Poets and Writers

Whereas the world is in dire straits.

Whereas the people are feeling more disconnected than ever.

Whereas it feels like so much is out of the control of individuals.

Be is resolved that as writers we take the following actions…

First, we acknowledge that the act of writing is a heroic act.

Second, we acknowledge that writing is an act that we simultaneously cannot control and completely control. 

Third, we acknowledge those that have written before us and honor the words of Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz and follow his dictum that ”A writer must sit down to write every day, pick up his pen and try to write something — anything — on a piece of paper,” or blog, or computer, or stone tablet.

In these days of uncertainty, make a positive act. Commit a thought to paper, let it live, let it suffer the indignities of the critics, but leave a mark. And then take all that burdens those words and make it better.

As writers, we must worry less about getting things right that writing nothing at all. Be courageous my fellow writers. The final draft only begins with a first draft, and let the writing begin.

But more seriously, ways to help your writing in 2009.

1) Set up an account with a major blogging site, it’s free and you don’t have to publish it to the world. It’s a great way to take a free moment at work if you have access to a computer. Just go to the site and toss in a few words.

2) Consider carrying a personal journal. Moleskines are wonderful, if absurdly expensive. The hipster PDA  is a great way to take notes as you need them. It’s cheap and works.

3) Consider a netbook, these new sub-laptops have great battery life and are a way to have your writing tool where you need it. 

4) Write letters and postcards, writing flexes muscles, muscles need exercise. Pick up postcards in the town you live and send off a quick note, poem, postcard post to friends you don’t correspond with, hell send a postcard to those people you email and IM with all the time (I promise, it’ll blow their mind!)

5) In these Dickensian times, think “Bleak House”. Charles Dickens was a great serialist, think of your great American Novel as a serial and write it as such. It worked for Harper Lee, it can work for you, even if you never serialize it.

The most important thing you can do, when you think you are powerless, it to write. Make a mark, any mark.

It’s the holiday season and one of the chores, or traditions is the sending of cards. I always find it interesting to see what people do with this commitment. Do you go industrialized and send out pre-printed cards that have been personalized with a photo of your choice? Or are you one to get store bought cards and insert a printed out “newsletter” of your past exploits. Do you just sign your name on a whole bunch of cards and send them out.  Or are you more of a traditionalist, writing each card by hand. Or are you one to send out bulk holiday email newsletters.

Well, whatever your style. I recommend going big and unleashing the writer in you and decide to make a memorable holiday letter. Here are some tips on how to make a great holiday card.

1) Have a point of view. There is a lot of pressure to be cheery and paint a pretty picture with your holiday update. Resist that pressure, instead insist on being true. If it was a crazy year, than say so. If it was a sad year, then explain it. Don’t whine, don’t wallow but say it was a year of change or tragedy. Maybe your wife or child died. You aren’t going to say it was a great year, so don’t fake it. Your friends will want to know what happened.

2) Offer a lesson learned. What came out of this year that mattered. Sharing something you didn’t know before will benefit those who you care. Did you read a great book that moved you. Maybe you found out that living with less stuff make you happier, or maybe that new dream car really was a dream. Or maybe you found out that asking your boss for a raise does work. It can be short, as simple as “writing every day is an act of progress in that something existed that didn’t before.” and then it become your novel. This is your opportunity to pontificate.

3) Commit to a goal for the next year. Say I’m looking forward to 2009 to finish X. It took me three years of promising in my annual holiday card that I was going to do a triathlon, but this year I finally did. Saying what you want holds you to your commitment, and it gives something for your friends to follow up on.

4) Give thanks and acknowledge that which matters. This is a simple thing to close out your letter, it works for the Academy award winners.

5) Be true to your voice. The cliche is always to write in the memoir style. Unless you are old and reflective. Avoid it. Write as if you were telling a story over coffee or a beer.

Incorporate a new view on this annual tradition and it’ll be a better read, a better write and people will remember it.

One of the reasons that my friend started a writers group was to create some external driver to get us to write. Basically it was a game to get us to write so we would have an opportunity to get together socialize, to eat and to drink. But to get there, we had to write. We at least enforced that. 

Ever since then I’ve looked for tricks to keep me writing. I’m quite passionate about the environment, so I started a blog and the drill was to write. It didn’t matter how great the post was, but to commit. It kept me writing for a year. But then life interferes.

So what do you do to get you to write?

A blog gets me writing, but that’s just to keep my chops up.

So one more time, what do you do?

I’ve been sitting on this domain for a long time. I originally picked this up as part of a writers group I was a member of many moons ago. I thought it would be a way for the group to share their work and collaborate on our blitz writing sessions. Hemingway said that writers groups don’t make better writers, but they do make friends. This blog is going to be an experiment in getting writers to share their tips and secrets in how to be a better writer. Maybe prove the “Old man and the C” wrong.

Every few days I’ll post a topic or subject that I invite writers to submit posts on. They will be simple in form, but complex in response. Some will be requests for links to your favorite works. Other posts may simply be news of note to writers. So please join me as we create the world by committing words to form.