Johnny One-Note

By Leigh Stevenson

We often think of artists, whether painters, actors, writers, musicians, dancers, et al. as endlessly creative. However, I submit that in spite of being engaged in singular creative endeavors, artists can be as dry as numbers on a page or prairie grass in a dust storm.

Regardless of having a reputation for being mostly right-brained, artists may have creative tunnel-vision. In order to balance and feed art it’s important to draw from other sources. Indeed, the right brain and left brain are housed together and operate in concert with one another. It’s a joke among actors that dancers and singers make terrible actors and vice-versa. It could be argued they have poured too much into one skill set. Well, we can’t all be Ben Vareen or Michaelangelo.

Contemporary novelist Elizabeth Gilbert took a break from writing and developed a love for gardening. She credits that pursuit with inspiring her novel, The Signature of All Things. Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin, a.k.a. George Sand, the nineteenth century French novelist, loved nature and in particular, bird-watching. When she felt depleted she left the bustle of Paris and retired to the country for periods of time to nurture herself.  Painting was one of the creative outlets Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the nineteenth century English writer, explored.

Members of our Columbia II Writer’s Workshop practice law, act in plays, consult and teach among other things while also producing memorable writing.

In her recent Columbia II blog, Kasie Whitener spoke of finding inspiration while traveling, specifically in airports. Some of what I consider my best work came while in a hospital waiting room. Sometimes by stepping away, stepping out your “writing-comfort zone” will yield surprising results. Step away from your computer or notebook. Please step away from your hand-held device. Be present. Use all of the tools that make you a writer.

It could be as simple as hiking, applying paint on canvas or as challenging as learning a new language. Did I forget to say you don’t actually have to excel at any of these things? It’s simply exercising unused muscles to make all the other muscles work more efficiently.

They say that you become old by not trying new things. It’s also true that your art can become old and stale. Your art is all of who you are, what you see and experience. It’s not just the talent for stringing together lovely sentences or carving an exquisite bowl or photographing the perfect sunset. It’s all of who you are and what you do. Enrich yourself. No Johnny-One-Notes.

THE PLAY’S THE THING

By Leigh Stevenson

In the academic world, the arts are habitually lumped together in a rather generic category labeled 'Creative Endeavors.' As opposed to serious subjects like science and math, schools often consider music, art, drama, and writing as random or fill-in classes. If one of the arts is your life’s pursuit, this makes pursuing it rather difficult. Still the artists persist. I recently saw a play called The Velvet Weapon which is based on a revolution in which art, in this case a play, helped to end Soviet rule and create the Czech Republic. Pretty powerful stuff these random artistic pursuits.

Recently I had the opportunity to see and participate as acting and writing merged in the form of the dramatic reading of the play, Bermuda by SCWW Columbia ll’s Laura Valtorta. Over the years, I’ve had the chance to act in several plays written by playwrights from Shakespeare to O’Neill, Wilde, Beth Henley, and Tom Topor. Never before was the playwright present. Being a writer myself, I can’t imagine the restraint it took to watch one’s creation in the hands of other people. Laura watched with grace as others took what was in her head and translated onto paper and speak lines she wrote. I would imagine this was something akin to giving birth. It takes courage to trust a director who may or may not share your vision. Think also of the grit it took to observe actors who not only may not share your vision but who may interpret the lines you created in a in a totally different way than you intended. I think it’s no mistake that writers rarely direct their own work unless it’s on film.

Bermuda, a funny, offbeat comedy takes a humorous swipe at the abuse of governmental benefits but has no intentional revolution in mind. What Laura Valtorta has given us is a chance to laugh and perhaps see ourselves or someone we know in her characters. In Laura’s case she has managed to balance a full time career as an attorney with writing. What a lovely balance of talent, restraint and grit. What a shame it would have been if art and academics had not met.

Sometimes laughter is the best medicine and better than a revolution.

Observe. Create. Write. Repeat.

By Leigh Stevenson

I am often asked by non-writer friends where I get my ideas. “Do they come from real life? Do they come from your imagination? Do you take notes? Are you always looking for a story? Do you do extensive research?” The most accurate answer is all of the above. But my truest answer, if I’m honest: I try to pay attention.

In the beginning, I scribbled ideas on scraps of random bits of paper, napkin wedges and backs of receipts. More often than not, I would promptly lose them. There were also the middle-of-the-night brilliant ideas that I was sure I wouldn’t forget but inevitably did. My solution came in buying two notebooks, one that I try to keep with me at all times and another one for beside my bed. Sometimes I go back to read these notes and I can’t decipher them. But that doesn’t matter. Mostly, I do remember and it encourages me to pay attention.

I am endlessly curious about people. Most every person I encounter is fascinating in some way. Everyone has a story and I believe you can learn something from each individual. Maybe it’s a piece of wisdom or just a fragment of information. It might be the observation of a baby‘s intense concentration while trying to pick up a bug or that one cheerio on a slippery tray. It could be the way someone holds their hands while listening to criticism. Notice the gait of say a minister when compared to that of a car salesman. What do your fingers look like after sticking them in a bag of Cheetos? After washing blackberries? Observation is an essential element in the writer’s toolbox. Every observation adds texture to your memory bank. Even if you are writing non-fiction or a self-help book, observation is crucial. You have to observe how your audience is doing something incorrectly, to tell them how to do it right. Right?

Every bit of information and observation informs your writing. Tuck it away. Observe. Create. Write. Repeat. Not necessarily in that order.

What Would Jane Do?

By Leigh Stevenson

I had a huge realization. My return to the stage and the press surrounding it taught me something. Never has so much been written about so little. Really. The one-act play I did was funny, true. But articles in every publication in town, Facebook advertising, Twitter and then FRONT PAGE of the newspaper? Are you kidding me? Suddenly we were sold-out. The playwright, Robbie Robertson also our publicist/media guru, master of networking and blitzkrieg, was responsible.

I had heard for a while from professionals that getting your work out into the media, using all formats, is important. You create your own stir. I resisted this and basically ignored it. I thought, “Who would really read all the hype?” I guess I’m a throwback to Jane Austen. I just wanted to write. Not self-promote. Finally, a full year after a good friend said it was imperative, I created a blog. Slow study doesn’t quite cover it.

What Robbie taught me is, IT WORKS. However painful and makes me want-to-hide-under-the-bed-embarrassing, IT WORKS. If you create enough stir people will notice. I wish it was a different world. But it’s not.

Also, I wonder if the new technology intimidates anyone else. Is it just me? First, computers. That was a challenge, but I mastered the basics. Every time I talk with someone who knows more than I do (which isn’t hard), I pick their brain and take notes. In pencil. Remember pencil? By the way, do you notice that young people, I mean the ones that grew up with computers, are annoyed to show you how to do things on the computer? As if your ignorance wasn’t enough of a handicap, you feel dumb about being ignorant. I want to remind them; even they had to learn to read. We don’t spring from our mother’s loins with technology implanted. Or reading skills.

Next was email. I stuck a tentative toe in the water and then dove. I loved it. A fast, efficient way to correspond. Apparently it wasn’t fast or efficient enough. Then came (I’m not sure in what order, so don’t sue me) Websites for Everything and Everyone! Texting, Twitter, Blogging, Skype, Smartphones (what does that even mean?), Cloud technology, Nooks, Kindles, iPads, and on and on. I’m sure I’m behind on even naming them.

The point is, I feel I have to be a magician to keep up. I’m trying, heaven knows. I’m not sure, however, with all of this corresponding and sharing of information… if people are still talking. How’s the art of conversation faring with the How r u’s and LOL’s? How about handwritten letters? I used to love letters. Even a greeting card makes me happy. Oh sure, I love to get them via email, but there is something about holding them in your hand. Books, too. I don’t want to be a dinosaur about it but it’s true, there are things to miss. Some traditions worth hanging on to. I still love Jane Austen. What on earth would she have done?

A Primer on Inspiration From a Few Masters

By Leigh Stevenson

It’s always been of interest to me what motivates writers. Where do they get their inspiration? Newspaper articles? Childhood memories? Music? Art? Other writers? From your own personal Job Bank, as Sarah put forth in her humorous April 7^th blog? Is it a conscious creative exercise or do ideas spring fully formed? Do you say, “I think I’ll write about golf,” and then go do it? Do you pay attention to what you feel in any given situation, or are you an observer? Both? Neither? Looking at a few published authors, some literary icons, some not, offers some interesting clues about their process.

Elizabeth Strout, the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for Olive Kitteridge suggests marriage as one rich source of drama for fiction writers. She said, “I hope when I pick up a book to find that part of myself that I never dared say anything about.”

Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame, says it’s important to literally “touch the earth,” as in feel the soil, experience nature. She goes on to say that she believes “creativity is an entirely spiritual practice.”  She thinks “you should treat your gift with the highest possible respect” and the Archetype of the suffering artist is outdated. Instead, she suggests you ask yourself, “where have you felt joy in your life?”

Téa Obreht, author of The Tiger’s Wife, a New York Times Bestseller and finalist for the national Book Award, calls herself a National Geographic nerd. She merges a unique blend of mythic folklore, story and memory in her work. She says it is surprising how one’s work takes on a life of its own and describes one experience of only fully realizing a character after meeting the “real-life” version in a Moscow flea market.

It is said that Emily Dickinson was inspired by the mysticism of William Blake, the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Harriet Beecher Stowe and even the Bible.

In a recent interview, Josephine Humphries said she is stimulated by her hometown of Charleston. She called it a place with a complex, difficult history. She feels lucky to have been born in a city that is rife with contradictions.

What gets your creative juices flowing? I would love to hear your thoughts on your personal artistic process.

Vision Board for Writers

By Leigh Stevenson

I have created a Vision Board. I reveal this at the risk of sounding woo-woo to the uninitiated. My reason is not so much to “bring” the things on my board to me as it is to remind me of what I want to explore and create space for in my life. It has become a kind

of visual list.

All it requires is poster board, scissors and a few old magazines. If you are artistic, you can create your own drawings. You add to your Vision Board those things that elude you. Those things you never seem to have time for. Place it where you can see it on a regular basis.

As writers we are always dealing with the written word. That’s a given. To add depth and texture to writing, I believe in using all the senses. Thus I have my visual reminder. Some of the aspects of my board represent making time for friendships; reading books in all genres, not just my own; traveling; and exploring poetry. And as is, I believe, the way of the Universe, my life and my writing somehow now encompass these things.

One reminder from the Vision Board that has given me great pleasure is poetry and newly discovered poets. My mother was a poet and writer, and although I’ve been around poetry all my life, my knowledge of it is limited. There are the old favorites; Shakespeare (Goes without saying. The man wrote in iambic pentameter), Dickinson, Keats, Whitman, Rumi, Frost. The list is endless. But what has been a revelation is the newly discovered poets. Among others new to me are Ann Michaels and Mary Oliver. Their words astonish, surprise and often transfix me. Bonnie Stanard, too, of our own Columbia II Writer’s Workshop is not only a novelist but a very fine poet. Her images are fresh and haunting.

So, I must recommend the Vision Board. If only as an interesting exercise, it may have value for you. At best, it could create space for things you didn’t know were missing.

Find Your Magic

 By Leigh Stevenson

We choose to write in a way that speaks to us. Fantasy, history, memoir, essay, fiction, non-fiction, Twitter, Facebook, Blogs. It doesn’t matter. Whatever the form, what matters to most writers is that our work also speaks to others.

What is that magic thing that makes someone pick up one book and reject another? Follow one Blog and not another? Topic? Genre? Cover Art? Author? You could go crazy trying to figure it out. One thing I have learned after years of research is that opinions on the subject are just that. Everyone has one and everyone has advice. If you choose, you can read every blog, book and article on the topic and still be utterly confused.

What I have learned for sure is there are no rules. Aside from a good grammar check and edit you can pretty much throw out every other have-to. For every supposed “rule” there is someone who has broken that rule and been published.

You could just stop. It would be a lot easier. Or you could decide to get on with it and make your own rules as you go. Sure it’s hard. You can immobilize yourself with the immensity of the challenge and trying to figure out the “tricks of the trade”. Being a writer is hard enough without trying to second guess what will sell in the marketplace.

Along with the joy of writing, I have found that a large part of the creative process is a lot like running into a wall again and again. Then there’s the slogging through the quicksand of rewrites and editing and more rewrites. Not that much fun. We persevere, even so.

The best I know is to check your grammar, find a good, honest, knowledgeable writing partner and/or writing group and try to enjoy the process.

And then, once in a great while, there is a moment when everything comes together. The words are right and the sentences flow and you say to yourself, “I can’t believe I actually wrote that”. You find your own magic, not someone else’s version of it.

Inspiration

By Leigh Stevenson

People often ask writers where they get their inspiration and why they write. I will try to explain what it is for me.

My mother was a poet and a fiction writer. Among many other things, she taught me to see, really see the world in the shape of trees, the color of light, the beauty of the natural world. My earliest attempts as a writer were in the form of somewhat feeble poetry. I tried to capture all of the turbulent emotions and experiences of growing up and put them on the written page. She encouraged my first attempts but was frank in her assessments. She told me that we often think in trite terms, i.e. clear as a bell, high as a kite, red as a rose. Those expressions are what we hear every day and are what immediately come to mind. The challenge of the writer is to see with fresh eyes and to translate your impressions into fresh terms. This seemed an overwhelming task and I became somewhat discouraged. But I couldn’t stop. A Thesaurus became a good friend.

My father taught me a love of music of all kinds: classical, big band, jazz, contemporary. Sometimes just the sound of wind in the trees or moving through tall grass, the swish of water in a fountain or the beat of the ocean is enough. Sound is important to me as a writer. Sometimes a lack of it.

Inspiration almost always comes to me when I’m still, when I can see the natural world. I don’t think I could write in a windowless room and not see the sky. I have always admired those authors who could sit at a kitchen table with their kids running around them and write a novel. I never could. I was always too engaged with them, too in the moment. I need separate time, space and quiet to create.

I believe a writer must write. He/she has no choice. It’s not enough to see and experience; a writer is compelled to put it on paper. It would almost be painful not to.

What inspires me? Nature. Music. Sound. Great literature. Stimulating conversation. People. Life.

Why do I write? I have to.

Leigh Stevenson

I have been writing long enough to recognize a cliché, but not as long as some of the other writers in Columbia II. When we are discussing a work, I take my time and try to make comments that will be helpful. There’s a quote by C. Day-Lewis that sums up why we write. “We do not write in order to be understood, we write in order to understand.”