What I’m Reading Right Now to Study Craft

by Sara Connell | Aug 23, 2021 | Uncategorized

Do you ever read something that sparks you up, waking you to insights and lessons on the craft of writing? That’s how I feel having started reading Elizabeth McCracken’s fabulous short story collection, The Souvenir Museum. An award-winning alumnus of the Iowa Writers Workshop, McCracken knows what she’s doing, and The Souvenir Museum is truly a master class in dialogue, character development, setting, plot, metaphor – it’s exquisite work.

Source: https://unsplash.com/photos/mmWqrsjZ4Lw

Studying Setting

If you’re looking for something to study the craft, it doesn’t have to be this book. We all have different styles. But read something that’s the best of the genre you write, and keep your focus on one particular craft element.

For example, in McCracken’s “Proof,” a grown son takes his father on a trip to Scotland. Really what the story is about is the son’s awareness that his dad is not always going to be there. Let’s dive into how this powerful story approaches setting.

An Excerpt From Elizabeth McCracken

“What beach this was Louis wasn’t certain. Rock and sand, a harbor town, and everywhere the sort of broken pottery he combed for as a boy in the 1940s, let his brothers fill their pockets with sticks and shells, ordinary sea glass. He knew how to look for the curbed ridge on the underside of a slice of a saucer, flip it over and find the blue flowers of Holland or China a century ago or more.”

“Once on the beach outside their summer cottage down the Cape, he found two entire clay pipes, 18th century, while his six older brothers sharked and sealed and barked in the water. Beyond them, he could see almost the ghosts of the colonists who had used the harbor as a dump, casting their broken pottery out so he could find it in his own era and put it in his own pockets. But this wasn’t the Cape or even Massachusetts. His brothers were mostly dead, that is, they were all dead, but in his head mostly, they washed up alive every now and then and Lewis would have to ask himself, ‘Is Phillip alive? Is Julie? Is Sydney?’”

As you can see, in just one paragraph, we find out so much, from a sense of the beach setting to the character’s lifespan. Right away we see Louis reflecting on his childhood, how he was different from his brothers, how he found treasure in the midst of other people’s junk – all of this already telling you so much about this man and what the story is going to be.

You can even predict some places this story is going to go, how he’s estranged from these brothers and he’s out of his element. He’s not at the Cape, he’s not in Massachusetts where he normally lives. He’s in Europe.

Studying Craft on Your Own

Whether you choose to read Elizabeth McCracken or another author, pick something that is the best of the genre you’re writing and study it this week. Choose a paragraph and really take it in, even hand-writing it out onto paper in an exercise we call “modeling.”

Feel what the author is doing here. Study it closely. It’ll help take you to a new level in your writing.

How To Sustain Your Confidence Through Adversity

by Sara Connell | Aug 17, 2021 | Uncategorized

This week, I want to share with you an experience I recently had.

So, to get you up to speed, I have a new book, and my agent is currently shopping around for publishers. If you’ve gone through the traditional publishing route, you know that it can be either be really fast or take way too long.

But today, I don’t want to speak so much about the book. Instead, my focus is on the obstacles you have to overcome when pursuing such a venture. When we first started, my agents and I were excited and raring to go. However, over time, that burst of energy, positivity, and confidence began fading.

Have you ever had such an experience? You start something you’ve been working towards for a long time with a lot of passion and enthusiasm. But then challenges arise, or you realize it won’t happen as fast as you envisioned it. In turn, your belief starts to fade, and your efforts gradually reduce.

Regardless of whether you are looking for a book deal, scheduling a speaking engagement, or launching a career in a new field, this is likely to happen. This is because there are other players involved in actualizing that vision. And, unless they are your employees, they’re likely going to approach it based on their timeline and not yours.

Now here’s the tricky part. As more time passed, I began feeling hopeless and doubtful. The idea of moving on to plan B or sending the book to more publishers became more and more appealing. And I want to share with you the little things that I did to handle it.

Look to Others for Guidance

Without clear sight of the path ahead, I sought the counsel of a friend. Having just released a bestseller recently, she reminded me of her first experience. Just like me, her first book did not receive any attention for the first six months.

Her experience is important because it gave me perspective. Often, our faith and confidence in our ability hinge on desires rather than realistic expectations. This is why it’s essential to have guidance from the people who have been on the same path before you.

More importantly, other people offer a voice of reason and positivity. Any time you feel stuck, they can help you gain some needed perspective or offer tangible solutions.

Affirmations

I also found that having affirmations can keep you in touch with your vision. Dedicate a few minutes every day to recite affirmations so that they can become ingrained in you.

Put in the Work

During my self-reflection, I also realized the importance of putting in the necessary work to achieve my vision. While I was hoping for bestseller results, I hadn’t been putting in such efforts. Since that realization, I write every day to hone my skills.

As a result, I’m now more relaxed and confident. And, this is what you should do. Write down and profess your goals, and then put in the work consistently. Have affirmations that inspire and get you in the right frame of mind. That’s what I want you to focus on this week.

In so doing, you’ll find that you’ll have more realistic expectations. But, more importantly, you’ll find that your belief in yourself will remain unwavering even if challenges come.

How Using Heteronyms Can Free You of Writers Block

by Sara Connell | Aug 11, 2021 | Uncategorized

Every writer has run into the dreaded Writer’s Block. It’s a horrible place to be, sitting, waiting, hoping for some kind of inspiration. You pace back and forth, and you try writing random words or thoughts. You try going for a walk. Nothing works.

Perhaps the problem is that all of the things you’re trying, you’re trying as yourself. As odd as that sounds, there’s an exciting concept that may help you through your writer’s block by simply writing as someone else.

The theory is using a heteronym or “another name.” This literary device was developed by a Portuguese poet named Fernando Pessoa in the early 20th century. Other writers and philosophers had considered the concept, but Pessoa truly embraced it, coming up with up to 70 heteronyms..”

How Heteronyms work

Pessoa created entirely new people and wrote as though he were those people, something he started in his adolescence. He felt that this allowed him to take on completely new opinions, attitudes, and approaches to his writing.

Throughout his career, he wrote on vastly different subjects as these heteronyms. Some of his heteronyms included Alberto Caerio, who wrote open free verse poetry, and Ricardo Reis, a trained doctor who wrote classical poetry. Pessoa even had heteronyms who criticized and wrote about his (Pessoa’s) own work.

How can Heteronyms solve your writer’s block?

While seeming odd and outlandish on first thought, the heteronym concept is actually an interesting way to work around writer’s block. Similar ideas exist in other artistic fields like theatre, where method acting and the use of an internal mantra allow actors to “get out of their heads” and start reacting and thinking like their characters.

If your issue stems from hesitation or fear, you could design a heteronym who is very confident and unafraid of anything and write something from their point of view. You’re relieving yourself of the responsibility of being you, getting yourself out of the way of the work, and allowing it to come out on the page without your fears and doubts.

If you need to write in the voice of a gender you don’t belong to; you can create that character. Or, if you’re having trouble getting the proper dialogue and thought processes for a horror novel, you could write as though you’re Stephen King. He can find a cool way to say what you’re scared to; he won’t use any cliches and make it really riveting.

It’s an excellent tool for self-assessment. If you can find your weaknesses and fears as a writer and imagine a heteronym that is the opposite, you can begin to work through those issues. You remove the fear, responsibility, and the internal editor as you aren’t writing it; it’s your heteronym.

Conclusion

Using a heteronym is a great creative exercise to remove your own doubts and internal editor and allow you to write free of your own constraints. The next time you find yourself blocked and unable to come up with a great piece of dialogue, maybe it’s an opportunity to pull out Elmore Leonard or Aaron Sorkin. Notice you with all of your own unique shortcomings and geniuses. But create a new voice and see what comes on the page.

If you’re struggling with writer’s block, try writing something using a heteronym! Be sure to let me know how it goes!

Sources: https://lithub.com/the-heteronymous-identities-of-fernando-pessoa/