How Old Is a Writer?

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How old do you have to be to write? I recommend that you write, right now. You are the age you are. It’s too late to start young. And it’s too early … well, you get the idea. Here’s a quote I came across yesterday:

“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” -Samuel Ullman

If you are wondering what has been going on with the site today (it’s gone through about 4 transformations), I believe it’s called PROCRASTINATION. Which I will write about … tomorrow. See you then.

Why We Write

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In my quest to blog every day in November, I thought I should add a reminder of why we write. I’ve loaned out my copy of Louise DeSalvo’s Writing as a Way of Healing, but here’s Martha Alderson on the same topic:

“My most important insight is this: All of us face antagonists and hurdles, hopes and joys, and by meeting these challenges we can transform our lives. I have come to believe that every scene in every book is part of a Universal Story that flows throughout our lives, both in our imaginations and in the reality that surrounds us.” (Introduction, The Plot Whisperer)

Hanging out with writers…

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P1040599A long time ago, when I still worried about what career I should have, a mentor told me that I should hang out with the type of people I wanted to become. I remember imagining a group of bankers and me dressed up and pretending to be a banker, wandering amidst them. No, I didn’t want to become a banker. But I wasn’t sure what the advice meant.

It isn’t that hard. It’s the “dress for success” idea. It’s as simple as studying with people who get the grades that you want to get. But it’s really, really a great idea for creative-types. If you want to be a singer, then you should be where singing happens, and where other singers are likely to be. If you want to be an actor, getting a job adjacent to a bunch of actors — even if you’re the person who hangs up their coats — isn’t a bad strategy. Being amid other wannabes is good, too. Take an acting class, audition for a local play. Ask someone there (someone who looks like she’s an inch better at it than you are) out for coffee.

So, for writers, there’s a lot to simply getting up every day and writing. And then there’s the whole reading-good-books thing (my favorite way to hang out with writers, being the introvert that I am). But you might, now and then, also look for opportunities to hang out with flesh and blood writers.

Today I’m following that advice and going to Northwest BookFest: http://www.nwbookfest.com/. I’m working a two-hour shift for LitFuse, 2:00-4:00. If you’re there, come by and hang out with me.

nanowrimo

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penNational Novel Writing Month is so popular among a certain set of writers that it seems almost silly to chime in on it. To learn more, I suggest you visit their official website: http://nanowrimo.org/. (Find the “about” tab for the overview.) I’ll share my take with you here.

Nanowrimo crossed my radar for the first time several years ago when I happened to be teaching an evening section of Fiction Writing at my college. At the time, I was not especially qualified to do so. Although I had been tinkering with fiction for awhile, I was more qualified to teach poetry. No matter, creative writing classes are scarce at my college (I never get to teach poetry), and I’m not often allowed to meddle with this interesting bunch of students. So I said “yes” to the opportunity. A small group of students approached me and asked if I would be the faculty mentor for their nanowrimo group. Their what?

During Nanowrimo, one commits to writing 50,000 words — a short novel, or a draft of a novel. A draft of a draft of a novel. To write 50,000 words in a month, one must write about 1,800 words a day.

I wrote with my student group, of course. I worked on a novel about a waitress who, in 1976, finds herself working at a 24-hour coffee shop (like Denny’s) in Olympia, Washington. Her manager and the two assistant managers are retired military. Her coworkers include military wives and children (Fort Lewis was nearby; JBLM now), and Evergreen State College students (“greenies,” as they were called). I did not write 50,000 words, but I did get the story rolling (about 20,000) despite having younger children (14, 14, and 8, as I recall), a full-time teaching load, etc. It’s a story that sometimes nudges me even now and I expect to get back to it some day.

This November, though I’m not part of an official group, I am going to try to use the momentum and the author pep talks to fuel my draft of Act 3 of my current novel. November: Bethany’s Finishing Month. Cross your fingers for me. Or, better, get out a notebook and pen — or your laptop — and write with me.