Just saw your note on Anne Lamott’s “introvert in cruise ship library” post and wanted to connect.
I was a Creative Writing Professor at Montreat college for 15 years and taught Lamott regularly. Great to find a kindred spirit. I also taught sestina and was glad to be reminded today that I always find that writing in form opens up new possibilities in language (iconically). I look forward to engaging in this exercise soon. Just subscribed to you.
Check out my post in Tribute to Anne and see if my words may be of value to you. Happy writing, Kimberly ✍️
Actually, I wanted to go back and edit this when I realized it was unclear. I meant to say that I taught Lamott’s works to my students! She’s my mentor!!! 😊
Oh, funny, I thought you looked too young to have taught her:) But I always use the same phrasing “taught so-and-so,” meaning I taught their work, so I should have picked up on that!
Thank you for this post, Michelle. I used your exercise, inserting a character from a story I am working on, and have a little section that might end up in there, with some small changes. If not, it certainly helped me understand the character a bit more simply by asking my protagonist what type of situation might they be experiencing or recalling where anaphora would contribute to impact. 🙏😊
This is a brilliant post. I'm so struck by this idea that "the confines of an exercise prove liberating for most writers".
That's the entire, devastating premise of my novel, "What Was Here."
The protagonist is a child in a Gaza camp who, to survive the "bewilderment" and chaos, invents the ultimate "confine": a rigid, bureaucratic 'Ministry' with a logbook and protocols.
His repetitive, "mathematical" "Log Entry" format is his only liberation. It's his desperate "sestina" against the screaming, his only way to "make concrete and tangible art out of the messy abstractions" of erasure.
Since your post so perfectly explores the power of form to contain the uncontainable, I thought the story might resonate.
I'm so glad that idea of "form containing the uncontainable" resonated with you. It really feels like the whole puzzle, doesn't it?
That concept is the entire experiment at the heart of my novella. As a writer and teacher, your perspective on how a story is built is so sharp. If you ever do get a chance to read it, I'd truly value your feedback on whether it worked.
And I wouldn’t need a second convincing to believe that you’re a good teacher and your lecturing skills is out of this world. Reading this and how detailed and structured it is and how much heart you put into it just reminds me of when I used to teach last year before I quit my job.
writing is not an easy task, although people generalize it to be the easiest thing to do, but we who are here know how much creativity and how much determinism goes into it.
Just saw your note on Anne Lamott’s “introvert in cruise ship library” post and wanted to connect.
I was a Creative Writing Professor at Montreat college for 15 years and taught Lamott regularly. Great to find a kindred spirit. I also taught sestina and was glad to be reminded today that I always find that writing in form opens up new possibilities in language (iconically). I look forward to engaging in this exercise soon. Just subscribed to you.
Check out my post in Tribute to Anne and see if my words may be of value to you. Happy writing, Kimberly ✍️
https://open.substack.com/pub/wordhappy/p/in-praise-of-shitty-rough-drafts?r=6co7u1&utm_medium=ios
Thanks for the gracious understanding of my gaffe and kind response! 🧡
Hi Kimberly. Thank you for connecting. That's so interesting about your teaching background. Clearly, she learned a thing or two:)!
Actually, I wanted to go back and edit this when I realized it was unclear. I meant to say that I taught Lamott’s works to my students! She’s my mentor!!! 😊
Oh, funny, I thought you looked too young to have taught her:) But I always use the same phrasing “taught so-and-so,” meaning I taught their work, so I should have picked up on that!
Thank you for this post, Michelle. I used your exercise, inserting a character from a story I am working on, and have a little section that might end up in there, with some small changes. If not, it certainly helped me understand the character a bit more simply by asking my protagonist what type of situation might they be experiencing or recalling where anaphora would contribute to impact. 🙏😊
Hi Shannon. I'm so happy this exercise helped you to get closer to your character!
Hi Michelle,
This is a brilliant post. I'm so struck by this idea that "the confines of an exercise prove liberating for most writers".
That's the entire, devastating premise of my novel, "What Was Here."
The protagonist is a child in a Gaza camp who, to survive the "bewilderment" and chaos, invents the ultimate "confine": a rigid, bureaucratic 'Ministry' with a logbook and protocols.
His repetitive, "mathematical" "Log Entry" format is his only liberation. It's his desperate "sestina" against the screaming, his only way to "make concrete and tangible art out of the messy abstractions" of erasure.
Since your post so perfectly explores the power of form to contain the uncontainable, I thought the story might resonate.
You can read the novella for free here (~1 hour read): https.://https://silentwitnessin.substack.com/p/what-was-here?r=6r3orq
Thank you for sharing this, Ros. I appreciate what you say about "the power of form to contain the uncontainable."
Thank you so much for this reply, Michelle.
I'm so glad that idea of "form containing the uncontainable" resonated with you. It really feels like the whole puzzle, doesn't it?
That concept is the entire experiment at the heart of my novella. As a writer and teacher, your perspective on how a story is built is so sharp. If you ever do get a chance to read it, I'd truly value your feedback on whether it worked.
All the best,
Asif
Hello Michelle,, I'm Ral
And I wouldn’t need a second convincing to believe that you’re a good teacher and your lecturing skills is out of this world. Reading this and how detailed and structured it is and how much heart you put into it just reminds me of when I used to teach last year before I quit my job.
writing is not an easy task, although people generalize it to be the easiest thing to do, but we who are here know how much creativity and how much determinism goes into it.
I just met you, but I love you already 🥰