Ask the Author: Nancy Schoellkopf
Answered Questions (2)
Nancy Schoellkopf
When I was young, writing was something my teachers told me I was good at, so I pursued it like a ghost or white whale. Decades later I have learned to relax and own the honor of calling myself a poet and novelist. The best thing now about being a writer is leaning back on the couch, a feline companion or two at my elbows, my notebook balanced in my lap, as I allow my imagination to lead me where it will. I am grateful that writing has taught me to trust the collaboration of heart, mind and right hand as they create a story whose ending will surprise me as much as it will my readers. Writing has claimed me. It is my spiritual practice. It shapes my days.
Nancy Schoellkopf
Here are a few things that have worked for me. Try them and let me know how it goes.
1. Meditate.
2. Go swimming.
3. Sit in the center of your house where it's quiet and there are no windows and scream.
4. Go to a hardware store and collect paint chips. Choose three or six or nine colors that have amazing names, arrange the names like a poem, then chant them like a mantra. Trust me: bliss.
5. Read. Read poetry. Read the latest piece of literary fiction on the NYT best seller list. Read a thriller or a romance you buy in the grocery store. Re-read your very favorite books from each decade of your life. If that doesn't inspire you to write, find your favorite poems or prose paragraphs from these books and copy them in your notebook. Feel the rhythm.
When I went back to school in my mid-30s to get my teaching credentials and I was overwhelmed writing lesson plans and term papers and abstracts of research articles, I told my Mom I was so burnt out and afraid I'd never be able to write poetry again. My mother was one of the kindest women who ever lived . She said, "It will come back." BELIEVE MY MOM! Now go call the kindest person you know! It will help.
1. Meditate.
2. Go swimming.
3. Sit in the center of your house where it's quiet and there are no windows and scream.
4. Go to a hardware store and collect paint chips. Choose three or six or nine colors that have amazing names, arrange the names like a poem, then chant them like a mantra. Trust me: bliss.
5. Read. Read poetry. Read the latest piece of literary fiction on the NYT best seller list. Read a thriller or a romance you buy in the grocery store. Re-read your very favorite books from each decade of your life. If that doesn't inspire you to write, find your favorite poems or prose paragraphs from these books and copy them in your notebook. Feel the rhythm.
When I went back to school in my mid-30s to get my teaching credentials and I was overwhelmed writing lesson plans and term papers and abstracts of research articles, I told my Mom I was so burnt out and afraid I'd never be able to write poetry again. My mother was one of the kindest women who ever lived . She said, "It will come back." BELIEVE MY MOM! Now go call the kindest person you know! It will help.
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