Seeing Again… and Again and Again

January 25, 2012

Today's Guest Author: Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew

I’m delighted to introduce today’s Guest Author: Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew. Elizabeth is the author of Writing the Sacred Journey, Swinging on the Garden Gate, and On the Threshold: Home, Holiness, and Hardwood. I’ll give the rest of Elizabeth’s bio after she’s charmed you with the post (it’ll mean more to you then). 

I just came across some great wisdom: “Resistance always comes from the desire to not see. When we feel resistance in any form, it’s because we haven’t fully committed to seeing what’s true.” Thanks, Rosanne! You’ve put your finger on why we writers resist revision so fiercely.

The truth is multifaceted. It usually sits smack in the middle of a paradox. When you peel away the top layer of a truth—that is, when you look below the facts—you find layer upon layer of emotional resonance. The only way to find the truth is to look again…and again, and again.

This is why authors claim that writing IS revision: To see the truth in our stories, we must revisit them.

Nonetheless, all writers to varying degrees resist revision. Beginning writers resist revision with special vehemence; after all, they’ve overcome their resistance to writing an initial draft, they’ve gotten their butt in the chair, they’ve sweat blood, they’ve made glorious discoveries, and they’ve arrived! Of course the ego latches on to that initial version of the story. We love an easy truth.

Intermediate writers and writers with several drafts under our belts resist revision because, dang-it-all, we’ve already done so much work! The bit of complexity those first revisions add to a draft bolster our sense of accomplishment. We want the satisfaction of completion. Or, truth be told, we don’t want to see our work’s remaining flaws.

Despite being obnoxiously enthusiastic about revision, I groan at the thought of my upcoming conversation with my agent when she will suggest revising my novel—for the fourth time since we signed our contract. And that’s after five years of work on my own. If a kernel of unseen truth is still hiding in that story waiting for me to peel back the film from my eyes, I’m clueless about where to find it. As much as I’ll resist my agent’s suggestions, I’m also grateful for her sharp eyes and willingness to tell me what she sees.

The gift of writing is language’s ability to gather many layers of seeing into one place. Ever read a memoir and wonder how the author possibly remembered all those details? Ever read a brilliant bit of exposition and feel awed by the author’s smarts or skills with language? Most authors are not unduly brilliant or gifted; they’ve simply had the stick-to-it-iveness and the humility to re-see their story. When we read a beautiful work, we gaze through layer upon layer of drafting. The page can hold multiple insights simultaneously and when we are guided by the page, so can we. This layering is what makes literature. The capacity to sit with a manuscript, re-seeing the content and reworking the language, is what makes an author.

The good news is that nothing is more creative than revision. Seeing again is, in my mind, the ultimate creative act because it not only helps our work grow, it helps us grow. Perhaps our resistance has little to do with writing and plenty to do with how we inhabit the world—how willing we are to see what’s true.

And vice-versa: Writing, and especially revising, can facilitate our seeing along with our ability to inhabit our lives fully. With intention, revision can be an opportunity to deepen our experience of being human and our capacity to be truth-tellers.

Feel a little less resistance to revision or at least understand why you’d want to be less resistant? Check out Elizabeth’s Loft class Form and Function: Structure in Creative Nonfiction (starts February 21st). You can find more of Elizabeth’s insight at her blog and her websites www.spiritualmemoir.com or www.elizabethjarrettandrew.com/

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Announcement: Free Writing Classes!

September 28, 2011

This maybe one of the best kept secrets in the Twin Cities!

With funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, the Loft Literary Center and Hennepin County Libraries have collaborated to create a series of free “First Pages” writing workshops taught by Loft Teaching Artists.

You can take any of several different one-hour classes with talented teaching artists (like me!) by signing up through the library’s website. Go to http://www.hclib.org/pub/events/ and select “Books and Writing,” click on “Find It,” then scroll through the results for the First Pages classes.  You can register online or by calling the library branch hosting the class.

I’m teaching two different workshops this fall:

  • First Pages: The Fine Print – How Do I Get Published on October 1 from 11 am to noon at the Eden Prairie Library (612-543-6275) OR on October 11 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm at the Walker Library (612-543-8400). We’ll discuss practical information for increasing your chances of getting published. Get answers to important questions and guidance on the research that needs to be done to understand the publishing process.
  • First Pages: Taking Your Great Idea From Brainstorm to Page on October 6 from 6 to 7 pm at the Minneapolis Central Library (612-543-8000) OR November 3 from 6:30-7:30 pm at the Maple Grove Library (612-543-6450) OR November 10 from 6:30-7:30 at the Rogers Library (612-543-6050). Do you have a great idea for a book? Learn tips for getting that idea down on paper. You also will discover resources to keep you focused and motivated.

Other First Pages classes include (Re)Work It – Editing Basics; Creative Writing for Book Lovers; Once Upon a Time, There Was a Writer; Capturing Life – Changing Experiences; and No Fear, No Rhyme Poetry – Write Your First Poem.

I hope to see you at one of my First Pages events!

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Posted by rosannebane

Announcement: Full Lineup of Online and In-Person Fall Classes at the Loft Open for Registration with New and Improved Database

August 4, 2011

The Loft’s new database allows you to search for classes by teaching artist, genre, course level, course duration, location or starting month. So if you want to see what classes I’m teaching, you just go to www.loft.org/adult-classes and select Bane, Rosanne from the Teaching Artist drop down list and click Find Classes. Or use any of these direct links:

Writing Habit (at the Open Book)

Writing Habit (at St. Paul Jewish Community Center)

Spontaneous Fiction (at Open Book)

Entering the Flow: Finding the Right Process for Your Writing (online class)

You’ll find full descriptions of all the courses offered this fall, teaching artist bios and all the details you need to register at www.loft.org/adult-classes. The biggest problem will probably be figuring out which of the multitude of outstanding classes you want to be part of.

If you prefer, print catalogs are available at the Loft and other Twin Cities locations. Call 612-379-8999 if you’d like a copy mailed to you. Or click for a PDF of the Fall catalog.

New This Fall: Loft Offers a Full Lineup of Online Classes

The Loft knows about traveling salespeople, Arizona snowbirds, and busy parents. That’s why the Loft is offering a full lineup of online classes for the first time ever. Flexible enough to meet the busiest of schedules, Loft online classes are taught by professional writers who understand that an online class is only successful if students feel connected to a writing community. (reprinted with permission from The Loft.)

One of the students in the Loft’s pilot online class had this to say about the experience: “Even though I live far away, the ability to take courses from the Loft has been one of the best experiences of my writing life. An online course works so well for me and my schedule. It provides flexibility, accountability and a safe haven to explore my writing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Sign up for one (or more) of 11 online writing classes, including:

  • How To Plan, Write, And Develop a Book , Part 1 with Mary Carroll Moore
  • Introduction to Fiction Writing: Short Story with Brian Malloy
  • Entering the Flow: Finding the Right Process for Your Writing with Rosanne Bane
  • Writing the Middle Grade Novel with Kurtis Scaletta
  • Writing What You Know with Heather McPherson
  • Writing the Short Poem with LouAnn Shepard Muhm
  • Intro to Travel Blogging with Jen Westmoreland Bouchard
  • Narrative Structure with Mary Lane Potter
  • Discovering the Writing World with Heather E. Goodman
  • Food Writing with Marissa Landrigan

Rosanne’s Wish List

I plan to register for a Loft class or two myself this fall. Of course, choosing which class is like trying to decide which candy to get at Honeyduke’s (please forgive the Harry Potter reference; knowing the last Harry Potter movie would be released last month, I binged on reading all seven of the books and watching all 8 of the movies this summer.)

If I had unlimited time and money (or one of those nifty time-turners Heromine used to double her course load), some of the Loft classes I’d take this fall are (in no particular order):

  • Silencing the Inner Critic With Rebecca Kanner
  • Writing as Spiritual Practice: The Yin and Yang of Writing with Karen Hering
  • First Chapters with Swati Avasthi
  • Writing for the Web with Amy Simso Dean
  • Blogging: A Tool for Writers with Kate Hopper
  • Writing Out Loud: Essays for Radio and Podcast with Sasha Aslanian and Eric Ringham
  • Travel Writing with Greg Brenning
  • Grounding in the Fantastic with David Oppegaard
  • Publicity for Authors with Linda White
  • Writing a Query Letter and What to Do with It with Swati Avasthi

There are more I could add, but even Wish Lists need some limits.

If one of my classes is on your wish list and money is an issue, remember that all my In-person Loft classes have 1 full scholarship. The Loft also offers a sliding fee scale, member discounts, and workstudy options. Visit the Loft’s website or call the Education Department at 612-379-8999 for more info.

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The Right to Write What’s Right for You

May 24, 2011

Identify the Opportunity and Desire

Take a few minutes to complete this sentence (on the page or screen or in your head): “I want to write…”

Did you write mainly about what content you want to write (e.g. a story about a rodeo clown, or poetry that moves people to tears, or an essay about an issue you’re passionate about)?

Or did you write mainly about the process of how you want to write (e.g. I want to write more regularly, or I want to write freely and easily, or I want to be more courageous with my writing)? If you wrote mainly about content, you might want to take a few more minutes to complete the “I want to write” sentence with process in mind and vice versa.

Identify the Gap

On a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being “I rarely write what or how I want” and 10 being “I always write what and how I want,” how closely does your writing reality match what you want as a writer? Have you claimed your right to write what and how you want?

Few writers get to write exactly the way they want all the time, but every writer should write what and how s/he wants at least part of the time. I would even go so far as to say most of the time.

Now on a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being “I rarely write about people, issues or things that I care deeply about” and 10 being “I always write about people, issues or things I care deeply about” how closely does your writing reality match your interests and sense of purpose? Have you claimed your right to write about what really matters to you?

Again, few writers get to write with passion and purpose all the time, but every writer should know what s/he is passionate about and have ways to bring that sense of purpose into her/his writing at least part of the time.

Identify the Causes

Unless you are one of the lucky few who are able to answer 10 to both questions, take a few minutes to complete this sentence: “I’m not writing what and how I want because…”

Identify the Solutions

If one of the reasons you’re not writing what and how you want is because you don’t know how to write, for example, you don’t know to:

  • write dialogue
  • turn a series of incidents into a comprehensive story
  • draft a query letter
  • transform vague memories into compelling memoir
  • draft and revise your poetry

this is a matter of skill. These are craft issues and I recommend you explore the array of writing craft classes available at Loft Literary Center (or similar organization if you live outside the Twin Cities, although it’s tough to find an organization as good as the Loft). I’m confident you will find a Loft class that will give you the information, practice and feedback you need to develop your craft whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced writer and whether you’re writing fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, children’s and young adult lit, plays and scripts, multigenre, or magazines, newspapers, blogs and travel.

If one of the reasons you’re not writing what and how you want is because you’re not sure how to:

  • relax and let your imagination play with characters and scenes
  • blend outlining and drafting into a cohesive writing experience
  • enter the writer’s trance (or creative flow) easily and naturally when you need to,

you’ll get opportunities to do that in the Entering the Flow class I’m teaching online. This class is a very relaxing way to spend time focused on your writing and will include Live Chats, discussion forums and recordings you can download and play to guide you in relaxing and entering the writer’s trance.

On the other hand, if the reasons you’re not writing aren’t a matter of how, but because:

  • you think you’re not disciplined enough
  • you’re too busy taking care of your kids, the house, your parents, your job, your dog
  • you don’t know if you can really give yourself permission
  • you don’t know how to get yourself to sit down and do it,

these are process issues. These are the kinds of problems we resolve in the Writing Habit class I’m teaching this summer on Tuesdays from 5 to 7 pm. The best way I know to get past obstacles like these is to have a writing habit so that you write just because that’s what you do.

Finally, if the process issues you face seems deeper, if:

  •  you’re experiencing what seems like irresolvable resistance
  • your Saboteur has a hold of you and won’t let go
  • you wonder what the heck is going on in your brain when you want to write but you can’t or won’t let yourself do that
  • you’re afraid to write
  • you just can’t seem to get past the initial inertia,

these are the kinds of process issues we address in the Around the Writer’s Block class I’ll be teaching from 1 to 3 pm on Thursday afternoons. This class will give you tools, support from other writers struggling with what you’re facing, and pragmatic practices that will get you past the resistance and back to writing what you want with joy and energy.

You have the right to write what’s right for you! Make the most of it!

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Open Your Writing Possibilites

April 29, 2011

Twin City Writers

Do you ever wonder what’s behind all the buzz about the Loft Literary Center? Considered the possibility that maybe you should check it out?

Or if you already understand why the Loft has such a fabulous reputation, have you been entertaining the thought maybe it’s time you came back? Maybe to register for another class or attend a reading?

Here’s your chance: Open your writing to new insights and inspirations at the Loft’s Open House and Student Reading on Saturday, May 21 from 10 am to 1 pm.

I, Patti Frazee, Kate St. Vincent Vogl, Jorie Miller, Linda Back McKay and other Loft teaching artists will each lead a 15-minute mini-class and Q&A. Brief writing exercises and tips will give you a preview of what you might expect in a summer class.

Many other teaching artists will also be available for informal, one-on-one conversations about summer classes and other writing questions.

To maximize the inspiration, join the audience for the Student Reading in the Performance Hall. The power and beauty these writers can pack into a short reading is amazing.

Watching them might plant the idea that someday you’ll be reading to an appreciative audience. Or if that idea is already in your head, confirm your conviction that that’ll be you standing up there reading your work someday very soon!

No Need to Worry About Money

The Open House is free. Classes are priced on a sliding fee scale based on your total household income. Many Loft classes offer scholarships and there are work-study opportunities, too.

Anyone on the Education Staff will be happy to explain the options and answer your questions.

Writers Outside the Twin Cities

Don’t despair! The Loft is offering more online classes that anyone in the world can participate in. If you’re a couple of hours away from Minneapolis, please consider driving in for the day.

Wherever you’re from, if you see me at the Open House, please say “Hi” – I’d love to meet you or chat with you again!

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Writer’s Trance Available Online

April 7, 2011

You can enter the writer's trance online

I’m not talking about the trance anyone can slip into when they get online, their eyes glaze over and they numb out. I’m talking about the intentional shift of consciousness writers make to enter the half-dreaming, hypnagogic state where the imaginary world becomes as real or more real than “consensual reality,” where images emerge without effort and your fingers can barely keep up on the keyboard or page. I’m talking about the blissful flow state of inspiration and illumination.

For several years, I’ve taught Entering the Flow at the Loft Literary Center to help writers develop their ability to intentionally move into the flow state instead of passively waiting and hoping inspiration will strike.

I know that hasn’t helped those of you who aren’t in the Twin Cities or even in the U.S. So I’m delighted to be part of the pilot phase of the Loft’s expansion into online learning. I’m adapting Entering the Flow to an online class that will be available this summer to writers everywhere.

Loft Online is Not Just Any Online Class

I know online classes are not new, but Loft Online classes are. All the things that make in-person Loft classes unique and effective will do the same for Loft online classes.

Loft classes are not cookie-cutter offerings; they are envisioned, designed, developed and taught by working, recognized writers who are also experienced and dedicated teachers.

You won’t find Fiction 101 or Poetry 101 taught by interchangable instructors in at the Loft. You will find classes thoughtfully designed and taught by published writers. You’ll find that each teaching artist brings her/his own perspective on what writers need to learn and how to most effectively facilitate that learning. You’ll find opportunities to co-create and participate in community of writers in both in-person and online Loft classes.

Worth the Work

A proposal for a Loft class is not something a potential teaching artist can just whip up in an hour or two. I’ve reserved several afternoons to work on a proposal for a new class I hope to teach this fall. (That’s right, even teaching artists who’ve taught at the Loft for years prepare complete proposals for new classes.)

I know that every hour I spend developing the proposal will pay off. When I’m teaching the class, I can focus on the writer-students, not on figuring out what I’m doing in class that day. I’ll have enough structure in place to be spontaneous and adaptable to the needs and interests of the unique collection of writers in the class without the danger of being capricious or haphazard.

Translating Entering the Flow into an online format is more work than I imagined and just like preparing a proposal, I know the work I’m doing now will free me later to focus on responding to the writer-students who’ll share the my “maiden voyage” into online teaching/learning.

I’ll keep you posted about when Entering the Flow online will be open for registration. You can find more information about the online classes available at the Loft now (Mary Carroll Moore’s “Your Book Starts Here” and “Your Book Starts Here Part 2″) and upcoming online and in-person classes at the Loft’s website. (BTW, a past attendee in Mary’s Your Book Starts Here class said “I got more out of this twelve weeks than in two years of college! The community we built was so great, we’ll be continuing to meet after the class is over.”)

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Around the Writer’s Block Class Open for Enrollment

February 25, 2011

Are you ready to stop farting around with resistance?

If you’ve enjoyed my blog or gleaned useful suggestions from it, you’re going to love the Around the Writer’s Block class!

 This class will give you:

  • A safe, supportive community with other writers who are ready to stop struggling with resistance and start writing the way they want
  • Awareness of what’s happening in your brain when you experience resistance and what you can do to change that
  • Deeper understanding of the Recommended Practices (Process, Self-Care and Product Time) and how to use these practices to solidify your writing habit
  • Weekly check-ins where you hold yourself accountable to the commitments you make to your writing practices
  • Practice identifying the different ways you resist writing so you can respond effectively and get past that resistance
  • Support and encouragement as you learn to recognize and challenge your Saboteur
  • Interactive class sessions where you’ll learn how rewards work (and when they don’t) so you can motivate yourself and how to manage Creative Polarities to get past excuses, illusions and obstacles to the writing life you want.

If you’re in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, you can attend the next Around the Writer’s Block class at the Loft (Wednesdays from 5 to 7 pm, March 16 – April 20).

If you’re not in this area, send me an email and we can chat about how you and I could arrange for an AWB weekend workshop in your area or how personalized creativity coaching with me could fill the gap for you.

Entering the Flow Class Also Open for Enrollment

Not an actual class photo. We won't be entering the flow quite so literally.

If you want to learn how to apply meditation and relaxation directly to writing fiction or creative nonfiction, if you want to spend more time in the “flow state” or “writer’s trance,” Entering the Flow is the class you’re looking for.

I’ve talked about the Outline vs. Drafting Debate and Robert Olen’s Butler’s solution to the debate in previous posts. We’ll use Butler’s ideas as one of the launching points into our own discovery of the writer’s dreamspace.

This class will give you opportunities to:

  • Learn how to intentionally shift your consciousness to find your own way into the flow/writer’s trance
  • Experiment with different relaxation and meditation techniques
  • Spend time in a relaxed, meditative state recording the images you discover in your imagination with slow, easy writing that you can later expand into scenes
  • Discuss sensory-focused writing, writing rituals and routines, ego surrender and other topics
  • Benefit from the synergy of being in a room with other writers willing to become quiet, enter the trance, and follow wherever our imagination leads us.

If you’re in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, you can attend the next Entering the Flow class at the Loft (Tuesdays from 10 am to noon, March 15 – April 19).

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Free Writing Class at Sumner Library

January 18, 2011

You’re invited to attend a FREE one-hour class I’m teaching at Sumner Library on Saturday, January 29 from 11 am to noon.

Taking Your Great Idea From Brainstorm to Page is for anyone who has a great idea or a good idea or even just a glimmer of an idea for a book. We’ll review techniques to expand and explore your idea and tips for getting that idea down on paper. You also will discover resources to keep you focused and motivated. For more information, click on this link and scroll about halfway down the page (it’s listed as First Pages: Taking Your Great Idea From Brainstorm to Page). You can register online or call 952-847-2875.

The Loft Literary Center partners with the Hennepin County Library to present a variety of free First Pages writing classes. I encourage you to check them all out on the library’s website. These are a great no-cost, short-time-commitment way to explore writing possibilities, so please mention them to your writing friends and your friends who might want to dip a toe in to see if they want to write, too. First Pages is funded with money from Minnesota’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

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Why You Need to Pay Attention to What You’re Paying Attention To

August 25, 2010

When we put pen to paper or fingers on keyboard to write, our state of consciousness shifts to a hypnagogic state, a kind of waking dream.

“It’s a funny state,” writes Pulitzer Prize winning author Robert Olen Butler in From Where You Dream. “It’s not as if you’re falling asleep at your computer, but neither are you brainstorming. You’re dreamstorming, inviting the images of moment-to-moment experience through your unconscious. It’s very much like an intensive daydream, but a daydream that you are and are not controlling.” (p. 31)

Note: The Entering the Flow class I’m teaching at the Loft this fall will help you develop your ability to dreamstorm.

The danger for writers is that the more we splinter our attention by trying to drink from the fire hydrant of information that constantly floods our brains from cell phones, internet, email, text messages, social networking, TV and print media, the more difficult it is for us to shift to this hypnagogic state. We can’t get into the waking dream of writing if we are constantly interrupting ourselves with trivia. Writers are particularly vulnerable to and negatively affected by our culture of distraction.

Writers need focus. Of course, there are times when we need to soften our focus and let our attention wander wherever it will; this is the origin of spontaneous, intriguing, new ideas. We need to move from focused to unfocused and back again; this is another one of those creative polarities.

Learning when to tune in and when to tune out and giving ourselves both time to be laser-focused and time to jump from thing to thing without apparent purpose is essential for creative work. We can’t allow the default setting of our attention system be distracted, splintered and unfocused. We have to pay attention to what we’re paying attention to.

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