I’ve stumbled onto a new revision technique. New to me, at least. It started with an 8,000-word early chapter book that I wanted to try switching from third person to first person. Yes, I could have just edited the existing manuscript on my pc, but I decided to print it out, then using the hard copy as a guide, type it up from scratch incorporating my change in point of view. It worked so well that I decided to use the same technique with a 1,500 word short story that needed smoothing. I printed out the story and edited using a pen – some basic line edits as well as circling sections that needed re-writing or better transitions. Rather than plugging the changes into my existing manuscript, I started up a new document and typed the story, incorporating the changes I’d indicated on my hard copy as I went along.

With each manuscript, it started off as a kind of straight copy typing job but then I found myself adding to the story, changing up the dialogue and forgetting to refer to my hard copy. Then I’d go back to the marked-up copy and type some more but before long I was drifting into new writing again.

This technique is very time consuming, especially with larger works, and yes, I end up re-typing some sections pretty much word for word but when the new writing takes over, I end up with a much stronger piece. I’m going to try this guided rewriting technique out on my middle grade manuscript that’s giving me trouble – well, for the first three chapters at least.

The Jumblies

They went to sea in a Sieve, they did,
In a Sieve they went to sea:
In spite of all their friends could say,
On a winter's morn, on a stormy day,
In a Sieve they went to sea!
And when the Sieve turned round and round,
And every one cried, `You'll all be drowned!'
They called aloud, `Our Sieve ain't big,
But we don't care a button! we don't care a fig!
In a Sieve we'll go to sea!'
Far and few, far and few,
Are the lands where the Jumblies live;
Their heads are green, and their hands are blue,
And they went to sea in a Sieve.

You can read the rest of this fun poem here. http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-jumblies/

APRIL – POETRY MONTH

Last night I read a bunch of blogs about National Poetry Month and that got me thinking about how I don’t spend enough time reading or writing poetry. When I was a child, my mom read poems to us on weekend evenings and even now, when I think about my favorite poems, many of them are from the collection she read to us. I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by Wordsworth, The Highwayman by Noyes, The Jumblies by Lear and The Tyger by Blake, to name just a few.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, I’ve decided to read at least one poem a day and also to try my hand at writing some, too. I kicked this morning off by re-visiting a favorite, the first stanza of which I have shared with you below. Tomorrow or maybe even later today, I intend to try a few new poems to see if I can lengthen my list of favorites.

Do you have a favorite poem? Is it one from your childhood? What memories or emotions does your favorite poem stir up for you?

KUBLA KHAN

by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.

I love this – I found it while doing research for a Marco Polo project when I was in 3^rd grade. I received extra credit for including this portion of the poem in my history project. Mrs. Williams was VERY impressed.

Rejection, criticism and disappointment can leave us feeling dejected, disillusioned and lost. Julia Cameron, in The Artist’s Way, recommends acknowledging and sharing how you feel because this helps you move on.

But just how do we move beyond criticism and rejection? Well, creativity requires action so rather than dwelling on, Why Me?, ask yourself, What next?

“Trust that still, small voice that says, ‘This might work and I’ll try it.’ ”
       -  Diane Mariechild

“Surround yourself with people who respect and treat you well.”
       -  Claudia Black

Most of all, remember that “large changes occur in small increments.”
       -  Julia Cameron

How do you deal with blows to your self-esteem and self-confidence?

From THE FAULT IN OUR STARS 

By John Green

Taxi driver: “Our city has a rich history, even though many tourists are only wanting to see the Red Light District.” He paused. “Some tourists think Amsterdam is a city of sin, but in truth it is a city of freedom. And in freedom, most people find sin.”

Recovering a Sense of Connection

From Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way.

This chapter is aptly titled seeing as, with the holidays and such, I fell off the Artist’s Way wagon. I kept up with the morning pages which I continue to find helpful on both a writing, job and personal front, but I neglected to progress through the book’s 12-week (more like 12-month for me, but that’s okay) course. But now I’m back recovering a sense of connection.

Cameron says that by practicing the right attitude towards creativity we can connect with our personal dreams. We can do this by:

      Listen for the voice of inspiration and ignoring our inner critic. The “Do this …” and the “Try that . . .” is inside all of us, we just need to hear it. We need to really listen for it.

      Set perfectionism aside. When we focus on the details we end up losing sight of the whole. “Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move ahead.”

      Take risks. In order to do something well we must first be willing to do it badly. “Selecting a challenge and meeting it creates a sense of self-empowerment that becomes the ground for further successful challenges.”

      Acknowledge jealousy. It causes tunnel vision and “strips us of our will to act when action holds the key to our freedom.”

The chapter ends with a variety of tasks and exercises that show you how to recover a sense of connection.

 “Trust in yourself. Your perceptions are often far more accurate than you are willing to believe.”

  - Claudia Black

"If all you ever do is try to avoid pain, you'll never create something worthwhile."
  -  Dagon from Misfit by Jon Skovron

 

1. This year I have allowed my day job and other commitments to encroach on my writing time. I need to reclaim those sessions for 2012 and stand firm against all invaders.
2. This year’s writing product has revolved around revisions which is all well and good but means I’ve spent less time on new writing. For 2012, I’d like to schedule in more new-writing opportunities. I want the freedom to play with ideas and the time to pursue them. And if that means taking a day off from my day job, so be it.

 
Circumstances change. Priorities change. Needs and relationships change. What worked in the past may not work in the future. Now’s a good time for me to shake things up and find a different balancing act.
 
Are you planning on doing it differently for 2012?