The first masks were probably painted directly onto the face, and over time became reusable pieces of art to entertain with different personas and characters. Now that we all must wear masks in public it is interesting to think about the multiple layers we have on. Perhaps before it was lipstick or a clean shave and now wearing personal protective masks give us more anonymity, or less? Some masks reveal, some conceal. “Masks portray the human “life drama” in all its manifold aspects, especially the compelling, ambiguous, sometimes revelatory, and often treacherous search for the … [Read more...]
Writing With Dreams
Our bodies create stories. Give yourself a minute to take that in. While we are unconscious, we weave narratives. One-third of our lives are spent sleeping. On average, we can dream anywhere from one to two hours every night. Moreover, we can have four to seven dreams in one night. Five minutes after the end of the dream, half the content is forgotten. After ten minutes, 90% is lost. How can we get to know ourselves in a new way by investigating our dreams? I've been keeping track of my dreams since I was a teenager, and even before then I had dreams that were recurring as a child. As … [Read more...]
Stunt Writing Featured on the Secret Library Podcast
I am so excited to share my appearance on the Secret Library Podcast, in conversation with the always amazing Caroline Donahue! She created the Secret Library Podcast (available here on iTunes) because, "Most people believe that books are created in cabins all alone, where authors pound away on some manner of keyboard. Then they hand this masterpiece off to a publisher and it feels very much like it goes down a tube and comes out the other side as a book. By speaking to authors and other book lovers, I'm diving into the mystery that is the book world today." We spent an hour chatting about … [Read more...]
Writing & Describing the Depth of Feeling
I received an email today from my mother, in the postal (snail) mail. It was a printed copy of an email I sent to my dad in 2002, which although it came in time for Father's Day I was too sad to open it with my father's passing. In the last few weeks I have come up with a lot of creative ways to describe how I feel such as, "covered in molasses" for my sticky inability at times to leave the house or that I am wearing "vaseline glasses" to describe that under water feeling where you feel a little bit separate from the world. I've told people that I am raw. Raw like someone took that 70s Lava … [Read more...]
7 Books That Shaped Me
I've been thinking about this list by Elizabeth Gilbert about the 7 books that shaped her. It is so hard to winnow it down, especially since often how you react to a book depends upon the intersection of when and why you read it. So many books just knock you sideways and you never know when it will happen or why until you take a moment of contemplation. Here are mine: The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White and published in 1970, I was born in 1971. Louis the swan is caught between two worlds and not capable of performing perfectly in either so he has to forge his own way. There is … [Read more...]
Personal Narratives as a Form of Protest
Over my holiday break I read two very different personal narratives. Totally different writers, writing styles and stories, but I believe that they work the same way. Writing is a liberating act by creating order out of disparate experiences, but each story also carves out room in the conversation about human life. And by doing so, these writers open up possibilities for all of us, because they show different sides of the experience of what is true in this world. One book is The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch, who writes, “Whether it was or it was not, there were words. Not just my … [Read more...]
Family is Where Our History Lives
I spent this last Thanksgiving with my fiance’s family in a new location. I am slowly beginning to understand what it means to enter a family as an adult. Family is where our history lives. They are the people who can say, “that is the face mom used to make” and tell stories about their grandparents even though they may have grandchildren of their own. I really began to consider of all of the miracles and brushes of fate that bring us to the common table. The next time you gather, listen for the others that are present at the table in the stories we tell. Some fought in a war, some built … [Read more...]
Balancing Focus & Inspiration: Thoughts
I often go back and forth between wanting to wear blinders and feeling overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of inspiration on the web. It can at times be a conflicting feeling that keeps me from my writing. Total Focus: Often I just don't want to look at a screen anymore after a day at work. and then all of those personal emails, which I love but at times feel like a slog through 25% off sales, evites, rambling social plans and events I know I can not make it to no matter how once-in-a-lifetime it may be. Too Much Inspiration: At times I feel like I am being force-fed inspiration. It is … [Read more...]
Revisiting Personal Mapping
I recently posted one of my prompts on the MemoirClass.com Facebook Group, and in fidelity to the group, I redid my Personal Map. My old one, if you would like to see it, I hold up in the writing prompt you can access here. So much has changed in the last six months. I have a full-time position, a fiance, and more resources but less time. I bet a lot of you have similar feelings: life is good, rich and full but still you have other dreams, tasks and ideas you would like to bring to fruition. We all have to start somewhere, and I think that was why out of all the prompts to pull out of my … [Read more...]
MEMORIALIZE (verb) to do or create something that causes people to remember
me·mo·ri·al·ize verb -ˌlīz : to do or create something that causes people to remember (a person, thing, or event) I am not sure what Memorial Day means to you, but to me it seems almost like the patron holiday of memoirists. This last year has held a lot of change for me, and I think that being someone from a multitude of cultures (Catholic, Buddhist, American, Artistic) I wonder what sort of thing to pour my memories into. I lost a friend this year who was a fellow writer, and while I traveled to her hometown to memorialize her, there has not been a formal "ceremony" and she did … [Read more...]