Preparing for NANOWRIMO

National Novel Writing Month is celebrated every November. Last year, my sister Cynth participated and completed her 50,000 words in a mere three weeks!!- way to go, Cynth! Her enthusiasm has been infectious and now I’ve caught the bug.

An idea for writing the back story of a wonderful woman of myth has been brewing for several weeks. I’ve been researching the myth, drawing character sketches, drawing up plot arcs. In the process I managed to squeeze all the bloody juice out of my idea and entered panic mode big time because well, how was I going to write 50,000 words if I had no ideas for a story? Know what I mean? NANOWRIMO was not going to happen in this house – at least not this November.

Fortunately, another one of the Penelope writers caught the NANOWRIMO bug; she even bought founder, Chris Baty’s book NO PLOT, NO PROBLEM, which she loaned to me.   Ahh, Chris suggests not planning your book until one week before November 1. I had ten days, so no problemo, eh? I followed his instructions for drawing up a Magna Carta of what I like and disliked in novels I read. Then proceeded to begin to think about a character.

Almost immediately one came into my mind. With pen in hand I started to write in my character’s voice. It was then that the magic happened. I felt as if this character had been inside of me for a very long time. Furthermore, she was insisted to be given a voice on the page. If only all writing was this fluid. This joyful!

Excitedly, I skyped Cynth to share my happy discovery. Maybe I would be able to give NANOWRIMO a shot after all. She advised me to STOP writing. The ideas and voices can build until November 1. We can’t get writer’s block if we’re not writing.

In the meantime, I am preparing by reading Sara Gruen’s wonderful novel: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. I’m also trying to clean my office, but that’s going to have to wait a bit since I can’t put Gruen’s book down long enough to sort through my messy piles of books.

How to read a poem: RUMI

There is a layer of a good poem that is “off the page.” When I teach poetry, I ask my students to try to understand, not only the literal interpretation of a given poem, but also whatever levels they find off the page.

Often, we read this layer with our hearts and have a difficult time explaining that level of the poem to another person; we’ll say it’s hard to put into words or we’ll say “you know” a lot while nodding our heads. It’s the layer of the poem that speaks to us the loudest and with a universal message of what it means to be human. We know, and again it’s a nonverbal knowledge, that the other person understands, or maybe I should say FEELS what it is the poet is trying to convey.

When listening to or reading poetry, RELAX open your heart center, and invite your Self to become the poem. If that sounds too airy-fairy to you, just sit back and softly focus your awareness on each line of the poem.

The first video, created by IshqDaFakeer, contains the lovely Soundtrack: Oceanic (Part 1) by Anoushka Shankar.

Here is the transcription of the poem:

Not Christian or Jew or Muslim, not Hindu
Buddhist, sufi, or zen. Not any religion

or cultural system. I am not from the East
or the West, not out of the ocean or up

from the ground, not natural or ethereal, not
composed of elements at all. I do not exist,

am not an entity in this world or in the next,
did not descend from Adam and Eve or any

origin story. My place is placeless, a trace
of the traceless. Neither body or soul.

I belong to the beloved, have seen the two
worlds as one and that one call to and know,

first, last, outer, inner, only that
breath breathing human being.

The second poem-video, “Say I Am You” was created by rahmama2. The music is by the composer, Eleni Karaindrou, and is the theme music called “Eternity and a Day” from the movie, Aggelopoulos.

And if they don’t speak to you, don’t worry, I’ll post something completely different next week.

After you have “experienced” each video, you may wish to sit quietly with your eyes closed for a few minutes and let them reverberate in your heart and mind. As you do so, welcome whatever bubbles into your awareness consciously. Then let that thought go as you create room for whatever else may come before your mind. Do this as long as you feel comfortable.

If you are hungry for more RUMI, here is a link to a Coleman Barks reading on University of California Television,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Ft1Oo3cQQ

Then pick up your pen and paper, or head to your keyboard and let loose. Mevlana would be pleased with your efforts, I’m sure.

What’s the worth of a poem?

What’s the worth of a poem? A story, novel, or essay, for that matter….

It’s easy to get mired in What’s the point of all this? ESPECIALLY if you aren’t making $$$$$, the hallmark in our society of success and, well, the POINT of why people do what they slavishly do day after day.

You know what happens once mired, the MUSE flees! WRITERS BLOCK sets in.

Responding to a question about social activism, Bob Dylan once said that “A song never changed anything.” The truth, however, was that his music inspired a generation and it continues to push folks to do more, create more, live more full, rich, graceful lives everyday.

A poem has an undetermined value – that is not the same as no value. A poem can grow to speak more loudly over time. As writers, we don’t need to worry about these things; we only need to listen deeply and express our truth.

Are there poems or other pieces of literature have changed your life? We’d love to hear about them in the comments!

In the meantime, here’s a poem-video that was posted on the blog Writely Applied. It’s “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou set to music and sung by Amy Sky. You can read more about Amy’s serendipitous story here at AMYSKYMEDIA.

Finally, Nikki Giovanni has a bit of advice for those poems we think are the “no-good” poems:

Asparagus Strata

By: Carolyn Grady

Whenever I have guests for breakfast, I usually whip up a strata because it can be prepared the night before AND it tastes delicious. A highly variable dish, this asparagus version is a bit drier that some you may have tried, but guests have remarked that they especially like the texture. A bonus is using whole grain bread which helps to boost the nutritional value. Hope your early morning folks enjoy it as much as my writing group does! Serve warmed leftovers with a green, balsamic vinaigrette salad for a delish dinner. It serves 12 hungry folks easily.

INGREDIENTS

1.5 lb. asparagus spears

1 T. olive oil

8 oz. sliced fresh mushrooms

1 lb. chopped, thawed, drained broccoli rabe (optional)

2 cloves garlic or 2 garlic flower stalks

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

3 C. or 1/2 lb. grated Swiss cheese

2 T. chopped fresh dill weed or 1 tsp. dried dill

1 (1 lb.) loaf whole wheat bread – I used a sunflower whole grain loaf (break the bread into 1 or 2 inch chunks and allow to dry out for a day or two – alternatively toast VERY lightly in the oven set on WARM)

10 large eggs

2 C. skim milk

1 C. half and half

1/2 C. grated Romano cheese

asparagus strata (carolyn grady photo)

PREPARATION

1. Clean and cut asparagus spears into 3 inch pieces. Bring 2 inches of water to boil in a large saucepan. Add asparagus pieces. Boil one minute, uncovered. Drain and rinse in cold water.

2. Lightly grease 10 X 14 inch pan.Set aside.

3. In skillet, heat oil and add mushrooms, broccoli rabe, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Toss grated Swiss cheese and snipped dill weed in a large bowl.

5. Arrange 1/2 bread pieces on bottom of baking dish.

6. Layer half the mushroom mixture, half the cheese, and half the asparagus.

7. Repeat with remaining mushrooms, cheese, and asparagus.

8. Top with remaining bread pieces.

9. Beat together eggs, milk, and half-and-half. Pour over mixture in pan. Press down with back of spoon to thoroughly moisten.

10. Chill a couple of hours or overnight.

11. Bake at 350  for about an hour. Twenty minutes into the baking, pull pan from oven and press down with back of spoon again. then sprinkle with grated Romano cheese and return to oven. Strata will be done when top is nicely browned and most liquid is absorbed. Allow dish to sit for a while before serving.

Writers

Something for those of you wondering if you can call yourself a writer:

I don’t know where I heard it, but the definition I LOVE is

A WRITER IS ONE WHO WRITES.

Ahhhh, you say, I want to write, but never seem to find the time. You’re in luck here, because I’m now going to let you in on a trade secret. The way to find time is….

BUTT GLUE!

The glue doesn’t exactly work for those of  you whose backs are already shot and stand or lie down to pen those magical phrases the world is waiting to devour and reward you for creating BUT it’s the secret ingredient most of us need to develop. That’s right, DEVELOP. Most of us are not born with sticky behinds, clear minds, or open hearts, which are all necessary ingredients for composing anything worth reading.

So, let’s forgo any more fanfare; you need to get cracking those pearly black keys and I need to organize this site a bit more.