As we seek to
create an inclusive and vibrant community of practice and nurture a culture of
learning, I want to enter the texts of another writer with a generous heart and
faith in the writer’s ability to fully express their ideas with clarity and
focus.
Towards this
goal I seek to:
·Listen,
with “active listening” ears. To truly hear what the writer is communicating,
so that we may apply it to their work.
·Communicate,in clear and precise ways to break
down walls and topple barriers to brilliant ideas, learning & writing.
·Remember, everyone
is unique--no one else on Earth could bring forth what we have to bring forth.
·Accomplish, teaching
in a constant process of becoming more of an asset to the learning community--we
all have good ideas it is simply a matter of unearthing them.
·Create, a
space that allows all people to find their voice and speak their minds in
respectful and engaging ways.
Well, it has certainly been one crazy summer and past few months. Which is why you haven't seen a peep out of me. I went straight from finals to moving a four bedroom house, to a two week vacation, to now cleaning out another property. (A very long story of which I won't bore you with the details.)
James and I traveled to Washington state to see his sister who was fighting a valiant yet losing battle with cancer. We crossed out two weeks in our schedule and had a grand time going up and back. So many pictures to go through and share, yet I haven't even had a chance to begin to sort through them. July fourth was spent in La Push at the beach and it was amazing. We had a really great time with Jennifer and her family.
Unfortunately just a few days ago we heard the news that Jen had been taken the the hospital unresponsive and she never recovered. Because she has been battling cancer it was not a complete shock ,but it still is a good reminder to cherish your loved ones, you never know when they may be gone.
Suffices to say I have been dealing with one big event after another and I will hopefully be back into the swing of things very soon. Thank you for your support and patience as I work to get things back on an even keel.
You don't see the car to my left and the road behind me.
This is one of the
most important of my discoveries in my way of seeing. How much the
camera doesn't show you. I can take a picture with the entire room in
chaos and as long as what is in the frame is perfect no one will be
the wiser. As I created my own online store, this began to come into
sharper and sharper focus. This is all people will know when they
look at a picture or a film: what some one wanted them to see. It is a
fully editable and unreal experience, even when you are the subject
matter that experience that is revealed is so different from what was
actually there in the live edition.
This a huge part of
what John Berger is trying to relay to us in his Ways of Seeing series (see below for links), how difference the
experience of seeing something live is between seeing it through
print. It is almost the same as living your life in box where you
only see what comes in from of the opening, only that still gives one
a live experience. As Berger pointed out even when looking at the
painting on-screen (even if the entire piece is in the frame) you are
still looking at movement that has nothing to do with the painting.
The virtual reality is a living breathing piece of machinery that is
constantly blocking out the real.
Nothing could be more
evident than the loss of reality we are witnessing on a daily basis.
This colonization (to use Naomi Klein's term from No Logo) is becoming profound as the
hyper-reality seeps into our culture not as a passing fad, but by
becoming the culture itself. Our lives are influenced by the images
we see whether moving or still. When a mother reads a magazine, for
instance, and sees a perfectly clean house and a completely model
perfect mother cooking, it becomes something she may think is
obtainable. What she doesn't see are the hundreds of people who are
involved in that image, including a master graphics artist using
Photoshop --once the almost perfected image has been created it goes
to them to create the perfect, the hyper-reality.
Berger does a great
job in illustrating just how this is done by showing the lights and
the hairdressers, as he panned out from his original shots. He also
is quite right about the stillness in standing in front of a painting
and the effect this has as opposed to seeing it in print and
conceptualized within some framed context or even seeing it on the
screen of either television or the internet. "Art for Art's
sake" is what someone may misconstrue on this topic, however it
is more than that, it is Art for our own sake. Take for instance, the
new studies that say children cannot learn by looking at a screen,
they must experience the language in order to learn a concept. It
must be contextualized concretely in the real world.
The bright side to
this all as the world is awakening to the hyper-reality. Many people
have begun to work against it and really look out into the world around them. The studies proving screens aren't
that helpful are solidifying that view that was once only a wild
theory without actual basis. I don't want to vilify cameras, they are
quite useful as long as the dangers of manipulation are exposed. The
methods revealed so those who are working to create the perfect know
it is a hard-fought battle that is truly unobtainable in this world.
Check out Ways of Seeing when you have the chance:
*singing* "Zippity ay! My oh my, what a wonderful day!"
*grin* Yes, I'm having a pretty fantastic day, despite being so sleepy. Our group presentation went well despite a little bit of "slacker attitude and lack of collaboration" drama.
My papers that were all supposed to be due around the same time are miraculously now staggered about a week apart for each. One this week, one the next week, and one the week after that. (God loves you, but I'm really his favorite! *wink*)
I received an offer to be a contributor to a pretty hip online magazine. I am looking forward to the project in a big way.
Life is an adventure and I am certainly loving the feeling of just going out and grabbing all the wonderful experiences as they come by and giving them each a great big hug.
Today is the day, the rest of your life begins...today. Everything you choose creates your life. Every perception and perspective you have creates your choices. Think wisely.
Currently, I am working on one of a total of four young adult novels that my muse decided to hit me over the head with. This one I am featuring here is turning into a trilogy. I will be curious to see where the others go when I finally get back to them. I thought I would share a tidbit of what I am currently working on for this the second to last day of our A-Z challenge:
I feel the
forest breathing with me. The crunch of the forest floor under my
feet, as I make my way through the giant redwoods, their branches
tower above me. Droplets of rain land on my wool ivory hat and I can
hear the birds chatter. The setting sun trickles through the branches
and I see the break in the trees. Talia is waiting for me by the
railing overlooking the cliffs. She wanted me to meet with her before
I met everyone else. My steamer trunks had already arrived ahead of
me and were placed in my new room. I am half awake from the journey
here.
"It was
required," she told me when I had tried to argue.
My story had to
be perfect. No one could guess I was going anywhere other than the
prestigious school in Switzerland. That meant I had to actually go
there and then be transported out of the country, secretly. It seemed
messy to me, no one had to know I didn't actually catch the plane, I
reasoned. It was just for my parents benefit anyway. Talia shook her
midnight hair and lightly laughed, then was suddenly quiet. She
looked me over, searching my eyes to make sure I was serious.
"They are
always watching, you know, Jollie" she said solemnly.
"Who are
they?" I had asked her this question before, as she walked with me to the terminal.
"You will
find out soon enough," she had answered smiling slightly, "that
is what your classes are for."
This time I was
the one smiling. I was thankful to be here and far from the school that held so many moments I wish I could forget.
Xenophobia is defined as an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange. Who defines what is unreasonable? That is always my first question when I see terms like this being mixed into the cultural discourse of our lives.
Pseudo-intellectuals love to wield terms like this as a weapon when attempting to ascribe racism to certain actions. As if they have any idea what that might say about the person they are describing. It is a term that has begun to lose meaning because of using it in every situation, whether that is a valid assessment or not.
What is reasonable when a person feels they are losing their identity and feels the need to push back against the tide of animosity toward them. They have not acted violently or even used hateful words to create this contradicting argument. Yet, they are vilified by a majority that says to retain their identity is, by it's very nature, unreasonable. These individuals or groups are suddenly moved into the xenophobia tent without so much as a thought as to why this is a dangerous assumption.
In the United States of America we have a rule of law that is based on the rights of the individual to be protected from the mob mentality. However, this is being usurped daily by a media that chooses to prop individuals up in the court of public opinion with the flimsiest, if not downright fabricated, evidence. Tried and convicted before the angry mob they are virtually hung without anyone looking at the case against them as one of actually having values, or, as in George Zimmerman's case, actually defending himself.
Now, perhaps you think I am joking, or have now labeled me a racist for using George Zimmerman as an example, however, that is exactly what I am saying. Everyone has the right to an opinion. You may not like it, but it does not invalidate that voice.
As for my example, poor George Zimmerman, have you heard this guy's story? He only bought a gun as a last resort weapon because members of his family (wife & mother) were getting chased by pit bulls in their neighborhood. He was actually told by the police this was his best option. He and his wife had both completed training for the gun. He was by no means an experienced gun owner, though. From evidence that is coming out he was fighting for his life when the fatal shot was fired, and no one believes him. He is now in hiding because the media has made a spectacle of this situation. That poor man.
What happened to innocence until proven guilty, have we reverted back to the 1700s when one witness and an angry mob could whip a man or, worse, shoot him in cold blood without a trial?
There are reasons we have the laws we do, because those who made them witnessed the corruption and lawlessness of a time before they were enacted-- when a man could be whipped for crimes that were fabricated. He could be taken out into the street and hung. We have a bill of rights for a reason and we had better learn what those reasons were. We are at a crossroads and one way leads to freedom and the other leads to destruction.
If we don't figure out which one we are really following one day we may wake to find it is too late to change our course.
Words of wisdom come from many sources, but for me, I love quotes and what some may call "old wives tales" as there are usually pearls of truth that can help us. Even in our technology inhabited lifestyles we have much to learn from the masters of language and life, whether we realize it or not.
I am learning so much about history in my American Literature class that stems simply from looking at the literature of the period between 1865-present and the literary figures that created it. Our history is tied to our words and to the voices of the past that tell of their experiencesor those fictionalized histories they have created from those experiences.
The writers voice is the tool to create
worlds through words and it is a magical place. For the writer, it is
about bringing to life an experience and for the American writers from 1865 to the early twentieth century they
wrote about their fates and fortunes through their personal essays on non-fictional events and creative fictions through historicized realism.
When it comes time for folks to say nice things about me, because I
have left the world, I would like to know that the world is at least a
little brighter for my having been in it.
What this illuminates more than anything for me is the need to create the essays and fiction that will not only entertain, but will lend a voice to to my generation and whisper into the ears of the next--reaching the minds of generations to come.
Just as happiness is to the soul as sunshine is to the trees, food for growth, so writing can be a source of inspiration.
[Okay, so today is going to be a double header as I was too exhausted at 12:30 AM and still didn't have my post together. Although, I did have a ton of ideas swirling around my brain, including the fancy title you see above.]
Voices surround us from all areas: the voices of our parents, our teachers, our friends, the newscasters, the radio DJs, celebrities, politicians, and all of the other voices of history that come to us through literature. These voices are the complexities that make up our experiences, they create the foundations of our personalities and opinions. What would we be without these viewpoints? How can we believe what we believe without a foundation? There is no way. People do not grow in a vacuum, it takes a catalyst, an idea. The question then becomes: what ideas are we receiving?
We all have the voices of victory or those which rally in our defeat. A deception is created when we confuse the two. Not all voices of victory sound victorious and not all voices of defeat sound sullen. Many times they will sound the same and only when we closely analyze the meanings of the words and how they are meant to affect us will we have a clue as to which they really are. In my life, I have had friends and family who would give me advice that was wonderful and sincere, however, if I had followed it I would have found only heartache and defeat. I know because some advice I did follow, only to realize years later it was devastation.
There is only one voice that will truly lead to victory and that is the still small voice of God. This voice resides in every person if they will only let him in and listen. Do not be fooled as I was, though. There is deception, mostly, it is in the form of things we want to hear. The things we tell ourselves, and when we listen to other voices around us without thinking clearly about what their conclusions lead to. Logic seems to be becoming a lost art, but it doesn't have to be. It begins with asking questions of ourselves and why we believe what we believe.
We are wonderful at deluding ourselves. At least I was. I really thought I had an open mind to see through delusions. The truth is, I was simply fabricating reality from what I wanted it to be based on my own experiences--without looking at what was actually happening around me. To create a dream board is one thing, but to ignore the reality, not factoring it into our logic, we fail to account for it and this leads to delusional behaviors and ideas.
There are those people who will act as a voice of victory, these are the tough love words of true friends and uplifting family. The words of advice from the trusted pastor who speaks truth when we don't want to hear it. The dose of reality from the professor who is trying to get us to think about ourselves or a controversial topic. These examples, along with many others too numerous to list, are the voices that really want to help us succeed. They value us not as pawns, but as human beings and seek to help us to see the truth of a situation even if it hurts us momentarily. They would rather have us hurt for a moment than see our lives shattered for years, or even a lifetime. This is victory.
I had
just set out with my wooden ladder over my left shoulder and my
brightly lit red lantern swaying back and forth with my right hand.
The other guys and I had set out in all directions, each of us on our
own separate route, along the tree-lined avenues with their leaves
like fire in yellows, reds, and orange colors. We were enjoying the
weather, we were cracking jokes at the warehouse where we meet up
every evening to collect our ladders and lanterns. We were even
whistling as we left the station. It isn't always like this, the
summers are hot and muggy, the winter is bitter cold, spring is
rainy. However, nothing compares to an evening in New York in the
Autumn. It is like no other, and as lamplighters we get to enjoy them
every evening. This night was the exception.
I am
halfway through my route and halfway down my ladder, having just lit
another lamp along this narrow stretch of avenue, when I hear an
argument brewing between a fashionably dressed older man and a
beautiful young girl across the street near an alley. When I had
first arrived they were walking down the avenue. The boss tells all
new lamplighters to mind your business and stay out of trouble so I
was pointedly ignoring them and busy with my work. They are getting
louder, though, so it is getting harder to do. Then, right when I
glance over I could have sworn I see him trying to grab her.
Honestly, I still was going to pretend I hadn't noticed, but that is
when she screamed.
That
was all I needed, something was definitely not right with the
situation and now this fashionable girl had literally screamed at the
top of her lungs on the near empty street. I raced down my ladder
with my lantern in my hand. I quickly raced across the street taking
my ladder along, too. The girl and the guy had disappeared into the
alley as I yelled to them to stop. It was getting dark, but the lamps
I had just lit were shining and the fading light of dusk was still
lingering. I held my lantern up high to see further into the
alleyway. I didn't hear them at all, not a murmur. The footprints
there looked like my couples, but I couldn't be certain. I wondered
to myself that I didn't see them. I tried to explain away the
unexplainable, not the first and, in this city, it wouldn't be the
last. They had simply vanished and I had a job to finish. Other girls
were depending on me to light up the darkness.
By the time students fully grasp the knowledge that is at their fingertips they
have usually already graduated. Many undergraduates and graduates alike have
not used, or, worse, are completely ignorant of what wealth of
resources are available to them. They have a staff of individuals
that are waiting to be of service, whether it is their professors, reference
librarians, or the writing center these people are there to help ease
the sometimes arduous task of creating the superior work professors
would like to read.
The one goal all of these entities have in common, and strive for, is to
get the writer thinking.
The truth of the matter is our words begin
with our thoughts. Our ideas give life to our prose. Interacting with
another human being, whether live or through a written text, to
generate these ideas in-depth is another evolution in the process of
writing.
The
Writing Center is a fantastic way to achieve the results students are
seeking, because it is a live experience and allows the writer to
explain their ideas to someone who will give them honest feedback.
One of the more important aspects of this interaction, though, is the aspect of questioning the writer. This
questioning allows the author to look at the assumptions they have
made and formulate new ideas.
I know within my own experiences, both
as a writer and reviewer, asking questions is what I do. I ask the
person I am seeking a review from what they see working in my writing and what
can be improved. As a reviewer, I write comments that are usually in
the form of questions to help the author think through what they have
written and see if they can take the work to another level to add
depth to the piece. I completely see how this is the most helpful
part of talking through your work, asking questions and getting
feedback.
Feedback
is a touchy subject with me, as I witness the death of conversation.
As we zoom along on the "information super-highway" at
speeds no humans were really meant to withstand, I see where our
entire society is slowly reaching the point of not conversing. With
our fancy machines it is easier to whip up a text rather than
actually call someone. An email will suffice for the lengthy
conversation. I find myself falling into this trap of truly
anti-social behavior. Why should I call when I have a million and one
things to do? But this line of thinking is dangerous on two levels. For one, it is is self-centered and second, when greater
ideas are generated through conversations we miss the opportunity for growth.
The pendulum is swinging
toward the point of no return, where we don't talk about the subjects
that really matter. There is just something about a good conversation that stirs up the creative forces. Driving the foundation of new horizons of thought, these conversations can change the course of civilizations.Which is one of the reasons I appreciate school
so much, it is much harder to escape serious conversation in the university
environment and, what's more: I enjoy it.
This
is also one of the reasons that the Writing Center, blogs, and writing communities have become even
more important, as we fail to sit and analyze with others on serious issues, we need
dedicated spaces where we can still do this. I was just thinking the
other day how writers used to sit and talk with other writers
regarding their ideas and conclusions, receiving much needed feedback
from their peers. The blogging community is a great resource forth this.
As writers, we have to have the interaction or we
will become stagnant. We have to have the inquiry into our work and
help others have the same, as we generate new ideas and pathways to explore. We need to enjoy the questions, working with them and
creating the cultural discourse that will swing the pendulum back
in the other direction. I just hope this happens before we are past the
point of no return. As writers, we can lead the way.
I have to admit I am
a language purist. When I see words being bandied about, I see where
people are trying to talk their way around actually saying something
of any real use.
It really doesn't matter what you say if no one can understand what you are attempting to communicate.
Orwell was right about buzz words, our language is filled with them. This seems like a case of "weasel words" (sheisty ambiguous words) taking a front seat by folks who are either being purposefully
vague or those who have no idea what to say. Instead, they use a
string of big words to make themselves seem knowledgeable--about what
we can't be sure, because they didn't really say anything.
Personal branding is a part of the problem. It is a buzzword
war world with everyone trying to find their own catchy slogan. I admit I
was in the middle of this, as well. I have been working on building
my own brand. It is not really easy and can seem daunting at first
glance. It really is a facade, though. We can try to sum up a person in a phrase, or worse a word, but this diminishes a whole person--we are not to be summed up in one, or in a few words. Unlike
the major brands we are more than hollow corporate logos with a catchy slogan that attempts to endear them to us. We are complex individuals with a
myriad of different skills, interests, and attributes that aren't
defined in a small box of five words.
When we all become
commodities then something is seriously wrong in our society.
However, this seems to be the direction we are heading. "How do
you market yourself?" this is what the "getting hired" books ask
and lead to the direction of personal branding. Everything in writing
from your Facebook page to your blog becomes your image, your
personal brand. I know from experience that everything I post is
subject to personal liability and can hurt my business. Sometimes I
don't care and post it anyway, but it is a distinction that is always
on my mind. Written words are powerful because they stay with you and
your clarity makes it unambiguous as to what you are saying. Perhaps that
is why there is so much muddled writing, a lack of wanting to reveal
what you think and how you really feel about a subject.
I hope that we don't
get to a place where people feel that have to hide behind the
complication of hazy writing in all areas of life. This may explain
some of the writing I have seen more recently, though. Fear is an
interesting emotion for the writer, as it doesn't allow the writer to
really write what is on her mind. I admit I went through this and
then I decided:
I didn't care.
And, that is when I began to create my best writing,
when I stopped caring so much about what I was revealing about
myself. To be a writer you have to reveal yourself and it can be
tricky, but it doesn't have to be scary.
"Question the answers" is one of my favorite phrases. As a scholar you are supposed to question what the world is saying and propose differing views culminating in a dissertation. Bottom line is you have to look at the premise of whatever you are researching.
Why did that writer write what they wrote?
What was the underlying premise for that opinion to be formulated?
These are the questions that not only scholars, but all writers should incorporate. Even in fiction why is your character doing what they are doing, saying what they are saying, or, in general, described the way they are? This is fundamental to good writing, digging up why the character is doing what they are doing and are in the situation they are in.
In Theatre, we call this motivation.
You will hear it bandied about by acting teachers, what is your motivation? Why is your character saying what they are saying? Why are they doing what they are doing? These are fundamental questions to build characters and every writer should know this as they build both rich characters and interesting settings. And, an intriguing plot, as a bonus.
Asking these questions should be like breathing.
If this questioning doesn't permeate into the rest of our life we are probably not going deep enough with our thinking and this may spill into our writing. Remember, practice makes perfect. No, perfect practice makes perfect, which is a perfect example of not looking deeper at the premise.
Everything is up to debate, really. As writers we have a particular obligation to ask these questions as we are expanding the boundaries of our imagination by doing so. We must uncover the mask of ourselves, our characters, and our lives--only by asking the questions are the masks revealed.
Poppycock is such a great word and has gone out of fashion. Unfortunately, I have had a very long day and feeling quite sleepy so this is going to be a very short post.
As we come once again to that dreaded day where millions of U.S.Citizens must file their taxes, we see how owned we really are.
What exactly do our taxes buy us: Servitude.
Or to put it bluntly, Slavery.
Our precious time, the only commodity we have left, is squandered in the cubicle plantations of our masters.
We are no longer a nation of free citizens, we are slaves to
bankers. These bankers are nothing more than pawns of the ruling elite
who own them. Even if we are lucky to do what we love, there is always the master saying, "you better pay your due, you sharecropper."
No longer Sovereign Citizens, having given up that freedom for the illusion of security and comfort, we became a nation of beggars. "Please master, can I have a little more food for my family?" or "Can you not hurt us so much?" not realizing we are asking for something that is already ours in the first place. Had we not sold it for 30 pieces of silver, that is.
As we adopted the lazy man's ways we gave away our property. In the process we lost our future and our freedom. All in the name of the "Greater Good," or so we were told.
When I look around I feel like the Rock Biter on the Never-ending Story. I see the people I love and the other people around me taken up by the Nothing. And sometimes I think there is nothing I can do about it. At least, that is how I feel.
The Nothing.
It is an emptiness of the soul, not that the soul is gone it is more like a zombie state of numbness. The soul is low and it is missing the light that it once had. Now, I know that times seem tough, but there have been tougher.
Simply ask someone who lived through the Great Depression. Do you have a roof over your head, food to eat, and clothes to wear? Yep, I bet you even have a car and a cell phone.
The real question becomes how this Nothing took over. Fear is something I have been talking about often and that is what we are talking about here. People are fearing for the future, not knowing what the future is going to be like for their children and their grandchildren. I know we are scared and we have every right to question.
However, we need to not let it take over our minds and eat it's way into our hearts.
You will attract what you dwell on, it is a fact. If you are afraid of losing something you can bet it will only be a matter of time before it is gone. If you are afraid you won't have enough money, you can mark it on your calendar that you won't. It is The Nothing that would love for us to dwell on the negative and forget all of the blessings that surround us. Sure, we have problems, but when in the history of the world have there not been problems. Even in the garden of Eden there was that pesky snake!
You are not a victim, you are a child of the Most High God!
He is waiting for you to realize it. Wake-up to the realization that you are in the light and darkness can try it's hardest, but it cannot overtake you without your consent. It is very true, the tale of the vampire, that he must be invited in. This is the lesson: do not be deceived.Do not invite in the demons to have dinner.
Resist The Nothing by reclaiming your joy!
The best thing we can do is be joyful. I am not kidding. It is not about our circumstances, but how we react to them.
Life is a set of moments, some beautiful and some not so beautiful.
Our choices, along with our attitude toward them, can change everything.
One of the surest ways to realize this, and set ourselves free in the process, is to live in the present. Deeply concentrating on the right now, seriously paying attention to processing each moment, and really observing ourselves can show us what we are creating, as we make the choices which will ultimately create our future moments. This realization can be life transforming.
A moment can change our lives.
What would we give to change just one moment? What about several? There is no way to really do this, but we can change the present and that means becoming hyper-aware of what we are doing at the present time.The Buddhists call it mindfulness, the yogis call it being centered, and I call it being fully awake. If we mindlessly go through life one day we will turn around and realize we don't know why we made the choices that we did. That moment hurts and can be anything except beautiful.
It may be eye-opening, perhaps even inspiring as it motivates us to change, but it is an uncomfortable realization to have. Hopefully, we find out sooner rather than later if we have been walking around in a mind numbing stupor. Nothing like realizing you've been a zombie for many years. This can happen for many reasons, becoming a shell of a person. However, trauma is the biggest cause.
A traumatic moment changes us forever.
It is one of the reasons that moments are so important. One traumatic moment you may get over eventually, a string of them can deal a deathblow to our ego and to our life. One of the ways this happens is through a series of traumatic moments.
These may be personal or global in scale.
Take for instance the 9/11 attacks, this would be an example of global series of traumatic moments. Leaving everyone who witnessed it, whether in person or on the television in a state of shock. Assassination of Presidents and other leaders, Pearl Harbor, and the sinking of the Titanic are all other examples of global scale traumatic moments. I'm certain I could come up with numerous more examples.
Our attitude toward these moments is just as important as what happened, if not more so.
Our outlook about the moments that surround us will make all the difference in our lives. When we begin to see that we are in control of our emotions and begin to see every moment for what it is--an opportunity to change our lives--and begin to be mindful of our thoughts toward these moments, then we become a master of our own destiny.
We begin to steer the ship and let go of our fears.
Today was a completely stormy wind-swept and wet day.
I loved it!
Unfortunately, my husband didn't, he is solar powered and when the sun hides he gets sleepy and grouchy. I find I have to bribe him into happiness with biscuits, cookies, or some other baked goodies. It plays a dual role of soothing the bear and warming the house.
I am currently in the beginning of another quarter at the University and plodding away at my Master's in English goal. It's funny how life can throw you curve balls, I found out by talking with a classmate that I really should have taken women writers (how did I miss this? It sounds so fun!) for my diversity requirement, as opposed to Native American Literature (which I find really boring). This is the second quarter where my trying to conserve gas money has led me to a class that I am less than content with.
Fortunately, I have a wonderful class called Science Fiction to make up for all that the other class lacks. We are reading Lost World by Michael Crichton, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I couldn't help it, I had to finish it and the stormy day was perfect for making tea and reading a book. As the wind, rain, and hail swept through, which had me feeling much like we stepped into the TARDIS and had been transported to Wales. I read about chaos theory, dinosaurs, and the scientists who love them. Crichton can truly spin an excellent tale, he really does his homework. He shows us glimpses of cutting edge theory and tells us how arrogant we are, but in a way that is more like your loving uncle rather than your scolding mother.
One of the contexts we are using is what our relationship to nature really is and how Crichton actually gives a voice to nature. Some of the old assumptions are changing, for example, some animals are more similar in their behaviors to humans than scientists had previously thought. On the other side, some scientists are ruthless and the natural world has become nothing but a stomping ground to capture nature, they have a looters mentality. This makes for an interesting lenses in which to read and analyze the text.
This seems pretty obvious on the face of it, however, upon closer inspection we can see the trouble that is inherent in this statement. There is knowledge that you may never know that will not matter to you in the slightest, it won't effect your life even an infinitesimal bit. Then there is the other knowledge, the things we all take for granted, that affects our lives deeply--we don't know only because we never thought about it.
“The
range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.
And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little we
can do to change until we notice how failing to notice shapes our
thoughts and deeds.”--R.D. Laing, British psychiatrist
We are taught not to question very much and given knowledge presented as absolutes. These are never questioned, but should always be tested. Much of this known knowledge is in reality simply theory. Tested theories, in many cases, yes, but theories nonetheless. Ask the Wright brothers, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Nikola Tesla, even Galileo, about theories and consensus. Scientists are very good at this, or I should say rather, very good scientists know this and use it. That we have to question the answers:
"...only when we
truly realize and accept that we cannot actually know what we cannot
see, that we can begin to remove the blinders that this creates. This
paradox of embracing the blindness in order to gain sight, is of crucial
importance. Yet this insight comes with a price. It is characterized
by tireless skepticism and testing. It is themed by such questions as,
“what do you base that on?”, and “why?” This state of mind is
uncomfortable, difficult to maintain and exhausting, especially in times
of stress... Due to all of this difficulty we
humans are therefore easily seduced by untested assumptions that promise
a wealth of certainty, yet may well end up being the next Ponzi scheme.
We are suckers for this. We are human." --J. Michael Bone, Ph.D.
You don't know what you don't know, so you didn't even think to ask. We just assume that what someone is telling us is accurate--or what we read or watch, for that matter. If it is reported, suddenly, it is the truth, when in actuality it is no more factual than shadows on the cave wall:
We are the people in the cave when we let people give us easy answers. When we will not look for ourselves we fall into the trap. Nothing in life, that is worth anything, is easy. It takes courage to take our shackles off and step outside the cave. It can even hurt. Yet, freedom always has a price and, even more importantly, we must see that we are in chains in order to realize we need to free yourself.
If we can begin to free our minds...the rest of us will follow.
The most effective way to cure writer's block is to write. The first thought that springs to mind after hearing this is: how to do this when you have it, isn't it a catch 22?
Yes, but mostly--no.
Here is why. If you can just start writing your mind will begin engaging in ways you really hadn't thought possible. You will begin to write and some of it will be garbage, granted. However, much of it will either be exactly what you were looking for or it will be fodder for some other project. Either way you win.
You will have successfully beaten the writer's block and if you can continue to do so you will be free from this affliction. Sometimes (in rather strange circles) this virus is mistakenly referred to as a social disease, as it seems to strike when a writer has been invited to go out with their friends. If you find you really are stuck, perhaps try going out with your friends and come back refreshed from taking time to live.
Another strategy, if you just simply feel too guilty about not writing to go out, is to live vicariously though other characters. Read a good book that you have been putting off reading because you really needed to write those next few pages. Yet, you are staring at a blank page and nothing is what springs to mind. This is your inner five year old wanting a story told to him or her. Oblige the little bookworm so you can get back to doing what you do best, being creative.
Some writers are so full of words they will not face writer's block, or least they claim they haven't. Don't let them fool you, they just kept writing and maybe most of it was gobbledygook. No matter. They still win. Once you can get past the empty page you can start getting back into the rhythm of really writing and, just as muscles remember after they have done something in repetition, your writing muscles will engage.
These are some keys on the writers craft I have picked up along the way, they all boil down to one rule--just write.
