Wet Ink

You Can Never Own Too Many Hats

We all know that reading for pleasure is important in itself, yet no matter how enjoyable a friend's draft may be, we'll look at it in a different way to a novel we bought in a bookshop.  Not only is that vital, it's also good for our development!  Back when I trained as a teacher, one of the first things we were taught was that learning is deeper when it's active.  So if you read a piece with an aim in your head (e.g. to make edits or see what works) you interact with it more fully than if you're simply following the story.  In other words, we learn more when we know why we're doing something.  It's all about activity and role.  

Part of my job as an editor involves reading book-length manuscripts and considering whether they'd be suitable for publication -- a different process to assessing shorter fiction.  It becomes vital to keep the arc of the whole book in your head.  Whether I reject or promote, I have to write a short report, so I'm always looking for evidence of what works and what doesn't.  If I lose myself in a manuscript and forget my editor's role, that, my friends, is a very good sign.

Those of us who cross genres often own another hat.  Having seen how erotic writing is so often spoken down, I still don't widely publicize my pen name.  If you want to know it badly enough, I'm sure you can find it out, but I should think this requires a fair bit of work.  Besides, the benefits of having a pen name are huge!  When I'm wearing my erotica hat, I feel utterly free to express myself -- I'm direct, full of feeling, attuned to sensation; there's no fear in me at all.  I even think I possess a different voice.  I'm still accountable, of course, because the name is legally mine, but I know I am free to reach my given audience without offending those who'd only read my literary work.  Truly, I think my erotic fiction is more daring and in-tune because I write using a pen name. 

I should add that I'm a fan of real hats, too.  I've got this fabulous pageboy cap that I tuck my hair into, and it always makes me feel slightly cheeky.  Who knows...maybe when I don it of a morning, the work that tumbles out of me is especially impish.  ;)

P.S. Speaking of other hats, my writing group's chapbook blog, Authors Anonymous, now has some exciting new links to film and stories.  We also have a new Flash of the Week!  Tadaaaa!

Go Deeper, Baby: Writing Meaningful Erotica

That's the title of my upcoming Grub Street writing course, which will take place on the evening of April 7th.  Here's the outline:

Do you find sexy stories liberating and fun?  If so, why not try writing them yourself?  In this one-night seminar, we'll celebrate erotic fiction looking at why it's both emotionally valuable and increasingly popular.  Drawing on well-respected authors such as Anais Nin, Susie Bright and Steve Almond, we'll explore what makes a sexy story sexy, while also tapping the transformational qualities of the genre.  Come along with a willingness to be open about feelings and sensations, and you'll leave with a short, sexy story of your own.  All sexualities warmly welcomed.  Led by an instructor who regularly publishes erotica and views it as some of her most meaningful work.

Where?  Grub Street HQ.

Why?  Because sexuality's a wonderful thing.

Who?  Me, silly.

I Always Use Art To Put Myself Together Again

Well, I had some very good news this week and am coasting on congratulations from close friends.  It's not something I can announce widely yet, but it's put me in the mood for spreading the love.  So here's a little quote to hopefully bring some happiness to your weekend.  Thanks for being there, folks.

"I always used art to put myself together again, and that is why I favored the artist, because I learned from him this creating out of nothing.  I learned from Varda, who made collages out of bits of cloth.  In fact, once he made me cut up the lining of my coat to make a collage, and it was certainly more beautiful as a collage than as just the lining of my coat...This is the power to create out of nothing which we need to restore ourselves."

From The Artist as Magician (a wonderful essay / lecture) in A Woman Speaks: The Lectures, Seminars and Interviews of Anais Nin

Ain't that just darn lovely?

You, Me, and the Singalong Episode

It's amazing how good it can feel to share one's work or experience the work of others.  In a book- and internet-driven realm, readings and standalone displays sometimes dwindle in the eyes of society.  But at Art2Art the other night I felt a real buzz.  Boston is as creative as ever, and the talent is staggering -- we also have artists and performers with the guts to stand up, express, and own.

I'm sure there were many things missing in Medieval and Anglo Saxon culture, but stories were everywhere.  Tales and poems were delivered orally, often set to music, and made multi-layered to reach a diverse audience some of whom were intellectually educated, while others possessed a real world sass.  It's also a pleasure to share in and listen to the work of artists we admire but may never meet.  At The Thursday Theatre of Words and Music in Salem, MA, the other week, M.A. Schorr, Executive Director of the Robert Frost Foundation, stood up and read two of Frost's poems aloud and what a warmly enjoyable rendition it was.  In addition, I recently sat on a sofa with KL Pereira, up late after dinner, singing along to the Buffy musical episode "Once More With Feeling" and laughing like a drane because we both knew the words by heart.  Such sharing is art for the sake of connection and that's a big part of what we're all about.

For more on how art doesn't have to be huge and all about money, visit the Authors Anonymous site where I've blogged about Steve Almond.  You can also read the preface to our chapbook, Authors Anonymous, by myself and Stace Budzko, here.

After all, blogs are art-for-sharing too.  Thanks for reading along -- it means a lot. 

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More with Feeling:

 
 

Art2Art7 - Candlelight and Tigers

I haven't had time to import the pictures from last night's fabulous event, but if you'd like to read about the evening and get info on our performers, please visit the A2A blog.  

Honey, I Shrank the Audience

There was a wild storm in Massachusetts last night.  Crazy stuff.  And the Thursday Theater of Words and Music, which is an event that's usually packed to bursting, was much depleted.  When Stace and I turned up to present our writing group's flash fiction chapbook, our audience members, which included close friends, comprised a handful of people.  Of course, it didn't matter a jot.  Honestly, it was a real honour presenting our work and ideas about flash, especially to such a receptive group.  In fact, the organisers, Laurette Folk and Jennifer Jean, gave wonderful talks themselves about the artistic process, inside the wind-whipped bookstore.  The open mic afterwards was also most enjoyable, featuring three talented readers including our own Steve Mac.  

Something Stace and I were keen to put across was that our work doesn't have to be released by a major publishing house (or anything approaching it) to have an effect on the world.  A while back, Steve Almond gave a book launch for his own brilliant self-published chapbook, in which he said we writers make a choice about whether to affect a lot of people in a small way, or a few people in a deep way.  His words touched on a feeling I've had for a long time -- while I'd love my work to be shouted aloud by many, I'm happy if it's whispered by a few.

That said, it was amazing to turn up to Tara Masih's book launch the other night and see the Brookline Booksmith packed out.  It was a gorgeous evening.  Tara read from her beautiful work and everyone seemed to have a copy of her book in hand -- after the huge amount of work that goes into a story collection, how lovely to see it celebrated by so many enthusiasts.  

Audiences who truly listen are always an absolute privilege, and while it's lovely to have a bustling crowd, a smaller group can be just perfect.  

It really is all about the whispers.  And you know how those can spread.

Rule Breaker?

I highly recommend this article from the Guardian (thanks to Stace Budzko for the link) in which well-known authors give their top ten rules for writing.  There are some corkers in here: words of wisdom, inspirations, rules to either adopt or snort at depending on your views.  It's an absolute treasure trove.  Here are a view I love:

"If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it."  Elmore Leonard

"Do back exercises.  Pain is distracting."  Margaret Atwood

"Do keep a thesaurus, but in the shed at the back of the garden or behind the fridge, somewhere that demands travel or effort.  Chances are the words that come into your head will do fine, e.g. 'horse', 'ran', 'said'."  Roddy Doyle

"Don't worry about posterity -- as Larkin (no sentimentalist) observed 'What will survive of us is love.'"  Helen Dunmore

"Have regrets.  They are fuel.  On the page they flare into desire."  Geoff Dyer

"Remember:  when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right.  When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong."  Neil Gaiman

And seriously, that's just a smattering of the rich, insightful (and sometimes downright hilarious) quotations from this article.  

Enjoy them, but remember, you don't have to keep all of them.  We writers know rules are for breaking.

Three Events

This week, I'll be enjoying myself at these great evenings:

Tara Masih's book launch at Brookline Booksmith, which starts at 6.30 tomorrow night (Tuesday Feb 23rd).  Her short story collection, Where the Dog Star Never Glows, is going to be a stunner.

Stace Budzko and myself will be reading from our writing group's chapbook, Authors Anonymous (written by the Hanover Street Writers Group), this Thursday evening at the Thursday Theater of Words and Music, Cornerstone Books, Salem, MA.  We'll be talking about writing / reading flash fiction, collaborative process, and working on a small book.  Promises to be a lot of fun!  There'll be an open mike too.  See below for details.

We'll also be giving a presentation, along with Cathy Elcik and Steve Mackinnon, at Art2Art on Saturday night.  Again, we'll be reading from the chapbook.  Mike Schiavone, also of Hanover Street Writers Group, will be reading, possibly from his forthcoming novel, and there will be lots of other great acts.  Let us know if you'd like an evite.

Lastly, some fun news.  I just found out that my own chapbook, They Say We Don't Exist, was a semi-finalist in the Black Lawrence Press Black River Chapbook Competition.  Many thanks to the judges.

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The Thursday Theatre of Words and Music

An open mike will be held following featured writers/artists--artists are chosen by first-come-first-serve.

November's featured artists: Stace Budzko and Sue Williams will be presenting sections from their forthcoming chapbook, Authors Anonymous, a flash fiction anthology by the members of The Hanover Street Writers Group, which showcases the range and possibility of the short-short story form.

Stace Budzko is published or forthcoming in Hint Fiction: A Norton Anthology of Stories, Night Train, The Collagist, Hobart, Monkeybicycle, Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction, Flash Fiction Forward, Brevity & Echo, Quick Fiction, SmokeLong Quarterly, Long Story Short, Southeast Review, Carve Magazine and elsewhere. The film adaptation of his short story, "How to Set a House on Fire" (Factory: Bay Area Video Coalition) recently finished production and is in national distribution. At present, he is a writing instructor at Emmanuel College and Grub Street as well as writer-in-residence at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.

Sue Williams is both an Assistant Editor at Narrative Magazine and a writing instructor at Grub Street. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Narrative, Night Train, Salamander,Redivider, Gargoyle, Blue Earth Review, The Yalobusha Review, Even More Tonto Short Stories, Hint Fiction: a Norton Anthology, Hacks: Ten Years on Grub Street, and elsewhere. She was two-time prizewinner in this year's Soul Making Competition, where she was awarded first place in Flash Fiction and third in Short Story. Sue was also a winner in the 2009 Tonto Books Short Story Contest, received the Glimmer Train Best Start Award, and won Flashquake's 'Less is More.' She recently completed a linked collection, "Touch Me, I'm a Monster," and is working on the final draft of a novel. Sue keeps a writing blog at www.suewilliams.co.uk

A Drama of Possessiveness

As a young wife, Anais Nin and her husband Hugh Guiler (Hugo) discussed the possibility of a temporary separation to sate their hunger for extra-marital sex.  These talks gave way to a drama of possessiveness.  In Henry and June, her unexpurgated diary (1931-32), Nin writes about the couple's lovemaking during these turbulent weeks:

"We have never been as happy or as miserable.  Our quarrels are portentous, tremendous, violent.  We are both wrathful to the point of madness; we desire death.  My face is ravaged by tears, the veins on my temple swell.  Hugo's mouth trembles.  One cry from me brings him suddenly into my arms, sobbing.  And then he desires me physically.  We cry and kiss and come at the same moment.  And the next moment we analyze and talk rationally...  In cooler moments I wonder at the extravagance of our feelings.  Dullness and peace are forever over."

It isn't the first or the last time Nin speaks of lovemaking as being inexplicably bound to feelings.  There is a great force, not only in her word choice but also of her sentencing, which mimics the quick little gasps of trauma and longing.  In fact, she suggests the fulfillment of desire made way for a cooler rationality -- as if the feelings had been worked through and expressed, and now the thinking could take over.  Perhaps it isn't surprising they experienced a need for intense possession -- a reminder that they did belong to each other, after all.  

I have a deep respect for women who write of their own sexual experiences, especially with the candour and sensitivity of Anais Nin.  I also love her admission that after the act, she and Hugh felt more rational: to the point, in fact, of wondering at the "extravagance of their feelings" both before and during sex.  Mind you, when you think about it, this isn't surprising.  The most intimate rituals are often the most transformative, as the ancient pagans taught us:  

You leap through the ring of fire, and afterwards you're changed.  

After We Made Love

I love stories about sex and sexuality, including what happens after lovemaking itself, be this afterplay, affection, growth or moving on.  Whatever the genre, sexual connection often has a transformative quality.  This week, I thought I'd mention a few authors who write beautifully about an after-sex moment, and today, I'm going with the wonderful Erin Cressida Wilson, who wrote the screenplay for Secretary and, along with Lilian Ann Slugocki, published (and carried out) The Erotica Project.

This excerpt is from Wilson's microfiction piece, entitled The Shell, and it contains some magical realism I find powerful.  During a tender climax, a woman produces a shell, which lands in her lover's palm - a gift:

"He held it and turned it, and moved it in his hand.  Later, he took it out and laid it on top of the bureau.  And when he left in the morning, he forgot to run his hand along the top of the bureau.

He forgot to take the shell they'd worked so hard to make.

She sat up and watched this happen."

Shells, of course, can be deeply erotic symbols.  It's said Venus was born from one, and the female sex has often been likened to one in shape.  Plus the sea is seen as a powerful sexual symbol, all rhythm, salt and shifting tides.  But of course, what Erin Cressida Wilson really appreciates here is the transformational power of sex and the sense that something is made from it.  Be the process easy or difficult to achieve, what is born from intimacy is precious.  

And that's why afterplay can be so meaningful, I guess.

Some More Good News from Glimmer Train (The Stars)

In some respects, it's been rather a shabby week.  Thank heaven for friends and inspiring students.  Also, I have a nice bit of news to share:  My novella, "The Winged Hendersons of Welton-on-Sea" received an Honorable Mention in the Glimmer Train Fiction Open (Dec '09).  I may not be sure of my place in the world, but if my stories have a place...that's a pretty good start.

This blog is a comfort too, of course.  I shall be writing again soon.

Redivider (the Great Valentine's Hangover)

Redivider will be hosting their Valentine's Hangover party on Monday Feb 15th.  I can't go as I'll be teaching our monsters course, but it sounds fantastic.  At the event, they'll be launching issue 7.1.  Check out the details here.

Why Valentine Hearts are Fake and the Real Heart's Underrated

So I go to the loo this afternoon (that's "the bathroom" to some of you) and I find my usual brand of toilet paper is suddenly embossed with cutesy hearts.  I almost throw the whole roll of it right into the bin -- but I guess that would leave me high and dry.

Seriously, though, I loathe Valentine hearts.  Firstly, they're not even slightly reminiscent of the real human organ, which is vast, fist-shaped, and riddled with veins and arteries.  It's an unbelievable muscle, designed to pump the body's weight of blood in a constant, reinvigorating circle...and it can keep on going for years and years.  Now that's something to marvel at.  The real heart is gutsy, relentless, and animal -- all our processes, be they cerebral, emotional, physical, sexual...each and every one relies upon our heart.  The real heart will see you through every situation until the day you stop.

In 1369* at Inman Square, I was ordering some tea when I noticed a picture of the human heart -- not a twee cartoon, but something close to the real muscle.  It formed the cover-design for The Inman Review, a beautifully presented, local lit mag I'm looking forward to reading.  I wish I could show you the gorgeous cover (artist: Alethea Jones) but I can't find a pic on the internet, so allow me to describe it:   Alethea has used the real, human heart to communicate the connections between the different parts of Cambridge -- a major artery is labeled as Cambridge itself, while smaller veins form Inman and Prospect.  By using such a powerful symbol, the artist shows us how local life can be the thumping centre of artistic community and creative inspiration.   

That's true love.  Right there.  And it deserves an honest symbol.  In fact, my dear friend, KL Pereira, who's a truly inspirational teacher, encourages writers to build monster characters starting with the heart.  Sketch your monster's central organ, says KL.  Build from within.  Right on, sister!

So don't give away your real heart.  Adore it.

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*1369, at both Inman and Central, is one of the best places to drink tea / coffee while you're writing.  Committed to the arts, both coffee houses display the work of local artists.  I meet my dear writer-friend Amy there, which gives it added pleasure for me.  Highly recommended.  I love these guys.

Famous Literary Drunks and Addicts - Life Magazine

Well, we artistic types are famous for our addictions, aren't we?  See the amazing, moving, thought-provoking photos here.  Seriously beautiful.  Thanks to Richard Cooper, for the link.  

A Few Little Things That Give Me a Glow

I've been blessed with several titbits of news and excitement this week.  Here are a few highlights:

I am currently teaching a wonderful six-week course on Monsters and Mayhem, at Grub Street and what a pleasure it is.  Firstly, team-teaching with KL Pereira and Sophie Powell is a joy, and of course all three of us are nuts about speculative fiction.  As is usually the case at Grub, the students are incredibly talented.  In fact, one of our very gifted writers, Carrie Kei Heim Binas, recently wrote a fabulous fantastical short-short, which is now forthcoming at Boston Literary Magazine.  Huge congratulations to Carrie -- this is her first published piece (the first of many, no doubt!).  We're simply thrilled and I'll post the link when the piece, "Walking on Eggshells," appears in the magazine.  To tickle your interest, it's a gorgeous, sleek drabble that draws on the fantastical in a delightfully subtle and thoughtful way.  Carrie also blogs about Monsters and Mayhem with great insight.  In fact, her whole blog is really worth visiting.  Check her out here.  Congratulations, Carrie!

Friend and writing-group member, Steve Mackinnon, has just had "Read Me One," one of his short-shorts from our chapbook manuscript, accepted by The Pedestal.  If you don't know The Pedestal Magazine, it's a beauty.  Steve is regularly published and you may remember him reading from his fascinating novel-in-progress, Mercy's Wake, at Art2Art.  I'll post the link here when "Read Me One" is up.  Congratulations, Steve! 

And there's more.  Stephen Dorneman, a stellar writer and blogger, Barks at his Shadow here, plus he'll also be reading at Art2Art on Feb 27th.  In fact, A2A promises to be an exciting event all together.  Other performers / readers will include three members of The Hanover Street Writers Group (Stace Budzko, Me, and Mike Schiavone) presenting from our chapbook Authors Anonymous, plus the richly talented novelist Lisa Borders (you can order her novel Cloud Cuckoo Land here) and Francesca De Vries singing haunting songs, to name but a few.

To cap it all, Tara Masih has had "Where The Dog Star Never Glows" reviewed by Elizabeth Schulenburg at Bookloons, and what a review it is.  Read it here.  It's full of praise and thoughtful perceptions.  Congratulations, Tara!  More news of the launch soon -- that's where I plan to get my hands on a signed copy...

And last, but not least, if you'd like to go on the evite list for Art2Art, just drop me an email.  

Happy writing, all.