week #7 Write what you know?

Should You Really Write What You Know?

        I’ve been pondering this a lot lately, as I am currently 250+ pages into my first novel for an adult audience that deals with a woman’s experience mothering a transgendered child. Am I a mother of a transgendered child? Nope. Should that preclude me from writing about that experience? To that I say “nope” as well. 

       I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the adage “write what you know” in creative writing courses. And I couldn’t disagree more…..to an extent.

       If one were to follow that philosophy strictly, then women would never write male characters. Men would never write female characters. Older people wouldn’t write about children. Most of us wouldn’t write about being an astronaut, or swimming the English Channel. And don’t even get me started on how this notion would wipe out entire genres of fiction: fantasy, gone! Speculative fiction, gone!
  
       But I do see a grain of truth in this that I hold on to fiercely. I interpret it as “write what I know emotionally.” I’ve never been to the moon, but I’ve felt lonely and isolated. I’ve never swam across the English Channel, but I’ve felt my fair share of anxiety and fear. It’s from this emotional connection that we as writers connect with our stories and are able to, hopefully, transfer them to our readers.

       So where then do my stories come from? This is a question I get asked a lot. 

      In the case of my young adult novel, Strays, there were three circumstances at play:

1.    I was (and still am) the dog columnist for the Los Feliz Ledger. 
2.    While doing research I came across an organization in Santa Monica called K-9 Connection that pairs at-risk teens and rescue dogs. 
3.    I had struggled with a dog with redirected aggression issues. 
       My published short stories had different conceptions.

       In my story, The Sound of an Infinite Gesture, published in Monday Night Literary, a trainer falls in love with a gorilla that communicates to her through sign language. I remember reading the story about Koko the signing gorilla and it made me wonder about language and interspecies communication.

       In Unruly, a girl’s adolescence is heightened by her hair that grows out of control and monster-like. Not only was this my attempt at reinterpolating the fairy tale, Rapunzel, but I also had a dream that my hair was growing out of control and a squirrel came along a snipped off some of the hair for her nest. To this day I keep a notebook by my bed, as I find many of the imagery for my speculative/magical realism fiction comes from dreams.

       Plush is about a young man trying to connect with his father, but can only do so in costume. A friend had told me about the concept of “furries” where people dress in costume – usually anthropomorphized animals. I had also read about “cuddle parties” where people pay to get close to one another. It got me thinking about the notion of having to pay for affection.

       Roadkill, published in Wilde Magazine,  follows a prisoner paramedic who is allowed to leave jail to troll the highway for accidents. This came directly from a newspaper article I read about the stretch of the 10 freeway near Las Vegas where there are so many car accidents and not enough EMT’s to go around so they employ local prisoners to help out.

       So, as you can see, in the examples above (save for the situation with my own aggressive dog) none of these instances has ever happened to me, but I did my best to access the characters' emotions by channeling my own.

       So, by all means, write what you know! But also remember to write what you don’t know.
 

week #6 - Leaving the Bubble

Yes, we may write in our pajamas in our offices engaging in human contact only to purchase more coffee, but eventually, all writers have to leave their bubble. And this is a good thing!

Whether you’re just starting a new project or polishing up a finished manuscript, there are many ways to become active in a writing community, especially in Los Angeles.

Join a writing group:

Get a group of friends together who are interested in reading and critiquing one another’s work. If you don’t have a solid group of writer friends, try a meetup group or ask around. You may be surrounded by closeted writers who would jump at the chance to get regular meetings running.

Take a class:

Not only is this a great way to strengthen your writing, but chances are you’ll be able to form a writer’s group from your class participants. 

  

    

The Writing Pad  offers a wide range of workshops in Los Angeles. 

UCLA Extension Writers Program  boasts the largest open-enrollment creative writing and screenwriting program in the nation. You can take classes online or in person. And, this just in: I will be teaching a young adult novel writing course there starting in the fall!

Attend a Conference:

        AWP: This year, the AWP (Association of Writers and Publishers) annual conference will be taking place in Los Angeles from March 30 – April 2, 2016! The conference is a big one – with over 12,000 attendees made up of writers, teachers, students, editors and publishers. There will be presenters, readings, panels and craft lectures. The book fair hosts over 800 presses, journals and literary organizations from around the world. While you don’t have to be a member to attend, if you’re serious about writing, they’re an excellent organization to join.

I will be there signing books on Saturday, April 2 from 12:55 – 2:45 at the Literary Classics Booth.

           SCBWI: 

 For those of you interested in children’s writing, SCBWI (society for children’s book writers and illustrators) holds a conference every summer in Los Angeles at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza. In addition to readings and lectures by beloved children’s writers, participants will also have a chance to have a manuscript critiqued by an editor or agent. Dozens of classroom-sized intensives allow you to tailor your schedule to your interests.

Trusted Reader:

And last but not least, I can’t stress enough the importance of having a trusted reader in your life who will give you honest feedback and treat your work with the care it deserves. Find that person and hold on to them tightly. Then, buy them a cup of coffee.

week #5 - What's in My Toolbox?

                  I like to think of myself as having a metaphorical writer’s toolbox I carry around with me at all times.

                 My toolbox is an amalgam of all of the wisdom, both theoretical and practical, that I have amassed regarding the writing process over the course of my life.

                  Today, I wanted to talk about a few of the practical tools in my toolbox that help keep me organized and productive.

                  

I recently shared on Instagram (find me as JenniferCaloyeras) a photo of the six projects I’m working on all in various stages of revision.

File folders: 

        It can be hard to keep track of the various stages of revision for each project.

I keep them organized in a labeled file folder on my desk.

At the front of each folder, I stick a post it that labels what needs to be done next. For example: “Print and edit pages 1 – 50” or “Start typing edit on page 75”.

Excel:

Excel has become my very best friend for keeping track of submissions. Each project I complete has its own excel spreadsheet in order to keep track of query letters I send out, what the response was, if there’s any follow up, dates and any notes the reader might have added (sometime even with a rejection will come a note saying, “it wasn’t right for this issue, but please send more!”  

Because I have a short fiction collection, it can get complicated sending out thirteen different stories to different literary magazines and anthologies, but with the excel spreadsheet I can keep track of them all as well as view them by date or by story.

Bulletin board:

I like to keep information regarding different genres I write in front of me. Sometimes, those will include important due dates for submissions, research I’m conducting or even photos for inspiration.

A little notebook:

I am the queen of collecting little writing journals. Sometimes I’ll use a new journal to start a new project. Often in the beginning stages of a writing project I prefer writing ideas out by hand.

Currently, I’m using this plain moleskin, given to me years ago by my sister in law, to keep track of all things writing including ideas, appearances and to do lists.

A filing system: 

Until something appears in book or journal form, I like to hold on to all drafts. What if I cut something that I need later on? This way, I have it. I keep my files alphabetized by title and all my creative writing folders are purple so they don’t get mixed in with health care or other files.

 A lined notepad:

Whenever I start revising a book-length piece of work, it gets assigned a lined notepad. As I read through the work I’ll do line edits on the manuscript, but I’ll use the notepad to keep track of more global changes or questions. I usually allot about two pages per chapter. When I go to revise, I do so chapter by chapter, starting with the line edits and then moving on to the bigger, more global aspects that need to be changed.

Programs that prevent you from going on the Internet: 

There are a few ways in which technology can keep you from being distracted by technology:

Anti-Social: this app lets you set the time you want to write and during this time you are blocked from all social media on your computer.

Write or Die: this program allows you to set writing goals and then should you stop writing, the app will wither gently remind you with a pop up window (gentle mode), play an unpleasant sound until you continue writing (normal mode), or your writing will begin to unwrite itself (kamikaze mode)

Coffitivity: for those of you that work better in a coffee shop vibe rather than in silence, Coffitivity will create background coffee shop ambient noise.

On Tuesday, February 9th at  6:30 - we will be discussing our strategies for creative writing and revision – come join us and add more ideas to your toolbox!

Join authors Zsuzsi Gartner, Matthew Specktor, Andrea Quaid and Jennifer Caloyeras as discuss and take questions about their various writing strategies. On the page how do we get from A to Z? How do different mediums and platforms affect the writing process? Do different projects merit different approaches? Can the process of writing be taught? 

Zsuzsi Gartner is the author of All the Anxious Girls on Earth, and editor of Darwin’s Bastards: Astounding Tales from Tomorrow. Her most recent book, Better Living through Plastic Explosives, was a 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist. She is the founding director of Writers Adventure Camp at The Point in Whistler, B.C. She’s at work on a novel.

Matthew Specktor is the author of the novels American Dream Machine and That Summertime Sound, as well as a nonfiction book about the motion picture The Sting. His writing has appeared or is forthcoming in The Paris Review, The Believer, Tin House, Black Clock, and Salon.com, among other publications. He was a senior editor and founding member of the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Andrea Quaid is co-editor of Acts + Encounters, a collection of works about experimental writing and community. Recent critical and creative publications include the American Book Review, BOMBlog, Jacket2, Lana Turner, LIT and the Los Angeles Review of Books. She teaches in Bard College’s MAT Program (Los Angeles) and Language and Thinking Program (New York) as well as California Institute of the Arts. Currently, she is writing a book on contemporary experimental women’s writing and the literary epic.

Jennifer Caloyeras is the 2016 Writer-in-Residence at the Beach House, and will be working on a novel in the Marion Davies Guest House from 1/12/16-3/15/16. Her most recent novel, Strays, is for young adults and explores an incarcerated teen's relationship with a pit bull. Caloyeras' short fiction has appeared in Booth, Storm Cellar and other literary magazines. She holds a M.A. in English from Cal State Los Angeles and a M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. Jennifer’s current project is her first adult novel – a mixture of humor and pathos – that explores a mother’s journey with her transgendered six-year-old daughter, and the weight of expectations parents place on their children. She will share her work with three public events, a weekly blog, and open office hours throughout her tenure (schedule below). Her website: jennifercaloyeras.com. 

Mondays January 25 – March 7, 11am-2pm: Open Office Hours – come by Jennifer’s office at the Beach House with any literary questions

Tuesday February 9, 6:30pm: Unpacking the Elusive Writing Process

Tuesday March 8, 6:30pm: Culminating reading and Writer's Publishing Workshop. 

Follow her weekly updates to the Resident Blog starting in January 2016. 

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What’s your favorite writing tip or strategy?