The New York Times’ archived section
of Writers on Writing held a few articles to which I related. However, the one
that stood out the most for me and my style of writing was Carolyn Chute’s
article titled How Can
You Create Fiction When Reality Comes to Call? The ability for Chute to
write appears to be challenged by distractions that can delete minutes, hours, and
sometimes days from the average person’s life, especially if you are a writer trying
to write. Like Chute, I have struggled to find time to write because realities
get in the way. My weekly commitments are family, employment, civic involvement,
worship time, walking the dog, graduate studies, running the trails, promoting
my singing performances, and making time for socializing with friends; whew!
Chute paints a clear picture of her
distraction to create fiction. Actually, she uses her reality to create what in another person's mind, could appear to be fiction. For instance, someone reading
her article might state, “You’re kidding, right? How could all of this happen
to one person in one day? This can’t be true!” In contrast, another could say, “Wow,
what a day! I can truly relate!” One person’s reality could be another person’s
perception. Furthermore, I found it ironic that in Chute’s distraction to write
fiction, the actual events of her day in writing turned out to be a great read,
and in its self was … a published short
story. The manner in which she wrote the article reminds me of a method of
writing I have begun to use; something to keep me focused and writing on a
regular basis. A friend and author of the novels A Sunday in June (2004) and Stigmata
(1998), turned me on to the “Morning Pages,” a concept created by Julia Cameron
in The Artist’s Way (1992).
Whereas, Chute relied on a
typewriter to compose, Cameron directs readers to write daily within three
pages anything that comes to mind, but in long hand and free flowing. In
analyzing the concept and use of morning pages, life coach, Jenna Avery, said
in part “…
there’s usually a turning point sometime into it – you’ll suddenly find
yourself brainstorming ideas, gaining clarity, or happening upon new insights.
This 'magical moment' seems to be consistent each day. And the magic comes in
the form of ideas – big and powerful ideas, small and charming ideas, or
inspirations for action (Avery, 2010).”
I agree! Writing
my morning pages has allowed me to visualize and create story ideas in the midst of the act
itself, without even realizing it until after I have reviewed my journals at the
end of each week. As a result, I have two solid story ideas; one is fiction about
children and guns, and the other is non-fiction, based on how my niece dealt
with death of her grandfather. Thus, I have found both fact and fiction in my
writing. I also have been able to keep distractions at a distance due to a set
time in the morning to write, and always before I leave the bedroom, no matter what
is going on in my life.
When writing in the social media
environment, such as within this blog, my goal remains to stand by the ethics
code outlined by the Society of Professional Journalists, and that is to “be
honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information
(Society of Professional Journalists, 1996).” This course was a great reminder
of these very basic journalistic principles. As a citizen journalist via social
media, my only interest is to share thoughts that appeal to me in
hopes of helping someone else, and in doing so, I consider my audience and
support these thoughts with verifiable sources to allow readers to arrive at their
own conclusions.
Hats off to writers like Chute who found
a way to laugh about their distractions and do it their way, in spite of the perceptions of their
reality!
References
Avery, J. (2010). The power of morning pages. Retrieved
from http://www.highlysensitivesouls.com/articles/morningpages.htm.
Society of Professional Journalists
(1996). SPJ code of ethics. Retrieved
from http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp.
