Maureen Bush's Blog, page 22

Carolyn Fisher’s Blog

I’m a co-star in a cartoon! This summer, children’s illustrator Carolyn Fisher wrote a blog about a Young Alberta Book Society meeting, where we talked about creativity and she talked about Jonah Lehrer’s book Imagine: How Creativity Works. She’s just added a discussion of Lehrer’s downfall, for being a little too creative, and then added a cartoon of our adventures in a paddle boat. Well, they’re a little exaggerated. Just a little. See for yourself: http://www.carolynfisher.com/blog/2012/5/28/brainstorm-walk.html

Maureen

Fall

Fall always feels like the new year for me, starting back to school as a child and a university student, and then with my own kids heading back to school.

This year is no different. After a summer of family fun and chaos, fall has finally begun this morning with a return to routine. Well, as much as a routine as I ever seem to manage. I’ll have the house to myself again, for portions of every weekday, and as much as I love my family, that’s always a special thrill. I’ve slogged through enough of the debris on my desk that I don’t feel hopelessly behind. Instead, I can launch myself back into my story, reacquainting myself with it, figuring out exactly where I am, and getting ready to go deeper.

Except there are, of course, always interruptions. Laundry, and flowers in the garden calling to be photographed and a long-postponed dentist appointment. I’ll let them create the breaks in my day that I need, to let the story settle more deeply into me, and come back refreshed and ready for more work. At least, that’s the plan.

Maureen

1000 Words A Day – Update

Well, I didn’t do anything as disciplined as writing 1000 new words a day, (Writing on the Road, Aug 27) but I did write every day (well, almost), I had fun with it, and the work will be useful later, propelling me forward as I settle back into serious writing days. I drew up a list of story-related topics I could work from, and the list helped me jump into a moment in the story and run with it for a while.

I’m still struggling with the discipline, but I know it’ll be worth it. Those 1000 words a day hold something special for me – there’s a treasure there I can glimpse, and occasionally touch. I like the push, that bit of pressure, and then the joy when words flow. And I love the progress in my stories – they move along faster, and then I’m happier writing. In spite of not worrying about whether the writing is good or terrible, it tends to not be terrible, to my constant surprise.

I wasn’t interested in keeping track of word counts, but I think that might be a good idea too, as a tool for building the habit. This is a habit I need, along with changing to my computer glasses when I sit down to write. Discipline. Habits. Who knew these would be key to creativity for me?

Maureen

I Met Wallace Stegner along Johnston’s Canyon

Hiking up Johnston’s Canyon, I came across a literary quite, from The Sound of Mountain Water by Wallace Stegner

“I gave my heart to the mountains the minute I stood beside this river with its spray in my face and watched it thunder into foam.”

This is why I return to the mountains whenever I can.

Maureen

Writing On The Road

We’ve been away a lot this summer, and I keep slipping away from writing, and then needing to return to it. I thought I could write 1000 words a day on writing days, and not worry about weekends and holidays, but I’m not content. I miss writing, and I’m slow to settle back into it – and I think there’s something – something – about writing every day, to keep the practice up, like practicing an instrument. So, away again, I’m going to try to write every day. I’m only gone for four days – how hard could it be?

Maureen

Late Summer Garden

After losing all my echinacea last winter, I’m delighted my new plants are blooming well this year. There’s something absurd about the flowers that make me laugh.

Maureen

I’ve Lost Momo

I’ve lost a favorite book, and have no idea how, or where, or when… It’s Momo, by the German writer Michael Ende, who also wrote The Neverending Story.

Many years ago my husband and I bought Momo in Granada, Spain, at the university bookstore. We were sent there when we asked about books in English – we’d run out and were desperate for new stories. There were only a couple on a small shelf, for students studying English literature, and most weren’t appropriate for travel reading. But Momo was there, and we both adored it.

I wanted to reread it to see how it’s held up over time, but I can’t find it, and I feel bereft. Surely it’s somewhere – back to searching.

Maureen

In Praise of Scrivener

I’ve been trying Scrivener, a program for writers, and I love it. It’s software for writers, particularly for novelists working on long projects, but with additions for poets, screenwriters, etc.

Here’s their blurb: “Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft.”

What it offers that Word doesn’t is a way to organize all the research debris – text, photos, links – whatever – related to the project, and access it as needed while working on the project. I’m hoping, if I learn to use it well, to replace some of the incoherent piles stacked around the office.

Yes, I know that’s the wrong use of incoherent – but it’s oddly accurate. When the piles get deep enough, they can’t talk to me any more, and I lose whatever gems they might be hiding.

Scrivener has reams of other functions, which I’ll discover slowly. It was created by a novelist for his own use, and then adapted for other writers – screenwriters, poets. I suspect it would be useful for university research projects, too.

I’m gradually converting my stories, and slowly learning the program. And enjoying it immensely.

There’s a video introduction I found really useful, and a chance to try it for 30 days for free. Not for one month, but for 30 days of use. Only the days you use it count. I’m still in my trial phase, but I’ll be buying.

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

Maureen

Post-It Notes On the Wall

I’m in the mushy middle of my story, floundering in plotlessness. Well, it feels that way. I considered using my new software gem Scrivener to help (more on Scrivener in another post), but decided I needed to be totally visual and kinesthetic about it. I mean, I needed to move paper bits around. As my office is a shared space, papers on the floor are always in danger, so I pulled down a satellite image of the earth, and decorated the wall with post-it notes.

I don’t have an ideal collection of various colours and sizes (and decided a shopping trip was a distraction, not a necessity). I dug out what I have, and started cutting and labeling and rearranging in a horrific mess. I have the beginning and the end – I just need to settle out the middle.

Half-an-hour after I started, a writer friend posted a link on Facebook to a blog on mushy middles, which got me thinking… and rearranging… and searching for new colours…

And here I sit, facing the wall, bedecked with notes, hoping I have good enough notes that they won’t all be on the ground by morning.

Maureen

Where Clouds Come From

There’s something about wild places that inspire me. I’m not sure why, not being a wild person. But when I’m in really wild, remote places, I feel more connected to story.

This was taken on Whistler’s Mountain, near Jasper, on a cold and windy day.

Maureen