This is something for the writers among my readers – but also for the fans of Neil Gaiman and Margaret Atwood.
I’ve taken a few of the Masterclass (writing) classes because I’ve got the all-access pass since last year and thoroughly enjoyed them.
Some of the newer instructors are Margaret Atwood and Neil Gaiman. While I mostly enjoy Margaret Atwood’s class, I absolutely love Nail Gaiman’s storytelling course. The material is inspiring and he’s just such a wonderful person.
Since these are new classes, I thought it might be worth mentioning them.
If you have any questions about Masterclass or certain classes, just ask me. Since I’ve taken a few – not only on writing -, I can certainly give you my opinion and some advice.
May was a particularly good month for acceptances. I’ve had three stories accepted, two of which have been published by now, the third is forthcoming at the end of this month.
I’m particularly happy about these acceptances because the stories are so diverse. One is a prose poem, one is a historical, and one a YA short story.
For those who would like to read them, here’s my historical flash.
In one of her wonderful Friday Five Series Jacquelin Cangro mentioned Ann Patchett’s essay The Getaway Car that is only available in e-book format. How lucky I just got a kindle for Christmas and could put it into use for the first time. I’m really grateful to Jacquelin for mentioning this essay as it may very well be one of the most wonderful pieces on writing that I have read in a long time. On some 50 pages Ann Patchett combines memoir with some advice that is useful to anyone who has ever thought of writing or who was interested in the process of writing. All the fans of Ann Patchett will love this little book as well, I’m sure. I haven’t read anything by Ann Patchett so far but I certainly will sooner or later.
There were a few elements in this book that I would like to mention, still, the take home message from this post should be – go and read it for yourself. It’s brilliant.
Ann Patchett writes about those wonderful pictures we have in our mind and as soon as we start to write them down, they start to look pale. Like pierced butterflies in display cases. What we need in order to over come the disappointment of not being able to capture our own images is forgiveness.
I believe that, more than anything else, this grief of constantly having to face down our own inadequacies is what keeps people from being writers. Forgiveness, therefore, is key. I can’t write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing. Again and again throughout the course of my life I will forgive myself.
She writes about inspiration and that one of the most important works for her was Thomas Mann’s Zauberberg – The Magic Mountain that she read when she was very young.
I think what influences in literature comes less from what we love and more from what we happen to pick up in a moment when we are especially open.
She loved it so much that all of her own novels reproduce that basic plot of
a group of strangers being thrown together by circumstances and form a society in confinement.
She also writes about writing chronologically, about chapters and pacing and writer’s block which doesn’t exist, according to her. She does write about MFA’s and whether it is possible to learn creative writing. This is especially interesting for Europeans who, I think, frown when they hear someone has taken courses in creative writing or even acquired a MFA.
Something I found valuable as well is her take on research.
As much as I love doing research, I also know that it provides a spectacular place to hide. It’s easy to convince myself that I can’t start to write my book until I’ve read ten other books, or gone to ten other places and the next thing I know a year has gone by.
Here lies the answer to why she thinks there is no such thing as writer’s block but procrastination.
It’s a short essay but it’s very well written and contains a world of valuable suggestions and stories of her own life.
– Read more life writing including diaries, memoir and letters
– Pursue some of my reading projects that I had abandoned like
Native American reading project. I have a huge pile and have already read one book during the last week of last year.
African American reading project and as part of this the
Zora Neale Hurston reading project
– Start the new movie series World Cinema. The idea is to take a trip around the world in movies.
– Work on my About page. This page is actually clicked a lot and I was mortified to find out that since the day I started this blog, I hadn’t changed it which means it’s still a draft version. And it almost reads like a job application. It’s embarrassing.
– Write far less reviews and drastically shorten the summary sections
– Write in different ways
– Finally learn how to upload photos. I know you are dying to see my cats, my messy apartment, the view from my windows and oh the book piles. No worries, that’s not what you will get (or let’s say, the cats, yes, but not the mess and the shamefully high piles). I’d like to explore the medium photography and here is the moment to mention one of my very favourite blogs Mrs Pearl’s aka Carole’s Pearls and Prose. All of her posts are like gifts. Not only does she share her beautiful photography, she also shares a lot of tips and tricks.
– Read less, write more. No, not blogposts. Don’t get alarmed.
– 6/12 cities project. I want to travel quite a bit this year and, if possible pair this with some reading. The planned destinations so far are
Stockholm
London
Paris
Milano
Istanbul
?
As I’m notorious for overthrowing my vacation (and other) plans it’s possible the final list will look very different. Milano and Paris are the most likely as they are close (4 respectively 3 hours by train). Why these 5 cities? I haven’t been in Paris for over a year and ususally went there at least a few times per year. Milano – The famous cemetery and I need clothes. Or rather a style change is overdue and how to best achieve that than with Italian fashion, right? Stockholm – I’ve never been there. Istanbul – I’m sure I will love it.
These are my blogging related plans. I spare you the others, the list is three times as long.
How about you? Are you making plans or just go with the flow (which I will eventually do as well but I love plans)?
Beauty is a Sleeping Cat 