A Good Traveler

I’ll be changing my blog around in the coming weeks to focus more on the writing process, creativity, books & literature, and library science. The last few months my creative life has spiked upward – not that you would detect that from my absence in all things bloggy. My blog’s lack of focus has been annoying me for a while, enough to make me consider disposing of it entirely. However, I’ve finally had the time and space for reflection and have reached some clarity.

A Good Traveler has served my original intentions, which were essentially to create a blog in the first place, and to have a marked space to document a large transition in my life. That done, what next? I like the prospect of building community and reaching out to other writers, creatives, and bibliophiles. I’ve met some cool people through this site and hope to continue to do so. Even when I am not blogging, I am still writing every day – poetry, journals, morning pages, fiction, essays. This blog will continue to be a space for that.

In the meantime, I am psyching myself up to begin NaNoWriMo 2009 and have my sights set on winning this year. Since I was married this month I was happily distracted from any sort of intensive outlining, back story, or plot. I did, however, take time to read Chris Baty’s No Plot, No Problem - so I’m comforted that opening the door on November 1 to see what the baby on my doorstep looks like is a viable option. Only in Nano world!

Cheers all, and thanks for your support through my journey. This is by no means the end but a shift in perspective.

Happy Diwali/Deepavali, all!

May blessings, prosperity, and light abound in the coming year!

My First Diyas

More Diyas

Diyas...

There’s something new in my life, something little and compact and detectable only to my ears and heart.  A co-worker and I have been listening to Garrison Keilor’s The Writer’s Almanac each morning for the last couple weeks. For under five minutes a day, it’s catalyzed an important shift in my creative life. Listening to it has made me realize multiple things.

First, I realize that poetry is my religion. The opening chords of the broadcast are reminiscent of the music played when entering Church on Sunday morning, awakening in me a sense of reverence and awe and beauty.

Second, I realize that a meditation practice doesn’t suit me nearly as much at this stage in my life as does a writing practice. I don’t want to wake up and meditate. I want to wake up and write. I want to wake up and listen to poetry. I want to wake up and remember the poems I love most. Listening to the Almanac has an instant impact for the better on my day, no matter how decaffeinated, grumpy, menstrually, or Mondayish I might be. Every morning feels like Friday for the duration of the broadcast.*

Third, I realize that the thing I need most in my life is also the thing which I have sometimes valued least, and others have sometimes valued least. This thing is the written word.

I am deeply nourished and sustained by the written word. I write, I read what others write, and that is very simply what does it for me.

*Of course, I’m not saying that the two are mutually exclusive. Rather, I am certain they are mutually beneficial. I just think I’ve been focusing on drier practices than the juicier ones I require.

Ok, it’s time to take a break from the nonsensical, skewed, and bloated world of wedding planning and into a world that seems far more sensible – the world of creativity and writing.

One of my co-workers suggested to me a couple months ago that I look into Stanford’s offerings for creative writing. I was overjoyed to see that Stanford offers a comprehensive and broad range of Continuing Education writing classes (both online and in person) through their Writer’s Studio. I opted for an in person class because Stanford is just 20 minutes from home and I wanted to benefit from the in-person, group dynamic. In June, I joined “Writing Creative Nonfiction” with Caroline Goodwin.

Stanford, near sunset

Let me just say that the program is top notch, accessible to those of us who work full time, without dumbing down for a moment for those of us who are not in an M.F.A. program. I was excited to share space with so many bright, intelligent, creative people from the writing tribe. I learned a lot and my creative juices are flowing again.

I had a 16 page piece workshopped in one of the last classes. I worked hard on the piece but didn’t have time to give it more revised drafts. Instead, I revised as I wrote – not something I recommend because the creating and editing personas are very different and hold very different space in the entire process. But because I recognize that, I don’t think the one contaminated the other. I was pleased with the piece and edited it down from 26 pages.

I was happy with the feedback I received. Our instructor, Caroline, is a remarkable poet. She’s also funny, grounded, and a strong group facilitator. The rules of workshopping are basically to sit quietly while a room of about 20 people discuss your work for thirty minutes. The first portion is devoted to praise, the last portion to offering suggestions for improvement. I received a lot of praise for: the clarity and tightness of the writing, the trajectory of the story, the trust the reader had for the narrator. Some of my classmates happened to be Indian, and appreciated the content and the perspective of an American entering Indian culture. This was meaningful to me specifically because I always try to be careful about my firangi lens and never want to be in a situation of ‘othering’ which requires precision with the word.

Caroline highly recommended the book, The Making of a Story by Alice LaPlante. I recently purchased it used at Book Buyers in downtown Mountain View, along with a second copy of Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones (the first copy is in a basement in Michigan).