Waking Up to Stories

If you have not heard me wax poetic about why you should be listening to the New Yorker Fiction Podcast, you haven't been following me closely enough. Basically it's a podcast in which a well known author reads their favorite short story from the New Yorker archives, and then talks about it with the magazine's fiction editor, Deborah Treisman. I usually listen in bed, with ear buds tucked into my ears, staring up at ceiling of my darkened room and letting the words fill my head. There is something immensely therapeutic about falling asleep to someone reading a story, and I highly recommend it to everyone, not just fellow writers. But what I want to talk about today is waking up to stories.

Recently I got an alarm clock that doubles as an ipod player. For I while I set it so I would wake up to my movie themes playlist, but one night when I had been listening to the New Yorker Fiction Podcast I plugged my ipod in an fell asleep without resetting it. The next morning I woke up to the same story I'd been listening to the night before, which happened to be Miranda July's "Roy Spivey", as read by David Sedaris. It's a strange feeling, waking up to David Sedaris's voice, reading a story in which, in one instance, a celebrity pumps Frebreeze onto the underarms of the woman he's sitting next to on an airplane. But what I realized was, that in the space between waking and sleeping the context of the story fell away. I paid attention to the sound of the words. Strange images flashed through my dreams, while all the while the voice of the reader cut through my mind like water. Eventually I woke up enough to identify what I was listening to, but I realized that the important part had already taken place. The words were already in my subconscious.

"Subconscious" may seem like a loaded term for you. I'm not saying that your "inner mind" is going to write your books for you, or that doing this randomly and without thinking about it will make you a better writer. But it's been my experience that you have to pay attention to how stories work, and listening to them, especially in this half-conscious state, allows your brain to detach itself from the emotional context and just listen to the words. It lets you hear the way sentences flow together. It shows you how the emphasis falls on some words and not others. Maybe your dreams change when you wake up listening to a certain story. Pay attention to what happens in these dreams, because that's the kind of vivid and visceral reaction we writers are trying to get from our readers. There is a reason that so many writers make writing the first thing they do in the morning after waking up. In this space we are closer to our subconscious, and when we wake up to stories we wake up with words already in our heads.

From a Writer's Notebook: Old Photographs and Toxic Language Dumps

My typewriter and my notebook make a lovely pair

One of the first series of posts I did on this blog was about my obsession with notebooks. A short recap of those posts is as follows: I have way too many notebooks for my own good. The From a Writer's Notebook series was a later attempt to get me writing in my notebooks more often and sharing with you what many writers don't: the everyday notes and observations that go into their notebooks. While these posts haven't been as frequent as I hoped, I thought I would use 2013 as an opportunity to start fresh. So without further ado, here are some of things that have been going into my notebook lately:

 First there's this picture. I found it in a pile of other old photographs at an antique store called Uncommon Objects in Austin, Tx. There is so much interesting stuff there and I just know it all has a story. The inscription at the bottom of this photo says "St. Louis, MS. 1925." I guess I bought it because I had so many questions about it. Who is this woman, and why is she all dressed up? Is she going to a wedding, or a house party, or maybe a picnic? Whose idea was it to take the picture next to those hedges? How did it end up at this antique store? The list goes on. I wasn't planning to keep it tucked between the pages of my notebook but that's where it ended up and that's where it's staying (until I find a better place for it, that is.)

 Next up, the Toxic Language Dump. I wrote this down during my creative writing class while my teacher was reading a passage from The Poet's Companion. Here's what I wrote down: "Poetry, which deals not in cliched, worn out expressions, but in new ones that reveal something not before seen in that way." And then, underneath it: "BE THOUGHTFUL" and a drawing of the Toxic Language Dump sign. If I'm remembering correctly, the Toxic Language Dump is the place where all the overused expressions and cliches are kept (or go to die, if you prefer). I remember really liking this idea, and I'm glad I have something in my notebook to remind me of it.

Also on this page I've written several quotes from the poetry we've read in class:
"his beard like matted sea grass"- "Feared Drowned" by Sharon Olds
"fog hanging like old coats between the trees"- "Oranges" by Gary Soto

Finally, I'm going to share with you another temporary installation in my notebook. The index cards in this picture are my notes for a two minute presentation that I had to do on the poem "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers" for English. Like the photograph, I'm not sure how long they'll stay in my notebook, but I like looking them over occasionally, just to remind myself about the things I've been learning recently.

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into my notebook, and I plan to do more posts like this in the future. Obviously I can't share with you everything I write, but it feels good to let people into my creative space once in a while. The thing about chronicling things like this is that you don't know if any of it will ever be useful to you. Some people use that as an excuse not to keep a notebook, but to me that's all the more reason to continue writing things down.

Do you keep a notebook? What's the last thing you wrote in it?

Review: Rules of Civility

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles blew me away, but not in the way I was expecting. To me the cover and description of this book suggests a playful romp through upper class New York: heavy on descriptions of champagne fueled shenanigans and light on plot. But what I discovered was a book with substance, characters that are flawed but full of hope, and a whirlwind ride through ever changing scenery, from a run down jazz club to a Plaza penthouse.

The book focuses on Katey Kontent, a witty young woman living in New York city. Her adventure begins on the last night of 1937, when she and her friend Eve meet a charming banker who goes by the name Tinker. What follows is a flurry of other chance encounters and a chain of events that is genuinely surprising without being over the top.

The first thing I loved about this book was its main main character, Katey. She is smart with a generous dose of snark, and you feel you are being led through the story by someone who knows all the best spots in town. The other characters (and there are a lot of them) are each drawn in their present state. Each time Katey meets someone new, you feel you are meeting them for the first time also. As the novel progresses, however, the characters gain "weight"and you are able to see them for who they are, and who they will become.

My second favorite thing about this book was the masterful way Towles wraps the reader up in the time period. There was not a second that I didn't feel like I was in 1938, and the details added richness and color to the story. And yet, even with all of the details: the descriptions of clothes, martinis, and even the paintings on the walls, I didn't feel like I was being overwhelmed, or like the author was adding detail for the sake of detail. Everything had purpose and added to the story. One of the things that most surprised me was all the references to books and reading. There are stacks of book in Katey's apartment, from Walden (her favorite) to a collection of Hemingways. At one point she picks up Great Expectations, and at another she goes on an Agatha Christie binge. All of the titles are significant, and I love the way Towles weaves them effortlessly into the fabric of the story.

In the end, Rules of Civility is about how much can happen in 12 months. It is about the people that fate brings into our lives and the hope that each new year brings.

It seems fitting that I would choose to review this book at the start of a new year. I suggest you make it the first book you read in 2013.

In closing, I'll share one of my favorite quotes, in which Katey is admiring the view from her window:

"The little planes no longer circled the Empire State Building, but it was still a view that practically conjugated hope: I have hoped, I am hoping, I will hope." -pg. 323

5 Things I Learned About Writing in 2012

(Note: This post is a response to "5 Things I Learned about Writing this Year" by Stephanie Morrill over at Go Teen Writers.)

When I read this post over at Go Teen Writers, something about it struck a chord. I've always been the kind of person who prefers to look forwards rather than back, so thinking about what I've learned about writing over the course of this year never really occurred to me. However, now that I think about it, reassessing your progress can be a valuable technique. It's important to remember that it's not just about the face-level accomplishments. It's not about how many words you've written, or the number of short stories you finished, or the novel still languishing in your drawer. It's about the changes your writing has undergone, and how it has changed you as a person. Keeping that in mind, here are 5 things I've learned about writing in 2012:

1. The importance of community: This summer I attended the Iowa Young Writer's Studio. The group of other teenage writers that I met there changed my life. We keep in touch through Facebook and I now have an active community of writers all over the world who I can turn to to find advice and inspiration. Not only that, but I've been lucky enough to find a group of friends at my school who are also passionate about writing, and together we've done so many great things. Oh, and joining Twitter* was probably the best thing that's happened to me on the social media front, besides starting this blog, of course. :) 

2. Time will always be a limiting factor-so work around it: This year more than ever has been extremely busy: from getting through the second semester of my junior year, to all the traveling I did during the summer, and not to mention the two or three months I spent on college applications. If you want to work on the projects that mean the most to you, you have to make time for them. Don't wait for your schedule to clear up, because chances are, it won't.

3. Trust your instincts: I learned this mostly from all the college application essays I had to write, but it applies to all writing (and life in general, for that matter). If something you've written doesn't feel right, don't give up and call it a day because you're tired or you tell yourself it's "good enough." For a while I thought the first draft of my Common Application essay was fine as is, but in the end I chose to re-write it completely and the finished result was ten times better than the original. The same rule applies the other way around, too. If someone wants you to change something about your work and you disagree with them, by all means consider it, but if you still come to the conclusion that it is not the best thing for your story or poem, then don't do it. After all, it's your work, and you have to satisfy yourself first. 

4. Be concise and to the point: Another lesson learned from writing application essays. When you only have 300 words to showcase a piece of yourself, you don't have room to ramble. The same goes for other types of writing: If you can say the same thing in fewer words, do it.

5. Don't forget to live a little: Writing is hard, and no matter what you think, staring at a blank screen all day most likely isn't going to break your writer's block. Get up, get moving, and take a break from writing if you need one. You'll come back to your computer refreshed and hopefully brimming with ideas. (Also, if you're worried about missing inspiration when you're out and about, consider carrying a purse sized notebook wherever you go and write in it when you see something that might be useful. Oh! and read this beautiful essay: On Keeping a Notebook by Joan Didion.)

What have you learned about writing this year?


*If you'd like to follow me, my Twitter handle is @laurapoet33

Review: Paper Towns

I finished Paper Towns by John Green last night at 12:15 am. This is the first John Green book I've read, and you should know I came to this book with several already formed expectations:
1. It would be funny. Some of the funniest scenes were (somewhat) spoiled by my friends when I happened to be around while they were talking about the book.
2. It would be well written. I don't know if you've yet stumbled upon the phenomenon that is John Green. If you haven't, know that he is pretty much the equivalent of a YA superstar. His books have won numerous awards and have pretty much all been on the best-seller list at one point or another. Needless to say, I was expecting to be blown away.
3. It would be very John-like. One thing that is the most unique about John Green is his online presence. He is one half (the other half is his brother, Hank Green) of the extremely successful Youtube channel: Vlogbrothers. And after watching so many of his videos, I started wondering wether or not the John Green I saw on Youtube would be the same John Green that I saw (heard?) while reading this book.

Before I tell you wether my expectations were lived up to, here's the jacket copy of Paper Towns: 
"Who is the real Margo? Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life- dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge- he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover than Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues- and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew..."

And now for wether or not Paper Towns lived up to my expectations:

1. It is funny. No, it's hilarious. I can't remember the last time a book made me laugh this much. Every other chapter I was doubled over, and even when the stakes are raised Green manages to slip in several more hilarious scenes. The dialogue is sharp and witty and the cadence of teenage speech is spot on. The perspective is decidedly male, and there is no shortage bodily function jokes running throughout. Even for someone who's not necessarily a fan of that kind of humor, it's impossible not to laugh when you're in the grasp of John Green's deliciously funny prose.

2. It is well written. At the beginning I was somewhat skeptical of this fact. The writing wasn't extraordinary, but it wasn't bad either. And as I read on, my doubts disappeared one by one. The book isn't filled with flowery language, but it doesn't need to be. Instead, Green's style is both frank and profound. He has a strong grasp of what he is trying to say and he says it well. All of the characters felt genuine, even the adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman, who the reader doesn't fully understand until the end. He captures high school friendships beautifully: the main character's two best friends get along most of the time, but also get on each other's nerves. There is also a philosophical side to the story, which ties in with Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself."As well as metaphors about paper towns and strings and the things that hold us together and make us see and understand each other for who we are. These are the parts that most remind me of the "Youtube John Green," which leads to the final section of this blog post.

3. It is very John-like. Of course, I don't pretend to know John Green personally. I base this solely on the version of him that I've seen from watching his Youtube videos. But while reading this book, I couldn't help hearing his voice. It is his humor and his philosophies and his heart. If you watch John's videos, you can't help feeling like you know the author of this book, and that makes it an even more worthwhile read.

Overall this was a genuine and beautifully written book. If you haven't read it (even if you're an adult and don't normally read YA) I highly recommend it. If you have read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

It seems fitting to end this post the same way John Green would: Don't Forget to be Awesome!

Inspiration: Jane Eyre

Something unusual happened to me last weekend. I was inspired...by a movie. In our household this should not be an uncommon occurrence. My parents are documentary filmmakers. Our DVD collection takes up two shelves in our bookcase, stacked. I doubt we could survive for long without Netflix. And yet, few movies have affected me in the way that the 2011 version of Jane Eyre did. I can list my favorite films (that's for another post), but its harder to think of films that have actually inspired me to go out and make something. I think I can say that Jane Eyre was one of these films.

(Note: This post is not a movie review. I will not be evaluating the casting, storyline, or the adaptation of the book. I should also say that I haven't seen any other adaptations of Jane Eyre-to date-and I am only part way through the book, which I am enjoying.)

Lighting/Cinematography

Basically every scene in this movie has the same effect on the viewer as a Vermeer painting. The lighting is so beautiful, especially natural light that comes in through the large windows. The whole time I was watching, I kept thinking: "If only I could capture this atmosphere in words." Story aside, just the feel of this movie is enough to make me love it.

Music
As you probably know by now, I've always been a lover of movie music. I have a whole playlist dedicated to it on my ipod. But until now I never thought I could write with a movie soundtrack in the background. In the past when I've done so, the music is too engrained in the film, and I can't separate them. I'll start immediately visualizing scenes from the film in my head, or worse, writing them down. The music becomes the words, not the guiding force behind them. 

Unlike some of my favorite soundtracks, I did not consciously notice the music while watching the film, which often happens if a score is particularly beautiful. However when I listened to the Jane Eyre soundtrack on its own I realized just how emotional, raw, and eerie the music is. Even better, my mind's eye was not overrun with scenes from the film. All that was left was the feel of the film, which was what drew me to it in the first place. I still have some experimenting to do, but I think this is one soundtrack that I will be able to write to.

If you would like to hear a sample, click here.

Other Notes
It's hard to pin down why we are inspired by some things and not by others. Something just has to speak to us at the core of our being, like a silent understanding. The list above talks about two main reasons I love this film, and as for the third, it's hard to say. There is just a feeling, an atmosphere, to this film that I can't quite put my finger on, but I know that I love the vibe that it gives off. Jane Eyre made me want to write. It made me want to travel to England and wander the moors. It made me see light differently.

I encourage you to see this movie if you haven't already, and if you have, I'd love to hear your thoughts. What other films have you been inspired by recently? 

Also, expect a review of Jane Eyre (the book) soon!

The People Who Rock My World

This post is going to be long, but simple. What follows is a list of the people who have shaped my world in the past year. Most are people I've never met, but that's all the more reason thank them for giving me inspiration, for unknowingly providing much needed encouragement, for making me work harder for my dreams. These, in no particular order, are the people who rock my world.

Maria Popova 

I discovered Maria's website a couple months ago and I've been hooked ever since. It's called Brain Pickings. Every time I visit the site I am reminded why I want to be a creative person. Filled with inspiration for writers, philosophers, artists, and scientists, it never fails to teach me something new. I suggest you sign up for their mailing list right now. You won't be disappointed.

The Vlogbrothers

I made a Youtube account a few weeks ago and the Vlogbrothers were the first channel that I subscribed to. It is made up of the YA author John Green and his brother Hank, and has a following of 823,843 devoted fans (and counting). Hank and John are always funny and insightful and they totally deserve their tremendous success. These are two people who are living life to the fullest, doing what makes them happy, and sharing their awesomeness with the world. I have yet to read a John Green book, but Paper Towns is next up on my list. Plus, I can now proudly call myself a Nerdfighter. DFTBA! 

Rachel Coker

Rachel Coker is the 17-year-old author (I hope I'm right about her age! Sorry if I messed it up!) of Interrupted and the soon-to-be-released Chasing Jupiter. Her blog is full of posts about writing and funny stories from her life, and it never fails to pick me up when I'm feeling down. I hope I get to meet her someday because I have this weird feeling that we'd get along!

Shannon Hale

This was the year I finally got to meet my writing idol, Shannon Hale. I could write whole posts on what a cool person she is and how good her books are, but I'll save the space. I just feel so grateful that I got to meet her at the Texas Library Association Conference, and that she gave me a hug, and that she signed my copies of her books. It was only about five minutes of my life, but I'll remember it forever. Also, you can check out her awesome blog, here.

The note is a reference to the fact that I sent her an e-mail full of restaurants to eat at while she was here.

Kristan Hoffman

I've been following Kristan's blog for about a year now. She writes about everything, from television shows to encouraging quotes. This post in particular got to me. I admire her so much for going after her dreams no matter what. Also it's her birthday today! Hope it's a good one! :D

Victoria Schwab

I only recently discovered this author, but I'm SO glad I did. I haven't read any of her books yet (all of which have very intriguing premises), but I've watched almost all of her Youtube videos and am subscribed to her blog. Her recent post on inspiration had me itching to write, and the adorable video of her signing the last forty copies of her first book made me want to be an author even more. (I always wondered how lefties signed books!) All in all, I can't wait to read her newest release, The Archived, and I wish her all the best!

And finally, because I'm in the spirit of thanking people, I just want to send a shout out to all the people who have encouraged/inspired me in real life. A HUGE thank-you to:

-Ms. Harris, my amazing English/Creative Writing teacher who always brings sunshine to my day. I don't know what I'm going to do without her when I go off to college!

-Indigo, my best friend, who reads my work, listens to my ideas, participates wholeheartedly in all our random conversations, and never fails to be an inspiration :) You can read her blog, here!

-My Family, who also reads my work, and has never wavered in their encouragement and support.

Well, I'm off to a birthday party in a couple hours and then it's Turkey day! Writing this blog post has been a rewarding experience in itself because it made me think about all the people who have had an impact on me. I've been so lucky to not only have wonderful, creative people in my life, but also a well of inspiration to draw from on the inter-webs. Thanks again for reading, and I hope that in the coming days you'll go out and thank your favorite creators, too. They deserve it.