pressfield recommends: Start with an Inciting Incident, deal with the villain, then transformation of the hero completes the story.

How can you tell when you’ve got a good Inciting Incident? When the movie’s climax is embedded in within it. (page 75). Followed by chapters: “The Second Act Belongs to the Villain” (pp. 76-77) and “Every Character Must Represent Something Greater Than Himself” (pp.78-79) to set the story. Chapters “Write for a Star” (pp. 94-95); “The All is Lost Moment” (page 104); and “Give Your Villain a Brilliant Speech” (pp. 108-109) round out your work.

          Pressfield discusses his “overnight success” when he publishes his first novel at the age of fifty-one on pp. 120-121. Here he lists nine storytelling secrets followed by a list of ten skills he learned in twenty-seven years of writing.

          His chapter “Fiction is Truth” on page 122 is essential reading as are “Narrative Device” on pp. 124-125 and “Novels are Dangerous” on pp. 128-129.

          From fiction, Pressfield moves to nonfiction in “A Non-Story is a Story” including a list of eight universal principles of storytelling (pp 148-149) and to self-help in “Flashback: Narrative Device in The War of Art” (172-173) and “Flashback: Hero and Villain in The War of Art” on page 174 to reveal how many of the same principles apply.

In The Artist’s Calling section, I loved “There is a Muse” on page 181 and “The Artist’s Skill” on page 184.

I also read and love Steven Pressfield’s blog, Writing Wednesdays, too.

I just started reading Brian McDonald’s blog, Ink Spots—also the title of another of his books.

Invisible Ink by Brian McDonald

By Kate Phillips

         

In his book Invisible Ink: A Practical Guide to Building Stories That Resonate, Brian McDonald shares brilliant insights about writing using well-known movie screenplays as well as novels as examples. Once you become aware of “invisible ink”, you will see it wherever it appears. If you truly take in what McDonald reveals, your writing will take on new dimensions.

McDonald discusses “visible ink”—dialogue and language—readily seen by the reader or viewer versus “invisible ink”—how events are ordered, what events occur, how characters behave—not easily spotted by readers, viewers, and listeners. (page 2)

The greatest truth in this book: Invisible ink is the writing below the surface of the words. Most people will never see or notice it, but they will feel it. If you learn to use it, your work will feel polished, professional, and it will have a profound impact on your audience. (page 3) What more does any writer want than to make a profound impact on his or her audience?

McDonald writes in a simple straightforward style. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you already know what he is talking about. He has spent years studying “invisible ink” so follow his instructions to find it by re-watching movies, reading screenplays, or rereading novels. Simple does not mean easy. His advice is worth the effort.

Here are a few of McDonald’s examples:

In Finding Nemo, the father desperately tries to keep his son safe by never letting him out of his sight…What happens? His son is taken away…This is his personal hell.

This is one of the ways to apply invisible ink to your work, but it will yield powerful results…Find the thing your character would rather die than do and make them do it. (page 60)                                        

Because the scene with Don Corleone and Bonasera is the first scene in the film [section of The Godfather screenplay is included in book], it becomes invisible ink. The audience has no idea that this scene will help them understand the rest of the film. Like all forms of invisible ink, it works on a subconscious level. (pp. 64-65)

You want to see truth in fiction? Watch Jimmy Stewart’s breakdown in It’s a Wonderful Life, just before he decides to kill himself. It’s about as real and truthful as anything you will ever see on film. Capra is known for being lighthearted, but when he got dark, he always told the truth. If you want to affect people deeply, tell the truth. (page 76)

          Here are a few of McDonald’s insights:

Writers with the least experience and skill think that the more complicated something is, the better. But…their work comes off clumsy and unfocused. If you want to come off like a mature writer, be precise. (page 21)

The worst of us has good in him and the best of us has some bad. That is a truth that many of us want to deny, but as storytellers it is the truth we must illuminate.

The truth will always be sadder, happier, funnier, scarier, and more profound than the best lie. More importantly, the audience never “sees” it, but does feel it. (page 78)

Invisible ink is all about communicating with your audience clearly and getting it to feel and think what it needs to so it will experience your story. (page 116)

          I highly recommend this book to all writers! Also read Brian McDonald's Ink Spots, his blog as well as a book.

The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth

By Kate Phillips 
 

As a reader, I always love finding books that appeal to me. As a writer, I am twice as pleased when the authors also provide masterclasses within their books.

          Masterclasses take place when performance artists and musicians work one-on-one with students. Writers don’t generally have this option, but I have found some books to be masterclasses for characters, backstories, plots, settings, voice and/or creativity.

 

          We know when something sounds right or wrong as we read and write, but we don’t always know why. In The Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase, Mark Forsyth (The Inky Fool blogger) explains it all in delightful detail.

          With verve and wit, British author Forsyth illustrates figures of speech from alliteration to zeugmas with examples from Shakespeare to Sting.

          On pages 45-46:

“Hyperbaton is when you put words in an odd order…[J.R.R.] Tolkien wrote his first story aged seven…about a ‘green great dragon.’ He showed it to his mother who told him…that it had to be a great green one instead.

“The reason for Tolkien’s mistake…is that adjectives in English absolutely have to be in this order: opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose Noun…It’s an odd thing that every English speaker uses this list, but almost none of us could write it out.

 “…Have you ever heard that patter-pitter of tiny feet? Or the dong-ding of a bell? Or hop-hip music? That’s because when you repeat a word with a different vowel, the order is always I A O.”

         

On pages 113-114:

“Roses are red. Violets are blue. That, at its simplest, is isocolon. Two clauses that are grammatically parallel…Cassius Clay said ‘Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee’…And when Rick tells Ilsa ‘Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be any part of…’”

 

Forsyth proposes there are formulas to some of these elements that can be used to great effect in our writing, too.

 

          On pages 23-24:

“…in essence antitheses are simple: first you mention one thing: then you mention another…Oscar Wilde was the master of these, with lines like ‘The well-bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves.’…‘Journalism is unreadable, and literature is not read’…

“…these are all just plays on the basic formula…: X is Y, and not X is not Y.”

 

On pages 70-73:

“Diacope…is a verbal sandwich: a word or phrase is repeated after a brief interruption. You take two Bonds and stuff a James in the middle...a structure of A B A. But you can extend that to A A B A…‘Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?’”

 

          On pages 92-93:

“When you end each sentence [or clause] with the same word [or clause], that’s epistrophe.

“This means half the songs ever written are just extended examples…Whether it’s Leonard Cohen ending every verse with hallelujah…[or] When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s also epistrophe because it always ends with amore…

“When the music stops, epistrophe can…be…jabbing at the air for emphasis. That’s the sort that Abraham Lincoln used when he said “government of the people, by the people, for the people…”

 

          Even though I’ll never remember all 43 literary terms Forsyth illustrates, I’m now more conscious of turns of phases as I read and write. That’s why I recommend this book: It’s both a pleasure to read and to use for reference—a true masterclass.

 

The Inky Fool blog by Mark Forsyth

By Kate Phillips

          I recently discovered a witty blog entitled The Inky Fool: On Words, Phrases, Grammar, Rhetoric and Prose by Mark Forsyth. As a reader and writer, words have always fascinated me—and now so does this blog.

I love to learn new words and tsundoku, from Japan, is my latest favorite since I read about it in Forsyth’s post on January 7th. He shares: “…I’m not entirely clear whether tsundoku is the act of buying a book and not reading it, or the pile of books thusly abandoned on a bedside table. Or maybe it’s both.”

His funny discussion about his two tsundokus inspired me to look at mine. However, I confess I have more than two.

To be perfectly honest, I have a small tsundoku next to the bed and another on top of a bookcase near the bed. There is a medium-sized tsundoku on a table in my reading corner as well as on a chair, but my biggest tsundoku is on the shelves of a bookcase dedicated solely for this purpose in my office.

I never had a name for these piles before. Now I can tell anyone—living here or visiting—who makes disparaging comments about them that they are, in fact, tsundokus. If there is a name for them, then they have the right to exist!

I need to read so books are constantly coming into my living space. I try to keep them in organized tsundokus. The ones I want to read the most go near the bed or in my reading corner. The rest I place in the bookcase for future browsing when I’m looking for something new to read or review for this blog.

While most of my tsundokus may look chaotic, they aren’t. I can keep track of the location of these books as I only buy ones that truly interest me. So while they may sit around for a bit, I will read them…but not right now as The Elements of Eloquence: Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase by Mark Forsyth, The Inky Fool, has captured my attention.

 

Writing Careers Are Possible

From Kate's Writing Crate…

 

        My writing career started when I was an unhappy accountant and I signed up for my first writing class after writing in notebooks and journals for years. I arrived an hour before the evening class started every week as it was close to my office, but far from home. The second person to arrive was always the new owner of a local community magazine—a fortuitous benefit for following my dreams.

When the class session ended, the magazine owner hired another classmate to be the editor of her new second magazine. I signed on as a freelance writer and the proofreading intern. I moved up to assistant editor then editor of one magazine leaving accounting behind forever! Eventually, I became the editor of both magazines.

I still write one to four articles and an essay each month which means the fun of interviewing authors, volunteers at the local senior center and animal shelter; the women's club behind the Clown Town fundraiser; the Rotary Club's annual ALS Race; the Turkey Trot organizers; the National Guard Air Show; Movies on the Beach events; locals bands and choruses; art festivals; an American Red Cross Hero, and people dealing heroically with all kinds of cancer and other health issues including a brave and cheerful five-year-old boy 18 months into chemo and radiation for a brain tumor. He wants to be a police officer when he grows up and mentioned he would like to meet a K-9 team. The local police station and an officer arranged to take him to school in a squad car as well as meet a K-9 officer and his dog.

These articles let residents know about upcoming events as well as about neighbors helping others and those neighbors in need of help. It feels good to be part of a vibrant, caring community. Writing articles makes a difference in people's lives and my own.

I am a writer. I have known that since I learned to read. I was side-tracked into another career as writing isn't revered in this country until you are a bestselling or well-known author.

While being a New York Times' bestselling author (NYTBSA) may be most writers' goal, there are many other writing careers available to us. Even as I was told there was no money in writing, there are millions of publications and web sites that have pages and space that need filling daily, weekly, and monthly.

        Okay, you probably need to write a lot before you get paid so start filling a notebook a month as soon as you can as per Natalie Goldberg in Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. The more you write the more you improve. Also, read Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott for inspiration and a reality check.

Writers write so write no matter what!

        Start a writing project—book, essay, article, poem, post, etc. Then finish it!

Blogs are a great way to get going. Start one. Now you have a weekly deadline. Meet it!

For inspiration, read blogs like MegWaiteClayton.com/1stbooks and Kristen Lamb's warriorwriters.wordpress.com.

Take a writing class and/or join or start a writing group. Support and discussions about improving writing are essential.

Read local publications. See if there is space for writers to submit letters, essays, etc. Then submit something or email/call to ask about writing opportunities. Working with editors who give you feedback will improve your writing and get you published.

When you feel ready, go on web sites like Thumbtack to find freelance opportunities across the country. Make sure you complete assignments and turn them in on time. Build a reputation as a writer who works quickly and competently, and editors will contact you with assignments as well as remember you when they move from one publication to another gaining you a larger audience and more money.

Usually the rights to your assigned articles revert to you after publication. Don't forget, you can tweak articles to work for other publications. For example, if you write about a person or event in the northeast for a local publication, Yankee Magazine might be interested in the same topic. Double pay is a good thing!

The Writers' Digest is a helpful resource to find publications interested in your submissions. Why not make the most of your hard work? This also gets you more bylines which then makes it easier to be accepted by other publications.

Agents, editors, and publishers read magazines and blogs. Writers have received representation and book and movie offers based on their work published in these venues.

You never know who is reading your work or where it may lead. The important thing is to write and to keep writing. Then send your work out into the world. If your goal is to be a writer, NYTBSA or otherwise, start writing now!

 

Fun with Six-Word Memoirs(R) edited by Larry Smith

By Kate Phillips 

I have fun writing very short pieces based on the book Not Quite What I Was Planning, Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure edited by Larry Smith, Founding Editor of Smith Magazine.
 

If you can't think of anything to write on a given day, write about you and your life using only six words. I know it doesn't sound like you can say a lot, but you really can. For examples, visit www.smithmag.net, home of the Six-Word Memoir® project.

 

 

The genre has become so popular, there are three more books available: It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure, I Can't Keep My Own Secrets: Six-Word Memoirs by Teens Famous & Obscure, and Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak by Writers Famous and Obscure all edited by Larry Smith.
 

I have shared this tip with all the writers I know. It's addictive and, best of all, gets you writing. Some of my friends and co-workers now make sure to include Six-Word Memoirs® in conversations and emails. It's also a wonderful exercise for people of almost any age to engage in while sitting around the dinner table, during long car trips, or just to sum up relationships or situations at work.
 

It's essential to provide yourself with inspiration so you can stay at your desk—or wherever you write—until you have finished your project or met your daily goals. That's how your writing dreams come true.

 

 

Have you tried writing Six-Word Memoirs®?

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

By Kate Phillips 

         

There are numerous writing books I have found helpful, but the one that turned me into a true professional is The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield. This book concentrates on overcoming Resistance so you will write whatever you dream of writing. Other books help you get started or improve your writing, but this one motivates you not only to begin, but to keep going, and to finish novels and other projects which is what makes you a professional writer.

         

My copy is filled with underlined sentences, circled passages, and marginalia. On days I don't feel like writing, I pick this book up, open to a random page, and read until my writing drive kicks in. This routine hasn't failed me since I bought the book a few years ago.

         

I believe in The War of Art so much, I have two copies—one on my desk and the other readily available in my reading nook where I occasionally write. I often wonder how much farther along I would be as a writer if I had found this book when it was published in 2002.

         

I also recommend reading "Writing Wednesdays" at StevenPressfield.com. On April 7, 2010 he wrote:  

"To have a practice, you must have a space. But it is the practice that makes the space. The daily application of intention, the seeking of excellence over time saturates the studio with power and energy."

         

Give yourself that power and energy—write!

          

 

Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life's Work by Steven Pressfield was published recently. I recommend it, too.

          
Has The War of Art by Steven Pressfield inspired you?