The mountains of WNC have been ablaze for the last several weeks--since Trump got elected--and for that same amount of time, I've been fighting off the feeling that the world really is burning down around me. My children haven't been able to go outside and play, because of the poor air quality, and to top it off, our oil heater broke. Winter is coming, and I'm not sure yet how we're going to make it through. So when a good friend emailed me and another small group a list of things for which she was thankful and recommended that we all do the same, I took it to be a reminder from my higher power--stay focused on what is working and be thankful. I took the hint and made this list: 1. Our new mattress 2. Hubby's steadfast perseverance 3. Little E's smile 4. S' good heart and strong sense of justice 5. Organization, at all levels 6. Celery juice, fresh first thing in the morning 7. Painting and redesigning our bedroom this summer 8. My mother 9. The writing group:Billie, Eben, Hubby, and Jean 10. Unexpected generosity 11. Hard won peace and happiness 12. A musician in our home (Keep playing guitar S!) 13. My new, perfect sunglasses 14. High Falls and swimming in its cold, clear water 15. Hot yoga 16. Loving my tiny house more 17. Easy laughter between Hubby and I, old love becoming new love 18. My house filling up with friends more often 19. Amber's green beans w/ chicken, white wine, and preserved lemons 20. Praying more regularly and sometimes having it not be about me 21. Falling asleep with my kids 22. The women in my life, their intelligence and laughter Take a moment and do the same. Try to be as specific as possible with at least some of the items. And make generalities in others. You'll walk away uplifted, I hope. I know I did. Disclaimer: I love a good heist. So if that genre doesn't delight, then this book isn't for you!
My next favorite element: the large cast of characters. I love meeting new people, and that interest extends into my fiction choices. In particular, "The Palace Job" does a great job of exploring racism and sexism through the vehicle of fantasy, without ever coming off as moralistic or sanctimonious.
Instead, the narrative voice is casual and sly in the way it talks around the racism dark-skinned humans face, as well as elves, dwarves, and fairy creatures. In the Republic, there's more than enough bias to go around. For young readers, like my twelve year old son (he's a precocious reader, so yes, this is a book that grown-ups will love. But there are elements of sexuality that may make for some very lively conversations at home, if your tween or teen is reading it too.) the world of Heaven's Spire provides a great mirror to the "real world" and could be a jumping off point for the difficult conversations many of us have been having at home and in the classroom about human rights and privilege in America in the 21st century. And lastly, the pacing is incredible. From the first chapter, the reader dives into the story and is dragged forward at breakneck pace until the final pages. This book will read you, so reserve a few hours of time to get on the ride and stay there. I started listening to the audiobook on Kindle and then couldn't wait to get to the end so I started reading it instead. "The Palace Job" ended up being the first book I've finished reading on my phone (Yes, I realize that dates me). Then I plowed through Book 2 "The Prophecy Con" and am just getting starting on the most recent "The Paladin Caper." This book would make an excellent Christmas present for anyone who loves high fantasy. In three words: Funny. Smart. Eccentric. Next three: Buy it now! Inspiration: it's the flame that carries us creative types forward, especially when every project is long term, and every deadline is months, if not years away. This summer, in order to stave off boredom, I made a bucket list, and then I had each of my kids make his own list. Then, in keeping with one of my kids' favorite tv shows, Adventure Time, we've set about doing those things we dreamed about in the first days of summer. Like the first handful of freshpicked ripe blueberries, there's something about exploration that brings freshness and new life. Canoeing, skinny-dipping in hidden grottoes, picking berries, and yes, learning to make a really good pie are great ways to stay connected amidst lots of work and play. The dog days of summer are a tough time to feel rejuvenated. In the South, a body spends more time sweating, than he or she planned (I'm not pointing fingers here). In the effort to avoid that overcooked feeling, spend some time today to sit down and daydream. Then write some of those dreams down. Tape the list to your bathroom mirror.
Wake up tomorrow and mark off one thing. Then do it again. I promise you'll end up with some unexpected surprises, maybe a few bruises, and at least one great story to tell. It's a great irony that for those of us involved in education, the end of the year comes right at a time when the natural world is waking up, coming alive, refreshed.
I've come to accept that odd feeling of disorientation, that I am out of sync with the natural order. And lately I've been taking time to mourn. A friendship. A project. And my novel. Did I mention I'm down to rewriting the last seven chapters of my novel? And I've been pondering how to go out with a bang, both literally and figuratively. Remembering how many of my favorite books end. And what makes the end of a novel sooooo satisfying that you can't put it down until you are totally finished, done, and know exactly what happened. I've come up with a short list of must haves: All the threads must be tied up. I don't wear pants that are unhemmed, and I don't like my stories to be trailing unfinished business/character arcs/plot details. It may sound old school, but that's ok, I'm over 35 now and can be honest about who I am. As a married woman, I'm bored with stories that end right as relationships begin. I know the best is yet to come, and I want to peek into the journey two characters take together. Case in point, Eleanor & Park. I love that these two protagonists work through a complicated situation together, while they become physically involved. Show the nitty gritty of true relationship--it's riveting. When possible, blow shit up. I mean this metaphorically. Don't leave any stone unturned. At the end of one of my favorite novels Animal Dreams, the main character finds out that her sister has died, and she has to decide whether to actually land in her hometown or not. During the last chapters, Codi, the main character, realizes so much truth about her childhood, family, and home that it's off the hook. The metaphor I'm looking for here is fireworks. Whose heart doesn't light up with wonder at fireworks? The best endings keep 'em guessing, people. Don't underestimate the power of stillness.
Recently, I took a four day retreat and went on retreat alone (No family, yes!). I spent most of my time sleeping, eating healthy food, walking around, and staring at the Ocean. Within 24 hrs, I felt myself sink down into the deep, murky depth of myself. I relaxed. I came alive! In Taoist Chinese medicine, they call the still, dark part of the self (of the Universe really) the yin. My acupuncturist (yes, I have one) is always nattering on about yin. It's the passive part of the ebb and flow of life. In healing, building yin takes time--the body's resources are not replaced very easily. Wisdom and strength can't be cheated into existence, and what I've come to think of as the American way, the direct route, the fastest, the hardest working path, doesn't get you anywhere. Not an easy lesson, right? I want TO DO things. I write lists and check items off. Every week, I review where I'm at in my novel, in my leadership role at Odyssey, in my life as a parent, in my relationship with my husband, and I make decisions and choices about where I need to go next, what I need to change, how to be better, smarter, more compassionate, more successful than I was the week, month, year before. But the success I'm chasing is not characterized by a circle; it's a straight line. And we all know life happens in cycles. It is not linear, despite my best efforts to make it such. Ceaseless revision is not always productive. Not in one's creative work. Not in life. So my (writing) advice: take a break. Take a breath. And be. Artists, children, shoot almost everyone needs time to refuel the inner creative force. To see and touch and taste. To take in the beauty of the world we inhabit. And then return to work. Then watch what unexpected gifts a break brings to your work.
So I've been thinking about gender, identity, and culture in my current manuscript and realizing how important it is to explore richness and diversity into your story, whatever it is. And in the considering Le Guin's book, how I can take cultural and even biological assumptions -- in her novel's example, that the human world is based on a binary gender system -- and turn those concepts on their head. This spirit of adventure is especially important in fantasy or sci fi, where there is no limit to the permutations that an author can make regarding what a culture's particular norms are or are not. The process reminds me of the old Emily Dickinson line, "Tell the truth, but tell it slant." Somehow the "slanting" of truth, especially in fiction, allows the writer to access a deeper reality--a bigger truth. Indeed, the poem continues, "Truth in circuit lies." My heart sighs at these words. In nature, in culture, the circular stories are the ones that take us deeper into ourselves and into the inner world. I work with and around children every day, and I've come to believe that young people today recognize deeper, more universal truths. They are smarter and wiser than past generations, and they search for what is true. The current presidential primaries are proof of a deep quest for more "real" politicians--on both ends of the ideological spectrum.
As a writer, I challenge you to create characters who, through their very presence, drive the reader to question what the nature of reality is, what the nature of truth is. Here are a few questions to consider : Do all your characters have a similar worldview and/or political and social perception of the world around them? If so, why? If not, why? Do you have characters who represent radically different ways of being? How strong is the self-awareness of identity in your protagonist? How does that self-awareness change over the course of your book? What is the nature of conflict in your novel? How big or small is it? How do characters react to conflict as a species, as a culture? If your novel is a relationship drama, i.e. the conflict is founded on interpersonal dynamics, how can you broaden individual character's concerns onto the world (whatever world you are writing) stage? Happy writing!
Some highlights:
Use the worksheets to get a better sense of the voices inside your own head. Each section ends with a series of worksheets that offer a chance to work through the responses you instinctively use and new options you can develop. Explore the many examples other parents have provided. Faber & Mazlish worked with groups of parents to put their theories and ideas into practice. Their writing is peppered with examples from real parents, and in those frustrated and often stymied voices, I find real companionship. Final tip: Go slow! Many of these techniques take time to develop. If you are reading and practicing on your own, give yourself several weeks to work with each concept. Then when you move on to the next chapter, you'll feel more grounded. Enjoy! The Alchemist A new can of paint sits on the wooden floor bright and tinny, a promise waiting to be fulfilled. You spy it, organize a search, finally discover a butter-knife, a tool for one purpose alone. You surprise me though, first talk—a three-year old and a paint can, co-conspirators, allies. “Open me. Open me.” it whispers. Your mouth moves with another’s voice. “Yes, yes” you answer, move your small hands in circles make hardy stabs, trying to uncover a purpose. I listen from the bedroom, an old gossip, surprised at the way life inhabits all things, surprised at your private genius the way you give words to the mute, turn lead into gold, bring objects to life.
Old Friends It’s there, not in the words, but in the way their bodies move together, with a gesture that lets go of itself to unravel a thought, then the accompanying nod, like steps in a dance. Surely such sober happiness comes from love distilled by the vinegar of time; Its slow passage makes the invisible visible. Faces start to look the same. Eyebrows curve at identical top corners. Language overcomes itself and births a new child. When did their conversation begin anyway? In the grocery store buying a loaf of bread? At a concert, Beethoven or Mozart? During the birth of a child? No one remembers. These two know each other’s secrets and lies. Each has thought about what is hidden and their talk includes all that too. Now the words include everything-- two aging bodies at a table surrounded by families, lovers, children, and enthusiastic dogs. Those near understand a word or phrase. The timing of a movement occasionally helps translate to outsiders. Underneath the talk, though, there’s the sound of water rushing, as if approaching the edge of a large waterfall, white foam falling fast. My recent Pecha Kucha presentation "Turning Learning Inside Out" is up online at the international PechaKucha website, so check it out! It's an opportunity to learn more about Integral Education and my path to it from a very (one might almost say naked) personal perspective. I also put together an article for this month's local Asheville publication WNC Parent focused for parents of children going into the early grades, and what recent research has to say about social and emotional skills in young children. We're lucky in Asheville to have lots of education options that aknowledge the importance of social/emotional intelligence in our children, and dare I say it, the program at Odyssey Community School is especially innovative and cool and focused on cultivating these important skills. And just for fun, here are a couple of interesting education articles on Metacognition in children and how it affects their growth. Teaching kids to be self-aware, self-organized, and reflective (and helping them know how they learn) offers tools that will remain with a child for his or her whole life's journey. I recently saw the quote below in my Facebook feed and given the recent attacks on Beirut and Paris, these skills seem especially relevant and important. When I feel scared or sad or just depressed, as if there is no way through the anger and hatred present in our world today, I remind myself how many people are doing good work in the world, sometimes in the ugliest, hardest places, but sometimes in other seemingly insignificant places, like this small, sleepy North Carolina town.
And in preparation for Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all the faculty at Odyssey and their many gifts and for the time I spend in my own life and in my workplace creating the peace I want to see, not just for my generation but for the generations to come. The dark returns. Daylight Savings "falls back," and suddenly I go to work and come home in the dark. This is the time of year when I end up staring at a screen for a lot longer than I intend. Hours tick by, and I've wasted time on another episode of Alias or what color I want to dye my hair. It's not writer's block, but another, more insidious challenge: the writer's blahs. I need something fresh and bright. I need more color, and maybe on a physiological level, more light. The words on the page seem heavy and dare I say it, uninspired! So what I do? I do the same thing I tell my kids to do, when their faces grow long and uninspired. When they wear a blank, bored look. I go outside! I breath fresh air and climb the hills behind my house. I look for bright yellow leaves or pretty red ones. I dip my fingertips in the freezing stream. I run down the long hill behind my house screaming loudly so that people turn around and look to see what's wrong. Then I go back inside and write. The felt experience is the best medicine for blahs. If you live in the city, go walk on hard concrete and smell coffee or garbage in the sewer. Anything to remind yourself of being alive and that being alive is good, even awesome. Then get back to your studio or desk or wherever it is you create and bring that awesome back to the page. If you feel inspired, shoot me and email and tell me what you do when the days are long and the work feels endless. Or just ask for a little vote of confidence, I'm happy to send one.
Writers unite! |
AuthorCoranna Adams is a writer, filmmaker, and educator from Asheville, North Carolina. Archives
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