writing craft – The Studious Cat

Muscle Memory

January 29, 2020 by Jamie A. Swenson

Janesville Critique Group: Left to Right Front Row: Me, Georgia Beaverson, Ann Bausum, Elizabeth Fixmer, Judy Bryant Back Row: Pam Beres

The idea that muscles have memory is not a new one. For those of you wanting to know more about it, I found this https://www.popsci.com/what-is-muscle-memory/

For our purposes, let’s just say that the more we do something, the easier it becomes. This applies to a myriad of things – both positive and negative. The more you put off writing, the easier it becomes. You can go for days, weeks, months, years — dare I say — forever. No, I daren’t because I tend to despise the phrase ‘dare I say.”

At any rate – Pam (pictured above) invited me to join her Cardio Class (okay, technically I invited myself as I am apt to do — but the point is, I’ve been going. Mostly. She’s going more – go, Pam, go!). I’m enjoying the class. Today the instructor said we were like a really good Show Choir — which is fantastic because I had been imagining that it was 1986 and I was back in Show Choir. The point of this is — my muscles remembered. Sure, it was a lifetime ago — but once you learn to grapevine with a bunch of like-minded people, you don’t soon forget.

Which brings us back to writing. As always.

Today I came home and wrote a silly poem — in the style of Edward Lear. It’s ridiculous, but I enjoyed writing it. I enjoyed rhyming it. And my muscles remembered, if only for an hour — that they like to write.

But if I never do it — I will forget.

So if you are like me — God bless you — but if you are struggling to do the work: remember, a HUGE part is muscle memory. Sit down. Write something. Anything. Your muscles will remember.

Prompt: Pick one of your favorite writers and write something in their style. It doesn’t have to be very long. It doesn’t have to be very good. It doesn’t have to go anywhere. Just let your muscles remember.

Collective Joy

January 15, 2020 by Jamie A. Swenson

January is a high-pressure month for a multitude of reasons. There’s a collective push to better ourselves. To set goals. To create healthy new lifestyles. To let go of the past and all the stuff weighing us down – whether it’s mac-n-cheese or our inner critic. Mostly, this is probably a good thing …

But it’s rough, you know?

I tend to resist a lot of this. I tell myself I don’t need goals. That January resolutions just make me feel depressed in February. That picking a word only works if I can remember what the word is in July. (I remember 2019’s because I found a Post It note on my “office” wall with the word COURAGE scrawled across it while I was moving everything around to fit in some rabbits … but that’s another story).

Of course, resistance is futile.

This morning, despite my best efforts to avoid resolutions – I joined a very good friend at a group fitness class. As we were concentrating on which foot to lift, or kick, or tap – the instructor mentioned Collective Joy. You know – the idea that when people gather and dance together, they tend to experience more joy than those who are alone in their basement “office” dancing. She didn’t mention that last part, but I think we can go there.

It struck me that this is exactly what I’ve been missing: being part of the collective.

Which is why, earlier this morning, I had already planned a writing chat for February at my local library. I just hadn’t quite put it all together under Collective Joy. But that’s what talking about writing with other writers is, at least, for me. That’s why I loved working towards my MFA, it’s why I love going to conferences, and why critique groups work. It’s the collective joy of the group.

So maybe that’s my theme for 2020: Collective Joy. Only time will tell.

Prompt: Think of a character in one of the books you’re working on. What groups does this character belong to? Wish to belong to? Excluded from? Quitting? Trying to quit? Write a scene where your character is entering a new group. Write dialog between the character and another character who is already an established member of the group. Now write dialog between the character and another character who is new to the group.

Happy Writing.

If you’re interested in chatting about writing, and you’re near Janesville, the details can be found on my FB page under the Events Tab. https://www.facebook.com/jswensonwriter/

Necromancy: The Art of Communing with the Dead (Manuscripts)

January 13, 2020 by Jamie A. Swenson

Image from page 239 of “Science and literature in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance” (1878)

You’ve likely heard that manuscripts need to simmer. Simmering should likely be more than an hour and less than six years.

You’ve likely also heard that you should stop dragging around a dead cow, or dead horse, or dead anything – referring to a manuscript that has been to every critique group, conference, and workshop with you for YEARS — but you do very little to revise it — so your crit. mates have seen the SAME THING countless times. The key here is the lack of change/revision. Dead manuscripts are dead because the author lacks the willingness or the ability to make intentional, impactful revision. (This means that you did a lot more than just fixing that wrong word or comma issue.)

But just because you have finally called time of death on a manuscript and put it away – doesn’t mean it’s dead to you forever. OH NO. This is where the magic of necromancy comes into play.

Manuscripts might become stagnant, but writers do not. We keep growing. We hear the same advice over and over and slowlly, but surely, the advice begins to errode our dense grey matter. One day we sit down to write and suddenly (as if by divine grace or dark magic) we understand a concept that we didn’t before — and more than that — we see how it applies to our own work.

This has happened to me – with a resulting sale. I went to a conference. Heard some brilliant person talking about looking through the files for old manuscripts that might still have a bit of life left in them. Looked back at least four or five years into the Dead Files — and brought one up that I had worked and worked and worked to death.

And this time – I looked at it – and immediatley saw my mistake. It was all in the pattern. And it was so obvious. I sat down and revised it. Sent it off to my agent – long story short – it sold. It will be out in the world in 2021 — and once I have real dates, I’ll share more about that one.

But it just goes to show – sometimes we need to put manuscripts away for years. This is not simmering. This is death. But death is not final.

Today’s Challenge: Put that manuscript that you are not revising, but still holding onto, some where far, far away. Set a reminder for January 13, 2024 – to find it and resurrect it. (Of course, you can resurrect it earlier if you hear it calling you — but wait at least six months — you’ll be amazed at what you see with fresh, knowledgeable eyes.)

Muscle Memory

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Collective Joy

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Necromancy: The Art of Communing with the Dead (Manuscripts)

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