The Magic of Rereading
How I Am Learning I Don't Always Have to Start Fresh
I am a writer who loves to draft and drift. The unknown in the generative nature of freewriting and creation is magic for me. I love that surprise! I am currently learning to build excitement for revision, because there is magic and joy in finishing a piece too but that aspect is not as natural for me.
I was able to take a class with Natalie Goldberg this spring and one of the ideas that stuck with me is the notion of rereading my notebooks. Natalie says that is how you learn from your writing, but it is something I resist.
Since it is almost summer, and that is when I live my full time writer schedule, I have vowed to reread my notebooks and do something with the material. [There are a lot of notebooks…] As a teacher, I have always told the students to go back to what they have already recorded in order to help them write. It is time I followed my own guidelines.
During lockdown, I did transcribe many notebooks into my Google drive. I am now able to search certain keywords in order to bring ideas together to one essay or story. But I am easily lured by the magic of the freewriting and get lost down a rabbit hole of new words quite easily. I have resorted to setting calendar reminders to go back into notebooks. Over the last several months, I have revisited drafts to polish and submit, but it is not nearly the amount of words I need to change.
A structure and a class have come onto my radar recently have been helpful to this new process.
Oceans Without End - Holly @Poetry Forge - This is an asynchronous class to work with snippets of work to bring them to a collective whole. Holly is using the form of Zuihitsu to construct these pieces. I have dabbled with this format in the past but am looking forward to revisiting and having some guidance.
The 5 Things Essay - Summer Brennan - This is a format after my own writing heart. It is freewriting in 5 sections and then rereading and finding the theme thread. This is a perfect solution for when I return from a walk with lots of notes on my phone for writing ideas. I will often “wait til later” and then lose the magic of what I was thinking on the walk. I have also used this format with my tarot cards. I pull 5 cards and then free write on the images or the symbols or the meanings and see what emerges. I also plan to use this format with my Sarah Selecky prompts and see what story threads come together over several days of fiction writing.
Both of these structures will help me revisit all my Google Keep notes and allow me to find a form for some of those ideas to live in.
When I am taking other writing classes I have started to flip through a notebook near me and take one of my own lines to start with as well. I am gathering ideas of how to make this a habit for myself.
How do you manage the snippets of writing and notes you collect? I would love to hear in the comments.
A few announcements:
PUSH groups are resuming their weekly schedule! You can go here for more information.
Gatherings are every Monday at 7 p.m. Central/ 8 p.m. Eastern starting June 6!
Each hour-long meeting focuses on curiosity and wonder. We share wins and experiences, write together, laugh, and are open to new ideas.
Payment of $20.00/per month to PayPal will secure a spot for the month.
If you would like to pay ahead you may!
$100 for 6-month enrollment
You can enroll for PUSH groups here. Please make sure to include your email in the notes! You will receive the Zoom link for the month when your registration is confirmed.
The Sarah Selecky Fall Story Intensive is now open for enrollment! If you enroll by June 11th you will have access to The Writing Habit Prep Course that runs from June 13th-August 6, 2022. The Intensive has been updated and Sarah has added several weeks to the experience. I highly recommend this course especially if you are looking for an MFA alternative.
I hope this newsletter finds you in a place of happiness and inspiration. Happy writing and reading!
I didn't know Summer Brennan did workshops. Cool.