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Response to Glenn and Discussion on Open Blogging

Jul 102009

Glenn Groux posted an important comment to one of my previous posts. I think it deserves a separate blog post, and hopefully we can generate some discussion around his questions. I think the questions would get different responses from different people, so please pass this on if you know anyone who may provide insight for Glenn. Here are some of his questions, with my answers:

what would happen if you started to blog anonymously instead, and posting to your creative blog when you feel comfortable to do so? Would it change how you blog? Would you be a bit less careful how you present your ideas?

I’ve been participating in online discussions since 1992, and the pattern of my life has led me to a point where I don’t feel the need to openly post things anonymously. I think it’s important to clarify the difference between Private and Anonymous. I think there is value in private journaling to track ideas and think out loud before presenting things to an audience. I don’t personally have a need for anonymous writing in the open. However, I recently attended a conference where one session attracted a large number of anonymous bloggers. These were mostly hobbyists who did not want their leisure pursuits to be confused with their professional identities. I also know genre fiction writers who prefer not to blend identities.

I keep my jentropy and injenuity identities separate, simply because they have different focus and audience and I can serve as an initial content filter. This is based on the assumption that most of my readers are not interested in both content areas. If they were more related, I probably wouldn’t bother separating them. I think if someone is considering anonymous open blogging, they need to ask themselves why. When I hear concerns about coworkers or employers reading venting, complaints or gossip, I have to ask if there are bigger issues. If you need to write to vent about others, complain, or gossip, put it in a private journal where you can work through the issues. Openly blogging these kinds of things is a kind of passive aggression and I would hope educators would not promote it as healthy activity.

I am interested in the potential for edublogging for creative expression? Particularly for helping adult literacy learners find and strengthen their own voices. Are there anonymous creative blogs aspiring writers can join, and practice the writing craft?

I’ve never quite been comfortable with the term, “edublogging,” possibly because I haven’t seen a clear definition of it. A blog is simply a publishing platform and I would consider the purpose of open publishing before deciding on blogging as the medium. Why are the adult literacy learners taking the course? What do you mean by finding and strengthening their voices? Is there an assumption that non-native English speakers haven’t found their voice? There are cultural issues at play with these learners and each class and student will bring different strengths and challenges. Consider cultural background and think beyond the language. What are the course objectives and how can blogging help achieve those? This is not an area of expertise for me, but I think if I were working on adult literacy, I would want to meet the learners in their preferred medium first. Are they storytellers, magazine readers, TV watchers, radio listeners, book readers, facebook users? Where are they already communicating? I would make it a priority to choose the medium in a way that allows the learner to maintain dignity. I hope people who work in this area will find the post and chime in here

There are many creative writing communities online where you can create anonymous profiles and receive feedback on your work. Many of these have hidden pitfalls. I’ve found this type of community to be good for moral support and motivation, but lacking in critical evaluation and honest, professional feedback. I don’t find the need to post anonymously to sites like this, because I don’t really have anything to hide. Most published authors are very open about the quality of their early works and the lessons they’ve learned on their professional journey. On my own blog, I can see my learning quite evidently in just the few months I’ve been writing fiction. My style has changed and I’m finding my voice. I’m glad I can look back at earlier pieces and see the difference.

I hope my comments help, and I hope others join in the discussion. Thanks for starting the conversation here, Glenn!

The Big Question - Exposing Myself

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Jun 222009

I’ve had this question in my head for a little while and thought I’d send it out to the blog audience. Hopefully I can recruit some educators to jump in on the conversation as well. I’ve read a few posts about ageist, racist and sexist fiction writing. I’m exposing my ignorance her by admitting I don’t exactly know what that means. I’ve never studied writing. I don’t want to be guilty of these social sins, but I’m not sure where to start learning more.
I also don’t want to sanitize my writing. These are issues I want to explore. I write stream of consciousness and I want to uncover flawed characters. I want people to read and think and reread and question their own motives. How do I do that without being accused of “isms?” Where can I learn more about this? Is this something debated, or is it common knowledge? Thanks for any resources you can provide.

Grievous Vacation

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Jun 172009

I’m putting Grievous on hold for a while. I’ve been thinking about it and finally made the decision. It’s summer vacation and I now have two little ones at home and only small moments of time for writing. The story for Grievous is enough to fill a novel, and I’ve decided I don’t really want to write an entire novel on my blog. I remember being excited initially about releasing content as it is written, but I’m seeing things differently now. In the last few months, I’ve learned so much about the craft, I don’t think my writing now is consistent with my style when I began. It has been an interesting and enlightening experience. Some day I will probably write the whole thing. It’s all there in my head, and it’s good! For now, I’m going to focus more on learning about writing, and practicing as much flash fiction as I can get in.

Learning as I Go

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May 092009

There’s a lot going on behind the scenes with this Grievous project. The bones of the story were in my head when I first began writing, but the complexities were not fully mapped. With my last two parts of the story, I realized I could not go much further without starting to document what’s going on that isn’t in the writing. Yesterday I started a timeline including all the events I’ve written about that refer to a period of time in the characters’ lives. I am up to more than 36 items I will need to keep track of as I write. I am going to start filling in other events that have yet to be mentioned in the story.

I have a few characters already with interesting personality traits that may affect their decisions. I need to start documenting these separately so I don’t make them do things against their ‘will.’ Maia exists in my head as a person and I feel I know her well. But she is a combination of people I’ve met, or stories I’ve heard and I feel I need to find a way to keep track of her feelings and philosophies in a separate place. I’m not sure if there is a technology solution for this. I like the idea of having these things in a place that can be easily searched. Thus far, I have been reading the entire story before I write each time!

The story takes the proportions of a novel, in my mind. I’m stripping back words and details to keep the posts short and ‘bloggable.’ However, I do still have those thoughts about writing a novel. I’ve heard many first novels are more for practice, and rarely get published. So, is this my first novel? Am I writing it in this public space so I can get feedback to write something better? I have no goals. I didn’t plan to start writing like this, it just hit me. It gives me pleasure, and pleases a few who give me feedback, and that carries me. But should I be more ambitious? I created a new Twitter account for my writing, recognizing that I wasn’t engaging with readers and writers as much as I would like using my other account. I’m also ready to accept that injenuity and jentropy are two very different brands and need their own digital identity.

One interesting thing I’m realizing, is that I don’t have the opportunity to do a full edit and revision like you would with a book. I’m still writing hastily and pushing ‘publish,’ like I did when I was blogging. I’m not spending time to re-read, proof and edit. What this means, is that I have to keep the full story, past and future in my head. I can’t really make too many changes to the general plot, because people have already read some of it. I find this interesting and it makes me wonder about the future of novel writing. Is this an opportunity for the reader to be more involved? I don’t think I would sacrifice anything to please a reader, but I like the idea of feeding a bit on reader response.

I still think the story is yours. I try to leave much to the imagination, so each reader can find their own meaning and explore how the story makes them feel. I don’t really want to add more detail and description, because I want you to be able to discover it on your own. So I have this ‘story behind the story,’ the timeline and character descriptions, and I think each reader would have their own ‘story behind the story.’ The unwritten piece, the story in your head, the way you feel, your hopes and dreams, disappointments and fears about the characters, IS the story. You are writing it for me. I only wish I could read them all!

Learning the Process

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Apr 252009

This post ought to be a celebration of all I’m learning about writing, but I’m finding I keep spinning my wheels, doing the same things with each piece I write. Maybe I need concrete goals and objectives. I wanted to learn to be more patient, taking time over my words, revising and editing, but it isn’t happening. I’m writing these stories using the same process I did with my ed tech blog. I grab an hour as soon as I get the chance, and cram as much writing in as I can. I don’t take time to proofread, revise and edit as I should.

The thing that bothers me most, is my urge to click that ‘publish’ button and release my words. I know this comes from years of sharing all my thoughts online, and I haven’t decided whether it’s even something that can be judged as positive or negative. One side of me feels we’re in a different place now with writing, and there’s nothing wrong with releasing first drafts. Another part of me feels I’m cheating readers, or at least mucking with writing conventions, breaking rules, offending tradition.

Yesterday I was asked why I release the work with CC licensing. My initial thought is that I really don’t know any better. This is how I’ve been writing, and I don’t know anything other than sharing. In my mind, these words are just like any of my instructional pieces or presentations. They are just my organization of words, not encapsulated in my own paragraphs, but part of the middle of something bigger. My stories have no beginning and end. There are threads I will never complete. I have no intention of detailing the physical descriptions of the characters. I hope these things are in your mind.

I write things I like to read. When I’m reading a book that goes into a detailed description of a person, I get stuck trying to imagine as the author intended. With my writing, I hope the characters can live in your imagination. With that, I suppose I also hope someone out there has other pieces of the stories. Maybe they will be a spark for others to write the details, or to rewrite using a local setting, or more familiar challenge. I see my writing as more of a framework for a daydream.

Because I haven’t studied writing, I also don’t know about where my stories belong. I don’t know if there’s a genre for this, or who the reading audience may be. Yesterday someone referenced Stream of Consciousness. I was unfamiliar with the term, but now plan to learn more about it and see if it is something that will help inform my future writing. I’ve been working in a field where I have become used to learning with colleagues and downplaying the role of the ‘expert’ in the learning process. I’ve attempted to replicate that learning in the field of writing, but haven’t found the online opportunities as engaging as those in educational technology. So I wonder, how much am I going to learn and improve on my own? Will I need to consult experts or seek further formal education?

For now, I’m writing to please myself. The joy I get from playing with words has a balancing effect on the rest of my life. I’m fortunate that I don’t have to do this for a living, because I don’t know if I would enjoy it as much. I am still doing contract work in higher education, and haven’t really thought of building a career around creative writing. In fact, though I can certainly picture myself writing a full-length novel, I can’t imagine keeping it to myself until publication! If you’ve read this far, thank you for sticking with me. I do appreciate all the feedback I get from readers, many of whom are experts in the field. Thank you for following my adventure!

Forward

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Apr 152009

My last four stories were set on a beach, the same beach, though I’m not sure anyone noticed. There are links between the four stories and I did try some new styles and elements. I’m ready to move on. I am inspired by the beaches of the Pacific Northwest and have included some of my photographs here. My next series will run more like a chapter book. I understand series stories aren’t very popular, but I’ve only got 30 subscribers, so I’m less interested in popularity, than with the challenge of trying something new. I think you’ll find the plot engaging, and I hope to start publishing the posts soon.

Finding Inspiration

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Mar 232009

I am fortunate to live in a beautiful place, so I am always inspired. The last four stories were inspired by the town of Snohomish, a few miles from my home. It is a small city along the river, and the stories take place in a fictitious coffee shop on 2nd Avenue. The town is full of antique shops and small local businesses and recently suffered from the severe winter flooding we had in this area. Despite the damage, the spirits of the locals remain high. Every time I visit, I’m greeted kindly.

One of my favorite antique shops has incredible lighting for photography. I bring my camera and ask permission to take photos. I’m not a professional and have no training, but I get pleasure and inspiration from composing the shots and seeing something that may inspire me later. I never edit the photos, as I feel some kind of attachment to them in their original form. This morning I created a set from my Snohomish photos, to give you a better idea of the location where the last four stories were set. The photos feature Creative Commons – Noncommercial - Attribution – ShareAlike licensing, so you may reuse them according to the license.

My next set of stories will take place on the beaches of the Pacific Northwest and I will share my beach photos as well.

Learning to Write

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Mar 222009

I trusted the counselor when she told me I should take Honors English in high school. I didn’t really understand what it meant, but I followed along. The teacher was also the adviser for the yearbook and I was the only student in the class who was not on the yearbook staff. I was definitely an outcast. I was new to the school, one of those old, Maryland brick buildings named for a dead president. Our assignment was to write a paper on an American author. I immediately rebelled by requesting Victor Hugo instead. We were to read two books and find three other sources. Our only direction from the teacher was that it was not to be a biography or book report.

She accepted my author choice, but was not happy about it. I read Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris. I questioned her over and over about the nature of the paper. It made no sense to me. I gathered my sources, filled out my index cards and pulled together a rough draft. She slashed through it with her red-ink revisions, and I started again. Another draft was slaughtered, but I kept going. I don’t remember her name, but I will never forget her perfume. She overwhelmed me daily with the smell of scented toilet paper.

In the end, I wrote her paper. It was hers. I used every line she wrote. None of it was mine. She gave me a C. It has been more than twenty years and I have not forgotten. I still don’t know why it affected me so deeply, but I do think I understand what she wanted, and why she did what she did. She taught the way she was taught. She did what countless professors did before her. I survived the class and eventually made it to college, where I have no memory of any work being challenged in that way.

I have always been frustrated with words and language. I find it hard to communicate meaning to others, without using standard form and predictable content. I’ve struggled with my limited vocabulary and redundant language. I have even wondered if the problem was in having English as my native language. After writing countless pages of commercial, instructional and academic text and hundreds of thousands of words of online content, I am finally discovering a new way to write, and I feel completely liberated.

It isn’t natural for me, and I am challenging myself with exercises for each story. That is what is so exciting to me. My head is full of stories! Each story could be written a million different ways, and I am in love with discovering how to play with the words. I no longer feel constrained by convention. I can break the rules, as I’m not delivering a message or instruction. I have no audience. I am alone with the story and I can craft it delicately, or leave it rough and untouched.

I crave the word play now, and sometimes will spend all day thinking of the variations on a single sentence. My biggest challenge is still with my patience. I will spend days on the first few paragraphs of a story, working and reworking. Then I push forth the ending, with very few edits, because I have such a strong urge to release my work. This is my habit, and one I will learn to control. In the mean time, the fun is in the thoughts I have between the writing, the work I do away from the machine. At thirty-seven, I am learning to write.

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