Tag: creative-writing

Big Magic

Do you believe in magic……???

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, an inspirational book by Elizabeth Gilbert, was published in 2015 and instantly became a bestseller. This was nine years after her breakout bestseller Eat, Pray, Love. After hearing writing group friends talk about it in my presence, I broke down and bought a copy in 2021. I think I read two chapters. Since I have just finished reading the entire thing today (July 2024), I cannot tell you why I wasn’t interested back in the pandemic years when being able to read for long periods of time wasn’t such a luxury. Maybe I considered it airy-fairy and that approach wasn’t going to improve my writing. Whatever the reason, I put it in the Living Room closet next to some books on the Writing of Memoir, and there it has sat ever since. In fact, it is still sitting there. I listened to Elizabeth Gilbert read the audiobook while I walked the trails and beaches of Saint Jean de Luz in the Pays Basque region of southwest France.

The book can be summed up as EG taking every possible fear and rationale we writers have to not write and shows us why it is poppycock. She claims she was the most fearful of children, scared of everything, scared of waves, scared of snow. She lists at least two pages of fears to not write. “I’m too old”, “I’m not old enough”. I found myself laughing as I remembered almost each and every fear she mentioned.

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She says something very interesting. Something that goes against one of the blurbs of her book: which said something to the effect ‘how to learn to have a creative life.’ My words. Gilbert says we don’t learn anything. We already are creative. We either use our creativity in living or we don’t. But it’s always there. 

I enjoyed listening to the book. I enjoyed it because I’m on the other side of a lot of the fears she’s talking about. So I was nodding my head as she talked, agreeing with her on many points. I’m pretty sure if I hadn’t been writing for eight years, hadn’t had a book published, hadn’t talked about some of my fears with my coach and editor, I would have had a hard time groking what she was saying. It was a bit like the huge Nike poster I had scotch taped to the back of my toilet door years ago. JUST DO IT!

Gilbert seems to think if she could do it, anyone can. So she talks about courage, persistence, trust, enchantment and how she met each one head on. What she doesn’t say is that, in fact, she is an exceptional person. She has a huge personality, she’s probably impulsive and when she gets into something, she jumps in 110%. She takes risks—introducing herself to Ann Patchett at a conference by telling her how much she loved her. I recognise this. In my 70s, I have much the same personality. But it took sixty-five years to be born. I think I might have cried reading this book in my 30s. Of course, I have no way of knowing. Looking at that Nike poster every day actually drove home the sentiment – forget all your excuses, Sara, just do it! And sometimes I did!

I think my take away from the book and one I want to pass on is: love what you do. If you love to write, write. Don’t think about the end result. Will it get published? Do I need an agent? etc, etc, etc. Just write because you love it. I need to say that I’m in a very lucky and enviable situation. I am retired from my first profession, have savings, and am in a position that many writers are not. I don’t have to depend on my writing for income, to make ends meet. I get to write because I love to write. I am discovering that more and more. I find on-line challenges and things like Jamie Attenberg’s #1000 Words of Summer that encourage me to write every day and account to someone, even in the virtual world. Writing every day makes it easier to write every day. Yes, that’s English and it’s true. And getting prompts from people like mary g.’s substack What Now? has led to interesting stories—ones I wouldn’t have thought up just sitting on my butt at the dining room table hoping for inspiration.

I have a hard time getting through any book on writing. Some craft books are written by smart and wiley people. They give you a teaching then two or three short stories that use the very thing the writer hopes you will learn. For instance: Tell It Slant (Miller and Paola, 3rd edition 2019). I was finished the book before I had time to give up on it. There were fascinating stories, most I hadn’t read. I may have learned something also. My writing teacher, Jennifer Lauck, refers to it often.

So if you, like me, like to listen to audio books while you walk, and you want some inspiration to take a next step or do a high five because you’ve already figured out something Elizabeth Gilbert writes about, then you will probably enjoy this book. EG’s voice is extremely pleasant to listen to. Since she wrote the book, she can emphasize words and points she wants emphasized. 

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A bientôt,

Sara

We would like to publish your…..

Yesterday I received an email telling me that a story I submitted to a journal was accepted for publication. I wasn’t expecting the email. It’s been five weeks since I submitted it. That is an incredibly quick turn around for a journal.

I sat and looked at it, wanting to jump up and down, but afraid that the email might disappear if I did that. After 90 seconds or so, I threw my arms in the air and yelled “YES!!!” Then I forwarded the message to my writing group. Not good enough. The room was silent. I called Tracy, one of the members of my group. I told her that my insides were dancing around and I needed to hear a human voice. She said she had just started to write to me. She was so happy for me. I could hear excitement in her voice. 

Angela, Tracy, and Sara — members of my Writing Group

Then I emailed everyone I knew who has been supporting my writing work. And the congratulations started rolling in. I did jump up and down then, and danced, and had a big shit-eating grin on my face. I went to a Holiday Stroll in my little village of Montclair. Whenever someone, innocently, asked “How are you?” I responded with, “You really want to know?” No one is going to say no when someone with a huge smile on her face is actually willing to tell you. So I told my great news to perfect strangers.

This is the thing: Writing as a profession is a second career for me. I retired from my first career after 35 years, moved to Paris, and started taking writing classes. I wrote a memoir: Saving Sara A Memoir of Food Addiction. I thought, at the time, that would be the end of it. Writing is a bug. Once it fully resides in you, that’s it, the end, you’re hooked. I started thinking of myself as an author, a writer. I’ve been taking writing classes and working with my writing group on my voice. Was I going to attempt to write fiction? or non-fiction? I’m 76 years old. Maybe if I was younger, I would spend more time on the craft of novel writing, or short stories. My imagination isn’t accustomed to going in that direction. I consistently fall short. I love writing this Substack and articles for anyone who asks. I’m comfortable with my non-fiction voice. I wrote a short story about baseball—which I also love. It was based on a true event. I knew exactly which journal I wanted to submit it to. The Under Review. I had met the editors at AWP 23 (Association of Writers and Writing Programs). I played ping pong on the smallest table I’ve seen with one of the editors. I shot a hole in one into the tiniest basket you can imagine. They gave me a coffee cup as a reward. We laughed, and high fived, and had a grand time.

Playing ping pong at AWP 23

I worked hard on my story. I revised it at least 30 times with the help of my amazing writing group: Tracy, Angela, Bob, and Christie. When I thought I was going to hate it if I saw it one more time, I decided it was finished. I submitted it five days before the deadline for the Winter Issue.

My prize for a basket in one!

Yesterday morning, I was sitting on my couch in my home in Oakland, California, missing Paris (although I’m told it is REALLY cold there). I wasn’t depressed, just blah. Everyone knows blah. No color in one’s world. Who cares what happens for the rest of the day. My little foster kittens were tearing up everything in sight and I didn’t have the energy to stop them. Then the email arrived from The Under Review. 

It was like a shot of adrenaline. Someone who counts, who publishes stories, likes my story. Now I want to write again. Ok, so what if I’m retired but working full-time. And yes, writing is a pretty lonely enterprise. I suppose it’s a bit like winning a slam, you shine under the spotlight. Then you start all over again. Maybe I’m seeded a little bit higher but considering who’s out there writing, I’m guessing I’m seeded about 10,000! And that’s ok. Because I’m seeded. I’ve written one book and I’ve started on my collection of short stories!

Now the California sunshine is calling. Gotta get this adrenaline moving around.

A bientôt,

Sara

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