ley studio

GILA TEXT

by Ernest J. Gaines

Why a creative writing class ?

To come together; people of similar interest, of comparable talent. To meet and share ideas, to give and take. I don't want published writers in beginners class : since we all have different experiences, we can bring in new ideas and take some advice which we received in the class.

How do you teach creative writing ?

I in the Socratic approach, as my teacher Wallace STEGNER at Stanford university taught the class. I don’t think you can stand before a black board and teach creative writing as you can teach history or mathematics. Writing is so subjective, each writer approaches it differently. Who am I to say that this is how something should be done, but not that way? Taking the Socratic approach is the best out - we all participate, we all contribute. The students teach one another through their discussion of a piece of writing on the table. The duty of the teacher is to set the environment, get you to the class on time, get the discussion started and to pick it up when it begins waver or drag. But the students must do most of the talking - all students not only one or two, but all.

What is creative writing ?

The term means imaginative writing, as opposed to expository writing or factual writing. Though the creative writer draws from factual sources, sociology, psychology, politics, religion, etc., etc., etc., he should use all of that information imaginatively - never factually. The short story or novel is to produce in its reader the pleasure of an aesthetic experience.

Who is a creative writer ?

The creative writer must have something to say, and if he is to be a writer the demons will not let him or her alone until they have said it. The real writer does such and such whereas the want to be writer does this. The real writer writes, Goethe said, everything has been said. The problem is to say it again. The young writer must have the ego to believe that what he has to say is as important as anything that has been said before. In a sense he is right, because no one before him has written about this particular moment on earth. At the same time the young writer must be as humble as the most humble. He must realize that he will never know all of it, and for the rest of his life there will always be something out there that he could learn.

What are the tools of the writer ?

The tools of the writer are words, words, words. The writer builds images with these words. To convey to the reader a feeling of love, hate, envy, jealousy, fear, evilness - all the possible emotions - the writer must make you see, hear, feel, taste, smell through the images he creates out of words. The writer does not have to be a great intellectual - but he must be able to use words to grasp your attention, hold your attention, until he is ready to let go. And if he is good enough, he will have your attention long after you have put down the book - all of this is accomplished through words, made from those twenty six little letters of the alphabet.

How are those images made ?

That depends on the individual writer. Flaubert once told his protégé Guy de Maupassant to describe a scene of action in a single phrase - or better yet, a single word. Faulkner could probably use an entire page, or maybe even more to describe that same scene, because he would add so many other details. Yet it would be the same scene.

Who am I to say what is the right way, and what is not ? that all depends on the temperament and vision of the writer. Although I have used more of the Flaubertian, Hemingway, Turgenev approach - that is, the shortest way and quickest way of getting to the point, I will never tell a student not to use Faulkner's approach. What I tell my students is to read both Flaubert and Faulkner, and the 73 other books plus about another thousand, and by then you should have your way of describing the scene of action. It may probably take years of writing to find your own way, your own narrative voice, but the easiest way is to read, read, read and write, write, write.

Dumas said a writer needs a passion and four walls. I will add that he also needs a table, a chair, pencils, lots of paper, a strong imagination and he must be willing to take risk. He must be willing to say what he thinks is important, whether this would ostracize him from the group, from family, exile him from his own country - whatever. If he wishes to be serious he cannot ever think about what can happen to him : he has something to say, and it must be said. The demons won't let him rest until it's been done.

That is the difference between the writer, and the person who wants to be a writer. The want to be writes when inspiration hits him - which is very seldom - maybe once or twice a week. He worries about who will read him and who won't. He is also afraid of criticizing the wrong people. He is afraid of being ostracized, or maybe even shot. The writer does not have time to think about any of this. He is too busy writing.

I would like to quote a passage from "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White. "A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines, and a machine no unnecessary parts? This requires not that the writer makes all of his sentences short, or that he avoids all details and treat his subject only in outline, but that each word tells."

Use natural language

To quote from Strunk and White again : "Write in a way that comes easily and naturally to you. Using words and phrases that come readily to hand, that is everyday words. Dialect will be necessary at times, slang necessary, profanity necessary at times. But I suggest that this should be used sparingly." Another quote from Strunk and White : "Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs. The adjective has not been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place. This is not to disparage adjectives and adverbs. They are indispensable parts of speech, and there are times when you must use them - but do not depend on them as you would on the noun and verb."

Do not overwrite, do not overstate and please do not affect a breezy manner, to think that anything and everything you write is important. Avoid the use of qualifiers - words like rather, very, little, pretty and, another suggestion by Strunk and White - and I can't agree more. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. I have had students to turn in a piece of work after only one draft of a story, and they are so gullible that they think should get an agent. I tell them that anyone can write a first draft. Good writing, real writing sometimes requires a dozen rewrites. Hemingway rewrote the ending to "A Farewell to Arms" over twenty times. I rewrote my first novel about twenty five times. This is what Strunk and White have to say.

Don't try to embellish your writing with symbolism in a sense every word is a symbol. Write simply, truthfully, and from deep inside of yourself. Don't try disguising your writing with symbols that only you or you and a couple of your friends know about. Trying to be clever will only cause your reader to lose interest in your story. Write simply and to the point, and if the writing is done well the reader will get the message.

Point of view

This depends on the writer and the story. Some writers are more comfortable writing from the omniscient point of view, others from the first person point of view. Faulkner has written some of his works from the multiple point of view. Some stories cannot be told but from the omniscient, others can be told very well by one of the characters in the story, it all depends on what the writer has to say, and with what form he is the most comfortable. I have done them from all.

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Journaling: ‘One Perfect, Silent Witness’

by Carol Schmidt

12/23/98 - BOZEMAN - -In this season of renewed commitments and new undertakings, the keeping of a personal journal ranks high on many lists of New Year’s resolutions. It is a resolution frequently broken because many of us fear that journaling is difficult, says an expert at Montana State University.

Jill Davis, an MSU English instructor who is writing a book on journaling, believes there is no greater gift one can give oneself than keeping a journal. "It’s not expensive. It only requires commitment. And the rewards are amazing."

Davis has seen the rewards reflected in the students who have taken her journaling workshops. And, she has experienced them herself. Her mother had her begin a journal when Davis was seven. One of many children (including Davis’ sister, Betsy Danforth, director of the MSU Women’s Center), Davis’ mother had Davis write in her journal and on Fridays they shared her "creative meanderings." The two continued the process for years, creating a strong mother-daughter bond.

When she came to teach at MSU in 1984, Davis used journaling techniques in her freshmen and sophomore composition classes and later began independent journaling workshops. While Davis encourages all to try journaling, she acknowledges there are a few prerequisites.

"Journaling is not for everybody. It does take some discipline and willingness to look inside. But if you have a commitment to do the work, or if you are at a transition point in your life, it can be a very effective tool."

At the beginning of her classes, Davis differentiates between keeping a diary and journal. A diary is an account of one’s daily life with minimal personal interaction. A journal has a reflective quality.

"A journal is not only a listing of events, but a reflective and discovery process of who the writer is and how life is impacting that person. A journal is cathartic. It becomes best friend, therapist and confidant.

"A journal is about being honest with oneself to one perfect silent witness."

Davis said many people say they would like to keep a journal but offer excuses for not beginning: they are looking for the perfect book or writing instrument, the inspiring place or ideal time. The excuses are often roadblocks the writer erects in order to delay a beginning of what the writer knows can be a transforming exercise. Davis says the important thing is for a writer to begin and stay committed for a time, until writing in the journal becomes habit. By that time the habit will be reinforced with the rewards of journaling. She suggests writing the journal in the morning, doing "morning pages" as suggested by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way, although any consistent time will work.

Davis has a variety of techniques designed to plumb the journaler in us all. Some of the more common techniques are:

Spring boarding -- The writer finds an inspiring quote or topic and writes for a short period of time, such as 20 minutes, about what it means to him or her. Davis suggests joy journals, or, for people who have a recent loss, grief journals.

Letter writing -- Davis suggests writing a letter, either to be sent or unsent, to express honestly what has to say to another person.

Listings -- With this technique, the writer lists 100 things about a topic such as child delights, dreams for the future, things that make one happy or people who have changed the writer’s life. One of Davis’ favorite techniques is suggesting students keep a "gratitude list" for the duration of the course. Every day students write at least five things they are grateful for and why. By the end of the class session, each student will have a listing of more than 100 items and a changed perspective on life.

Childhood mapping -- Writers can describe childhood memories that delighted or frightened them, using maps of childhood houses, or neighborhoods as inspiration.

Clustering -- This is a form of note taking popular among elementary schools that uses a main idea as the center of a circle with subsets sprouting from the main idea. Davis suggests beginning with a diary-type listing of what happened during the day.

Cut and paste - Using collage as a form of journaling and then writing around the pictures cut from magazines. This is a form of journaling recently recommended by Sarah Ban Breathnach in her new book, "Excavating the Authentic Self."

Mandalas -- An ancient art of free drawing designs within a circle. Colored markers make this a colorful, creative form of journaling. Davis said drawings and doodling are symbolic and open the writer’s eyes to innermost thoughts.

Stream of consciousness or free writing -- Davis said this is the type of journaling most people do. While it may seem to be easiest, it is also where many writers get bound up, Davis said. She suggests beginning with writing about what the day feels like, and not stop writing for 20 minutes.

Davis said one of the most powerful forms of journaling is dialoging. A gestalt technique developed by Ira Progroff, the writer asks a question in the journal by writing it with the dominant hand. Once the basic question is asked with the dominant hand, the writer switches to the non-dominant hand and responds in a column next to the question. The dialogue continues back and forth with the two hands. "The results can be very profound," Davis said.

Davis said many aspiring journalers find groups helpful in establishing the necessary self-discipline and it alleviates the sense of isolation. In addition to Davis, there are many journaling teachers or groups. There are also many good books on the subject. She agrees with Progroff who says, "For many, this is solitary work we cannot do alone."

Davis said she has several trunks full of journals, all in different forms. Some are written in composition books, others on sketch pads, yet others professionally bound as journals and some on "scrappy notebooks."

"There’s no ‘right’ journal," Davis said. "What is important is that each individual finds an (writing) instrument that works and then one must write, write, write."

Writing a journal on a computer is becoming widely accepted, but Davis theorizes the computer journaling will change the art of journaling.

"I think the access to the right brain is different on a computer. The right brain is the creative, uncensoring part of the brain. Writing by hand on paper utilizes both brain hemispheres," she said.

Whatever the form, Davis said the journaler should keep his or her journal safe and write a note of caution at the beginning of the book urging anyone coming across it not to read it. For instance, Davis always inscribes her name, address and telephone number and the phrase: "If you find this journal please do not read my thoughts. They are my own. Thanks for respecting my privacy." To not heed this caution can have a major and often chilling impact, Davis said.

"Oftentimes the journal writer may not ever go back and read his or her own past journals," she said, although she recommends it and has her students spend an hour or so at the end of the course re-reading all they have written and share surprises. Recording history is only a part of what journaling is about, she said. Interpreting that history is the main focus.

"If one would like to renew a relationship with oneself, I recommend journaling. It is a very private, but very important exercise."

posted by leynux @ 5:04 AM