writing in flow is not cheating

One of the joys of moving to Calgary is reconnecting with friends in person. For example, Susan (the accidental poet/housewife), who has no end of writerly/creative connections in this city, and who suddenly on Thursday invited me to an author reading in a lovely old downtown home. Kevin had something else to do, so I gladly went along.

The author, Roberta Rees, was reading from and speaking about her fictional book Long After Fathers. I had neither read nor heard of Roberta and her book before, but now I want to read it.

Roberta said she is very interested in personal memory and social memory, how the mind works—how it works through time and space whereas the body can only work through space, and the responsibility we have for memory.

Initially Roberta thought she would write a novel about the book’s first character, but it was too intense and emotionally she could not stay there. She attended a Sage Hill Writing Experience in Saskatchewan, where Robert Kroetsch read her work and could tell where she had pulled back, told her the writing was flat in some places, yet in others it just flowed. In the places where the language was flowing Kroetsch asked, “Do you feel like you’re cheating when you do that?” She admitted yes.

Writing is work, yes, but when it’s right there’s a flow, and that’s not cheating, it’s good and beautiful.

At the end of the evening, our host Barbara asked Roberta to share some tips for emerging writers. I share them with you.

1. The writing isn’t about you. It’s about things in the world moving through you and being present to write them. See Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat Pray Love. Susan says she watches this Elizabeth Gilbert video every day.
2. Find ways to get out of your own way without arguing them down. For example, we get in our own way when we doubt our own work. Roberta gets out of her own way through physical exercise and reading. Some people do dishes or canning. Margaret Atwood does laundry.
3. Writing is a bout community, not just the self. Foster friendships with people who know what to say when you’re struggling.
4. Ursula Le Guin’s book Steering the Craft makes a great 10 week course to share. She says the first draft is leaping and crowding. Let it be messy, thick, detailed, imperfect.
5. Perfect the shrug, like Roberta’s friend Marie. You can’t write to please. For example, Mom is a good audience, but write for synergy, not accolades.
6. Just be bold. If you have a style or language that’s different, just put it down.
7. Be wary of any authority who wants to tell you how to write. It’s one thing to edit [and advise], but if anyone is trying to change your voice, be careful.

Thank you, Susan, for taking me along.

new business card

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Things Every Kid Needs

My sister-in-law is a children's pastor at Harvest Hills Alliance Church in Calgary. She is reading a stunning book called Think Orange: Imagine the Impact when Church and Family Collide by Reggie Joiner. I'm dipping into it. Inspired. Challenged. Sobered. Joiner’s main emphasis is that life should be about God and that the church (yellow) and family (red) should work together (orange) not against each other, and that the chief end of each should be helping people get to know God. I'm excited to share some of the principles with people I know ... and to implement them.

Joiner includes several summary lists called “Slices.” Here’s one from page 98:

A REALLY BIG GOD they can trust no matter what.

Kids should grow up knowing that God is big enough to handle whatever they may face.

SOMEONE ELSE who believes what they believe

Kids need friends who will encourage them to grow in their faith.

ANOTHER VOICE saying the same things parents say

As children grow older it becomes more important to have other adults in their lives as spiritual mentors and leaders.

UNCOMMON SENSE to help them make wise choices

God’s point of view and His truth should become the filter for how kids view life and make decisions.

NOSY PARENTS who know where their kids are spiritually

Kids need parents who will be intentional about spending time together as a family and staying actively involved in their children’s spiritual growth.

Think Orange: Imagine the Impact when Church and Family Collide by Reggie Joiner. Hardcover: 272 pages. Publisher: David C. Cook; New edition (June 1, 2009)

Stories from a War Bride

All of Bette Ramshaw’s stories are true, but her imaginative retelling and animated presentation often cause her audience to ask, “Did that really happen?” On October 29, Bette Ramshaw of Nokomis entertained listeners at Parkland Regional Library, Strasbourg branch.

First there was the death of Dr. Ketchum and his body’s crazy final journey to Roy McDougal’s Funeral Parlour, which “was a treat to be buried from.” Then several stories about Mrs. Ramshaw’s friend Sylvia and the silly situations they get into. And Mrs. Ramshaw recalled her first Canadian winter: “I had never seen so much snow in my life. In my ignorance I thought it was beautiful. What I didn’t understand was the fear and isolation this snow was going to bring.”

Bette Ramshaw came to Canada in 1946 as one of the many war brides to a husband she hardly recognized without his uniform on. Her husband Art attended the reading on October 29 and did some storytelling of his own during the coffee break. He recounted meeting Bette for the first time at a dance in 1945, where they both were called for the door prize and they won a chicken. Because of rations they hadn’t eaten chicken in four years, so when he took her home he said, “I’m coming back tomorrow to eat that chicken.” They spent the entire next day together and were married 10 weeks later. He returned to Canada and she followed. Sixty-four years later, Bette declares that she won’t be breaking in another husband!

Doctors speak against H1N1 vaccine

Are vaccines today more dangerous, in some cases, than the diseases? Has something gone wrong with the system or the companies making them? Filmed at the 4th International Public Conference on Vaccinations (sponsored by the Nat'l Vaccine Information Center) in October, 2009, listen to what these health professionals have to say!

the company of women

I remember the battered old quilting frames filling my grandmother’s living room with fabric and designs. I remember quilting bees where the nourishing smell of coffee and baking and the aroma of female conversation wafted through the air as women gathered around a project, finishing it together. I remember the sound of my grandmother’s Singer Treadle sewing machine, whirring as her feet rocked rhythmically and her hands moved expertly with cloth and thread.

Last Thursday evening, women brought favourite quilts to share for the once-monthly Ladies Night at Strasbourg Alliance Church. Some brought recent projects, some brought antiques; some brought intricate patterns, some brought patchwork; all brought a love of beauty and admiration for the creativity and plain hard work that goes into any quilt.

Guest speaker, Julie J., loves quilting so much that she and her husband renovated an old one-room schoolhouse (Pengarth) for her creative domain. Draped over a chair in the foreground is Julie’s first quilt project, so ambitious that she started it but didn’t finish it for several years—after she had taken some quilting classes and learned easier ways she could have done it! She spoke of her inner transformation through quilting as she took classes to pursue the art and went from distrusting certain groups of women to loving the company of women in the Between Friends Quilter's Guild.

Julie displayed a variety of quilts, some made by her own grandmothers, some made by herself, and some “rescued” from antique stores. None of them are for sale. “They’re my children,” she says. They can be gifts, but there is no way to price them for buyers.

Quilts of old served as a creative outlet, a recycling venue (old pajamas, dresses, shirts, Fortrel, even underwear!), and a community gathering place, all while meeting the deeply practical needs of keeping warm and occupied during the winter.

Quilting is less common these days, and tends to be more solitary, with kits and pre-cut pieces you can buy from quilting stores or WalMart and put together with a television going in the background. Still, the impulse to produce beautiful handiwork is strong. Steve Belll sings the question, “Why do we hunger for beauty?” Could it have something to do with being made in the image of God? I suspect so.

Women still need to gather, for reasons not always tangible and obviously practical. We gather for our sanity and general well-being. We feed each other’s souls with companionship and loveliness. No amount of Facebooking can take the place of meeting face-to-face.

I believe we also need to nurture crafts that have, in the past, been vital to survival. Quilting and sewing bees have given way to classes and retreats that keep traditions alive. Perhaps some day we will actually need this skill again—among others—to survive in a harsh climate.

With or without a project in our hands, women seldom need an excuse to gather. I love a good intergenerational blend of ladies. Pictured above in the middle is Lil Plum, who was my own mother’s pastor’s wife when Mom was a teenager. Lil set the bar very high for Mom’s understanding of what it meant to be a wife, mother, and Christian, and I have heard Mom reference her example many times.

Joyce brought a heavy quilt made by a great-grandmother in the 1800s. Hanging behind Joyce’s left shoulder is an enthralling quilt by Eunace made of silk ties!

 

Betty, who has taken quilting lessons from Julie, brought this star patterned quilt-in-progress because she had some questions.

We need each other. No amount of reading can take the place of in-person expertise and encouragement.

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All photos taken on my Samsung cell phone. Not bad, eh? Someday I’d like something with a few more pixels. But I still want it to fit in my pocket.