A Steve Jobs Quote

"You've got to find what you love. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle." ~~ Steve Jobs


I know everyone knows this quote.
I have heard it over a thousand times in just as many ways, and you have too.
But today I am stuck on it.
I am meditating on it.
I mean really studying it.

What will I do with this quote?

A writer has to have a purpose, not just for the piece she's working, either.
Most writers I've interviewed seem to be writing for the same purpose, despite which book, poem, or essay their working on. For example, Carole Boston Weatherford says she's interested in little known people and events in black history, and you see that whether you pick up Juneteenth Jamboree or something recent like Moses.

 Will I find my purpose? Have I already found it? Have you?

Remembering Godchild

A few weeks ago, I went to ODU’s Lit. Fest with my sixteen-year-old son.

Yes! I thought. (We had not attended an author’s talk or a play since he was in middle school.)

 I thought he’d protest when I told him he was going.

He didn’t.  There is only so much Madden and GTA one can play, I guess.

We listened to Godchild share his poems from memory, from the heart. I scribbled one haiku after the other down. He used them like interludes, which I appreciated particularly after heavy, moving poems.

I created two found poems from Godchild's words:

Say something that’s never been said.

What seems impossible becomes effortless, as

what you have to say has weight.
Be
so into
what you’re into
you
become  it;
it becomes you.
Don’t
sleep
on your dream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My stage presence is
a present to those who are
present. No approval needed.

Changing sports, changing genres

Shortly after football season last year, my son started basketball season.

He hopped into the car that first evening after two hours of practice and said something like, “Once on the court, I had to learn how to play basketball again.”

I paused.

Trust me, I have never played sports, so most of what I know about playing organized sports, I learned from him.

I looked at my teen teacher as if he had lost it.

He’s been playing basketball since he was old enough to hold one.

What was he talking about?

After months of mulling it over, I see that changing sports is like changing genres.

Learning how to write for children takes me away from what I usually write: nonfiction books, articles, and book reviews for teachers and librarians.

Every time I shift genres, it’s like I have to learn the “rules” all over again, the conventions of that genre. I have to remember my audience for that particular genre, too.  

As I thought about this, I began to wonder what I can do in the classroom to help my students see it’s OK if they forget the rules. That’s what practice is for.

Do you need an angel?

 

Today, a prolific colleague told me about Ecanus, the angel for writers. She says before engaging in writing assignments, she lights a white candle and looks at her angel figurine.

 I like this idea.

It’s soothing to think that there is an angel supporting your efforts.

For Inspiration




From Google Images

The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it. Psalm 68:11 KJV

Where Do I Start? by S. Lanier Lovejoy

I know it’s been a while since I’ve had a guest post. Hopefully, I will be able to provide them more often. Today’s post is by S. Lanier Lovejoy. Enjoy!

Where Do I Start?

by S. Lanier Lovejoy

I want to write but I just don’t know where to start. What subject should I tackle today? I know that I love to write, so why is it so difficult to determine what to write? Does my desire to write far outweigh my ability to write?

     The aforementioned questions ring loudly in my head while dipping my toe in the water to write my first piece.  This “true” novice has long desired to pen something of interest to the world, provide a glimpse of things as I see them. Yet, my dogged companion at the end of the day is always a blank screen.  I keep telling myself I can write. I have a vivid imagination. I never let the facts get in the way of a good story.  Why can’t I convey these thoughts in an appropriate medium?  After every attempt and failure, I simply put away my instruments of doom and move on to something else. Yet, there is always this nagging voice within me that draws me back to the pen and paper, or that dreaded computer. So what’s a beginner to do?

    It is my belief that a beginning writer like me tries to write that epic tome right out of the gate. I have to show that I am the best undiscovered writer in the world; just wait until they get a hold of me! When in reality, it is probably more advisable to take smaller chunks out of that elephant before crowning myself a clear descendant of Hannibal. Sure, this is easier said than done, but I have to start somewhere. So where is this starting point?

     I asked a question of a friend once, “What are you passionate about?” I qualified my definition of passion as something that you have a fervid desire to do and nothing can detract you from it. Surprisingly, this friend had initial difficulty providing an answer. She wavered on things she liked to do, but couldn’t classify them as things she’s passionate about.

     My suggestion to anyone that desires to become a writer is to determine the one thing you’re passionate about, the one thing you probably can be considered a near-expert in, and start your magnum opus on that subject. Think about it. If you’re possessive of a writer’s spirit, and are able to write about that thing you’re most passionate about, then your commitment to this effort should rarely wane.

     Yes, this sounds simplistic and sophomoric.  Think back to your youth when everything was new, and every new toy brought about an unbridled desire. Whether it was a bike, computer game, or hula hoop, you just had to have it. You went to sleep at night thinking about that one thing. That, in my opinion, was passion (albeit slightly misplaced). We still possess those same strong feelings within ourselves, although the toys we’re passionate about today are slightly larger and more expensive. But if we can just bound that desire, that passion into an act or activity, or maybe even a person, and shape our topic around that subject, therein lies our starting point.

     Start with a description of the object. The beauty of writing is that you can always modify it later. Convey to your intended audience the depths of your passion on that subject. Why are you so passionate about it? What is the draw or allure you possess toward it? If you’re going to use a person as the object of your passion, please ensure that you define and bound your description of your passion towards this person. A trip down Thesaurus Lane and you’ll find some interesting synonyms for passion as they relate to a person.

     As you write, write for yourself. This is your passion. You’re merely using the written word to convey it, but it’s yours first. Ignore your impulses to write for others, and simply let the words flow. Like a great work of art, the observer will sense the passion in the author’s work and draw their own conclusions.

     Lastly, enjoy yourself. This isn’t a labor of strife, but a labor of love. I write because I have something to say. Shout it from the mountain top! Have fun with it and let the readers of your works glean passion from it.   

~~ S. Lanier Lovejoy

***Lovejoy and I talked about voice. You probably noticed the piece has more of a formal voice than my usual posts. I didn’t want to alter the voice because it’s “true.”

How do we name voice?

Is your voice always the same?

How do you decide which voice is appropriate for a piece?

Is it ever all right to write the way you talk?

How do you teach voice?

Is it even possible to teach voice?

 

Golden Line

When Elizabeth Searle spoke at my school during the Literary Festival a few months ago, someone asked her how she felt about the challenge of writing from a male's perspective and she said,

"The thing you're most afraid of can unlock a dam in you."

Wow!

Inspiration did not find me writing

A writing teacher shared one of Pablo Picasso’s quotes with me recently: “If inspiration comes to me, it will find me painting.”

I was reminded of it today. My early morning quiet time was interrupted when all of a sudden an introduction for the book review I’m working on for ForeWord magazine came to me.

I jotted it down quickly and got back to what I was supposed to be doing, reading prayers.

When it was time to prepare for work, once again, seemingly out of nowhere, an angle for a query letter came.

I grabbed a pen and the back of an interview transcript I’d done with an author a few years ago, and started writing, but just like that, it (inspiration) left me.

I wrote down what I could, but I couldn’t help but think , Why wouldn’t inspiration find me when I’m writing instead of when I'm getting ready for work?

Oh well, I have to take what I can, when I can get it.

I want to climb the slopes, too

Cynthia Miller Coffel’s Blog Post

The piece I read today reminded me of Cynthia Miller Coffel’s beautifully written guest blog post.  Cynthia talked about using models when turning her dissertation into a book.

Lucy Townsend's Article

The author of the article I read, Lucy Townsend, compares her trek on a career in academia to mountain climbing. She offers survival tips: know thyself, plan for the trip, have an endless stash of “supplies,” be patient, and collaborate.

Townsend says when she wrote her dissertation, she looked at her committee as if they were editors at a publishing house. She wrote the dissertation as if she were writing a book for the general public. I guess I liked the article because she said things I firmly believe in. I value writing for the general public. I want to write for everyone in the sense that I want to be understood. I also empathized with her when she suggests that she felt like there was a mismatch in terms of her training and her research focus.

Writing/Survival Strategy

We also both keep a prayer journal. She writes, “I kept a prayer journal in which I listed possible topics for research, papers I was developing…. Reading the journal and thanking Cod for the essays I had published were encouraging activities, but I continued to struggle with deep feelings of inadequacy.”

I have a colleague who says she lights candles and prays before she writes. When she sends the manuscript off, she prays again. She finds peace in that, whether the manuscript is published or not, it is well.

If you’re not religious, you can just list your ideas and express gratitude to the universe. Do whatever brings you peace.

Of course I’m paraphrasing, so please see Lucy Townsend “Climbing the Slopes of Academia: The Educational Biographer at Work,”  Vitae Scholasticae 25, 77-89, 2008

Advice to Novice Writers from Nancy Holder

I needed this advice from Nancy Holder.

I started a fiction piece a few months back in a writing class. I don’t know where the piece is going or even what it is. All I know is I started it to satisfy a young adult literature writing class requirement. I am extremely frustrated because I can’t seem to figure out where I want the main character, Kia Parker, to go, what I want her to be. 

I’m coddling her too much, as if she were me, or someone else I love, instead of pushing her out into the world where she will surely be hurt, disappointed, infuriated. 

What Holder’s advice says to me, is that I have to see it through, even if it doesn’t end up being a novel, even if it has no chance of ever being published. I must do it so I can get on with my life. Right now it’s like an itch, way down underneath a sweaty, thick cast on my leg. Somehow I’m going to have to find some way to get to it. 

The interviewer asks, “What about the novice writer is there anything to offer there? How about heading into the recently exploding self-publishing arena if one has a hard time getting a mainstream publishing contract?”

Holder replies, "To the novice writer: read, write, network. There's no other way to do it than to do it. Writers write every day. Write it, finish it, and move on to the next one. It's very important to finish things even if you think they're terrible. You need to read everything and you need to make contacts and get the skinny. Social media makes it happen even for the shy. Some self-published writers have gone on to great success. I'm thinking of Coleen Houck, who self-published her first one or two books in a trilogy, got an agent who asked her not to self-publish the next one, and is a New York Times bestselling author now."

 

 

I don’t want to self-publish fiction, even though I’ve read about success stories.

What do you think about self-publishing?What does Holder's advice say to you?

Nancy Holder, qtd. in “Dark Deals: The 'Wicked' Options of Nancy Holder” by Del Howison

You can write what you know!

You can write what you know, that is to say you can write about your life. 

Linda Cundy did. Her book, She Acts Very Different, is about her daughter, April.

April has a genetic disorder called Angelman Syndrome. 

The book will be published in January by Tate Publishing.

You can tell your stories, too.  

It doesn't have to be a nonfiction account. You can fictionalize it.

Your stories will help someone.

If this post is useful, please share it with someone else via Facebook or Twitter. 

Write When Your Heart is Full

By Nevit Dilmen

Write When Your Heart is Full

I do my best writing when my heart is full, full with emotion and feeling.

It might be love, gratitude, admiration. It doesn't matter. 

What matters is that emotion gives me energy, it fills me up, and some of it spills onto the page, giving the words voice.

When do you do your best writing?

Dr. Luisa Igloria on Discipline and Writing

Dr. Igloria is a poet. I wrote about her presentation at the Tidewater Writing Project last year on my other blog. 

But today I got a chance to read her post from December 2010. 

Take a look at it. 

It made me brainstorm ways I might commit to writing in a serious manner. 

Dr. Igloria writes, “My whole issue prior to this point was finding a time to write in my very busy life every day.”

I’ve blogged about this issue before because it is so real and it can be paralyzing for some of us, hampering our dream of writing. 

But we will not allow it. 

We will find ways to challenge ourselves to hold on.

Do you feel your writing is never good enough?

Listen to Donald Murray.

One of the things about writing that bugs the novices I know is that we feel what we write is never good enough. Novices tell me, I prewrote, I wrote, I rewrote. Now the due date is here, and I’m still worried I’ve written garbage.

Usually they haven’t, but it feels that way because like Murray says, and I paraphrase, “All writing is rewriting and writing is never done, it’s due.” 

This is so freeing, and I don’t mean that we shouldn’t strive to be great, but at some point you do just have to let go. 

Am I wrong about this? Let me know. 

By the way, I'm still hoping you will subscribe to my blog. Subscribing or following is important because it's the only way I can tell if I'm helping in any kind of way.

If I'm not helping, please e-mail,
kaavoniahinton@hotmail.com, me about what you would like to see me address in terms of writing. 

I look forward to hearing from you.

Rejection's Good

I know this might sound crazy to you, but rejection can be good.

Here's 3 reasons why:

1. It means you are writing!

2. It means you are not afraid to let others see your work. Do you know how many closet writers there are who are too afraid to show anyone, including their own family members, their work?

3. You're closer to getting published. My motto is if I keep asking people something, sooner or later I'm going to get the answer I want. It can work this way with writing, too. A good book says, "You have not because you ask not." 

Let's keep "asking" by revising our work and putting it in front of as many readers/editors/publishers as we can.

We can do this!

I work, I can’t write…

I know. I have a full time job, too.

Photo by Winnond

It’s hard to find time to write before or after work, but we can do it. When I interviewed Allison Whittenberg, I just knew she would join me in lamenting about the lack of time to write because we’re so busy with our teaching jobs, but guess what? She didn’t.

Instead, Whittenberg said, “I always feel with teaching and with some of the other jobs I had while going to school, you always get a few moments, or more than a few moments, where you can daydream things and put your ideas together , so that when you have time to write, something comes out because you thought about it so much while doing other things. It’s all details too. You’re thinking of little details here and there from your experiences…. I never had huge blocks of time to write.”

  Allison Whittenberg, qtd. in an interview with KaaVonia Hinton, June 21, 2010

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Forget Fear

I know we are afraid to follow this dream, but we must listen to Jan Brett’s advice:

“Follow through with your idea even if you're afraid. ‘Everything I've ever done in my life, before I've done it, I've always had that feeling: excited but a little afraid.’"

Jan Brett qtd. in “'Mitten' author Jan Brett makes stop at Green Bay library”

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