SusanW
Forum Replies Created
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I haven’t taken this course yet but I have found it to be true with other classes here, with Lauren and with Jacob, that the real work of “becoming a better writer” is actually “becoming myself unashamedly” and it is SUPER INTENSE.
I love the idea of taking the courses multiple times, and spiraling in deeper with the work. I have done that with The Artist’s Way over many years, and found it to be incredibly fruitful.
I’m looking forward to hear more about your process, David, and Shira, if you want to share. I am relentlessly curious about how others process…is that an INFJ thing? 😃❤
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Lovecraft Country and The Ninth House were both excellent! I started The Parable of the Sower, got overwhelmed (it’s so close to home! ouch!) and am recovering with a re-read (for the umpteenth time) of The Dragonriders of Pern.
What are you reading?
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I do most of my original writing longhand, in a notebook. The exception is short, informative prose pieces, like blog posts. If it’s only a few hundred words and I more or less know what I want to say I’ll go ahead and type it. (I used to do weekly educational blogs for my job, and I got into the habit of typing them).
My usual process is to write longhand in a notebook, then type it up into MSWord. I keep a folder for each project and type the day’s writing into individual documents. This keeps me from getting overwhelmed. It also makes it easier to move chunks of writing around when getting nearer the end of the editing process.
When I’m ready to edit, I print out all the typed docs, put them in a binder or folder, and begin editing by hand on the printed pages. Then I go in and make the edits in the digital version. I do this in short chunks of time, 20 minutes to an hour. I have to keep everything in bite sized pieces to keep from getting overwhelmed, frustrated, and stuffing everything into the back of a cupboard for years (this has happened more than once!)
I don’t put things into one big document until quite late in the process. Each round of edits I do the same thing–print out the docs, put them in a binder, edit by hand. I keep the various versions for some mysterious archival reasons.
To be completely transparent, I still am trying to break the habit of filling notebook after notebook and not typing or editing any of it. I have a history of getting three quarters of the way through a project and then stuffing it in a cupboard. I still am easily overwhelmed. That’s one of the reasons why I’m here, to get some emotional support when I get stuck.
I hope this is helpful 🙂
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Yes, I do know. I have been amazed by what I’ve found within myself over the years as I have explored the wisdom in books. I think it started, really started for me, when I read Thomas Moore’s Care of the Soul in the mid-nineties. That book gave me permission to look at the world, and the way I was in it, in a new way. Over the years I delved into comparative mythology and depth psychology, and it feels like peeling back layer after layer of false selves.
At the moment I’m coming to terms with being on the autism spectrum, and what that means about the story I’ve been telling myself about myself all these years. It’s an amazing transformative experience to re-visit my past, and all the things I have learned, through this new perspective.
I am looking forward to reading both Scattered Minds and Divergent Mind, thank you for sharing your perspective!
❤
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@Jake you had said you were reading Scattered Minds? What did you think of it? I don’t have ADHD but I’m reading as much as I can get my hands on about neurodiversity. Right now I’m reading Neuro Tribes by Steve Silberman, a rather thorough history of the medical/social perspective on autism over the last hundred-ish years. It’s fascinating! A bit horrifying, but also fascinating.
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I just finished my re-read of it. I think I read it for the first time 5 or 6 years ago? I lose track. In the re-read I really appreciate the 1 inch by 1 inch concept. I get waaay too far up in my head worrying about structure and concept, that I freeze myself. I’m struggling with that right now, in fact. I want to find an actual physical picture to put on my desk in a 1×1 frame to keep me focused. ❤
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Gotcha! 🙂
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I definitely agree that the Silent Writing sessions are magical for staying focused on a single project. But I’m curious, Jacob, what you mean by working on other, “better” stuff outside the sessions? I find myself now, after almost 5 months working on just my memoir, getting restless and wanting to work on something else, maybe fiction, for a little bit. It’s like I’ve gotten a little bit stale writing in just one way, and I need to stretch another part of my brain. 😃
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OMG I hear you! I don’t want to admit how many notebooks I have full of great ideas I don’t know how to turn into anything. The reason I found Lauren in the first place was by voraciously reading every single book I could find on how to write and how to finish something!
I’ve made more progress this year, with Lauren and Jacob’s support, than I have since I was a teenager! (I still haven’t finished, but I’ve been working on the same project for months without deciding I’m insane, a failure, and should go get a job in a bank ha ha ha)
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Thank you! I confess I haven’t read the books in YEARS and it might be worth a refresh. Melisandre is particularly interesting as I recall, although Cersei’s ambition is unparalleled.
-Susan
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😃❤
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I love the idea of using “junk pages” for processing and memory keeping! What a treasure!
I’ve always been fascinated by script writing but never tried it. I remember having to write a short play for a drama class in high school and as a poet I felt completely lost!
It’s always so interesting to hear others’ experiences, thank you for sharing! 💖
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Thank you! I will add these to my (admittedly quite long) TBR list! Except for Mort, which I have in paperback and have read probably a dozen times. Death is one of my many favorite Discworld characters! 🙂
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I’m so glad you found it helpful! I just re-read it, and it makes me sound like I have it together much more than I think I do hahaha! I’m sure you’ll find your style, you’re certainly in the right place to figure it out! 💖
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I am still working on letting myself believe that the things I have felt so bad about for so long are actually superpowers. I’m making progress, but it has been a long road for me.
It’s wonderful to hear stories of families that are making space for neurodivergent brains and finding new definitions of success and happiness.
Thank you for the book recommendation, I just ordered it! I am reading as much as I can get my hands on right now, trying to understand how my brain really works and forgive myself for how much of my life I have spent masking. ❤
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Spiraling ever deeper to the true self, yes!
💖
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It’s one of my favorites, took me (along with The Power of Myth, of course!) on my path to comparative mythology and depth psychology.
And I don’t think anyone knows all there is to know about autism, no matter how hard we try! It is a glorious and complex spectrum!
I started learning about it to understand my Dad better, little did I know I would be learning it for my own sake too!
