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writers forum archive/mystic river review
Questions from Our Back Issues
What books or essays about the craft of writing have been
most useful for you?
"I never expected a writer's manual to be either compelling or funny, until I read
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamotte. It is simply an exceptional book -- useful,
hilarious, thought-provoking, inspirational, practical. I laughed my way through
it in one sitting, unable to put it down -- as if it were a work of fiction.
Then I finished it, put it on my bedside table, took out a pad of paper and
began writing my novel."
Lavinia Spalding
"The Writer's Notebook, a paperback edited and published by ZYZZYVA's
Howard Junker, offers wonderfully fun, odd and always interesting insights into the
minds of such fine writers as Sherman Alexie, Brenda Hillman, David Rains Wallace,
and Ethan Canin, to name a few of the sixteen authors presented here. These glimpses
into the writers' notebooks show how personal and idiosyncratic the creative process is:
we see sketches, first drafts, outlines, newspaper clippings, interlineated text, etc.
Mr. Junker, in his introduction, observes that the 'notebooks are notoriously raw,
uncooked sometimes to the point of illegibility' requiring footnote translations 'for the
most egregious practitioners of bad penmanship [such as] Gerald Vizenor and Charles Johnson.'
Well, that's the charm of this joyous collection. Each excerpt of notebooks includes a
short introduction from the writer him/herself which adds nicely to our understanding of
how these writers work. As a relatively new writer, this book allowed me to see how my
writing process compares with those who are more established than I. Am I a better writer
because of this book? Maybe, maybe not. But it's nice to know that well-known writers
don't produce perfectly-edited short stories, essays or poems in the first instance:
they struggle or play with initial ideas that they eventually transform, through craft,
into powerful pieces of literature. I highly recommend this book." Daniel Olivas
"This book has been a great help in my attempt to learn more about
writing formal poetry: Strong Measures; Contemporary American
Poetry in Traditional Forms (eds. Philip Dacey and David Jauss, HarperCollins).
In addition to offering a generous sampling of poems (well indexed
and cross-referenced), the book has concise sections on such
questions as meter and definition of forms." A. Trastire
"'I'm always highly irritated,' Flannery O'Connor writes in 'The Nature and Aim of Fiction,' 'by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality. It is a plunge into reality, and it's very shocking to the system.' This pungent essay, which appeared in O'Connor's posthumous collection Mystery and Manners (Farrarr, Straus & Giroux, $13) includes two observations that strike me as especially relevant. The first is that fiction depends on what O'Connor calls 'those concrete details that make actual the mystery of our position on earth.' The second is that being a competent writer of fiction is no guarantee of producing stories that are worth reading. As O'Connor puts it: 'One thing that is always
with the writer -- no matter how long he has written or how good he is -- is the continuing
process of learning how to write. As soon as the writer 'learns to write,' as soon as he
knows what he is going to find, and discovers a way to say what he knew all along,
or worse still, a way to say nothing, he is finished.' A good story, O'Connor maintains,
'will have its source in a realm much larger than that which [a writer's] conscious mind
can encompass and will always be a greater surprise to him than it can ever be to his reader.'"
Mitch Evich
"I would like to recommend a wonderful book by Sven Birkerts,
entitled Readings. It has instructive and beautifully written essays
on such topics as poetry and politics, John Keats, Robert Lowell, Rilke,
Seamus Heaney, and Elizabeth Bishop. Here’s a passage on Bishop:
'We come away from whatever we read, poetry or prose, with a sense that
the world has been seen steadily, indeed with the kind of heightened
(or restricted) focus that we feel we may possess in our finest moments.
The writing confers an impression of control, of elusive materials caught
into place; of specific things known because observed with great care.'
This is the kind of criticism that sends me back to my drawing board,
eager to try again." Gwen Hale
* * *
Do you belong to a regularly meeting writers' group? How is it organized?
How long has it been meeting? What are some of the benefits and problems of
such a group?
"I am fortunate to belong to the North Texas Professional Writers.
All of our members have been published in one form or another. Beyond providing
me with the serious critique that I believe is invaluable to a writer,
this group supplies the emotional support that I need. Everyone who writes
needs a circle of close friends who understand rejection. The group meets once a week.
You read for up to 15 minutes and then receive critique for 5 minutes.
The discussion continues at a local diner until the wee hours of the morning."
Sharon Wood
"I have taken part in an irregularly meeting writers’ group in Los Angeles
for the last eight years. The members keep changing but a core of three poets
has been pretty steady. It’s a tremendously rewarding process and intermittently
a royal pain. Maybe the best thing I’ve learned there is how to take criticism
a bit less personally."
Jay Granville
"There are periods in my life when a writing group seems essential; other times
when I’d prefer to plow ahead with my writing and dispense with the feedback.
I’m in the latter phase right now, but I know that sooner or later
I’ll be looking for a group. For me the greatest benefit of being
in a writing group is feeling the pressure to produce new material.
I can be productive on my own, but sometimes it’s a struggle
to keep up my routine." W.T. Tyler
"My group meets via a web bulletin board. I’ve done the regular
kind of workshop too, but I must admit that I prefer the convenience and
relative anonymity of the web. It was started by two friends who lived in
different cities but wanted to share stories and poems with a larger group.
We capped it at ten because we wanted to keep some sense of cohesion.
Here's how it works: three writers post new material (up to a certain line/word limit)
and the rest of us have three weeks to respond. Then we switch to a new set of writers.
So far (in our 2nd year) it works pretty well. We’re looking into creating
a chat room that would be open to the workshop at a specified time each week."
Marie Lapinsky
"Our group meets about every three weeks or so at a member’s house. It’s a fiction
workshop /potluck. I don’t necessarily rely on the line editing so much as the company
of other writers. It’s a great opportunity to hear about what people are reading,
how to keep motivated, tips on publishing, contests, etc." Andy Hutch
* * *
What are your writing habits? Do you have a goal of hours per week devoted to writing,
or do you work more spontaneously? Do you always work in the same space (room, office)?
"If I had waited for peace and quiet, and that invitation to the MacDowell Colony,
I probably would have written nothing. For 37 years I have written wherever there
was a typewriter, or paper and pen--any place. I scoff at the idea that one must
wait for the right time and place to create. Bach kept talking to his kids while
he was composing. I do, however, carry a sketchbook, especially on trips
where I sense there may be the materials. I take notes, and rarely write anything
of consequence. Later, I might sit down at a word processor, and then the ideas
and images flow."
Marc Widershien
"I live in New York City and I am the working mother of a two year old.
The subway car is and always has been my writing room. There are few places
that are as inspiring for me. A quiet room or park bench is distracting in comparison.
I typically write two hours a day, during my commute to and from work, but only when the
juices are flowing and I only work on the piece that is 'speaking' to me
the loudest at that time." Lorraine Robain
"Writing habits? I have none. I am a full time husband, father, and attorney.
I squeeze whatever writing I can into those little pockets of time that come my way.
I don't golf or watch sports on TV anymore, so that gives me a little time.
I started writing in late 1998 and now have over two dozen short stories and poems
published, or soon to be published, in print and online journals. I don't
keep a journal because everything I write ends up in a story or poem. I do keep
a research file of old magazines, menus, etc., to add little touches to my work.
Do I sleep? Hmmmm...a little here and there."
Daniel Olivas
"I'm a spontaneous writer. I don't have a goal of hours per week for writing.
I don't have a particular room I write in either. I write in the dining room,
in my bedroom, anywhere. Once I even rushed inside to write a poem down on the
back of an envelope." Jessica Duncan
"I have the best possible intentions to write every single day, the moment I
awaken, before having coffee, gazing out the window at the latest confrontations
at the bird-feeder, or listening to National Public Radio. Alas, I am easily
distracted from the rigors of writing, and so I end up working in fits and starts.
Today, for instance, I revised a poem while waiting for my fourteen year-old daughter
to have her hair styled at the Split End Salon. I used to feel that I could not
possibly write in loud, public places full of distractions, but then I realized
that, since I create my own distractions at home, I might as well get some of the
practicalities of life taken care of while I revise a few paragraphs or lines of
poetry. While it's not exactly a philosophy or a recipe for success, I think that
writing whenever and wherever we can is better than waiting for a bolt of inspiration,
or feeling guilty and inadequate because we don't address the creative spirit every day
at the same time, in the same dear chintz-covered chair. So, ignore the children,
the waiters, the passers-by and the curious stares, and just write!"
Chris Cantu
"A habit is something you do continuously. As such, I don't believe I have a writing habit.
Instead, I have writing paroxysms. Often I go for a week or two without writing a creative word, except perhaps in an e-mail to a friend. But then it hits, this violent shudder of 'You will write. Yes, I mean this very instant! And no, you're not allowed to do anything else.' And then for weeks, I'm a woman obsessed, staying up all night to fine-tune one poem or churn out six more. Everything else in my life--work, friends, eating, sleeping, answering the phone--becomes a distraction, a nuisance. But just for a week or so, and then I'm back to normal. I pop Pretty Woman into the VCR, I eat, I not only answer the phone but actually make calls and listen to what the person on the other end is
saying. I even respond to my mother's e-mails. And I wait patiently for this time to pass -- this time when the creative part of my brain appears to be vacationing elsewhere. I don't worry--I know it will return to me, with plenty of stories to tell." Lavinia Spalding
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