Poetry Review - Gangson

A few weeks ago, I was asked to review a poetry book written by a former professor of mine, Andy Weaver. Weaver is a Canadian Poet and a tremendous talent in literary culture. The published review of his book Gangson can be read on Excalibur's Site and despite a misleading headline -- which I did not write -- and some editing issues, the article is vaguely in line with my high opinion of his work. Weaver's publisher, NeWest Press, sells Gangson online. You can also find the book on Amazon, and a number of other online book stores.

Prism Magazine also reviewed Gangson a few days before I did. If you don't believe me, read the high praise all over again.

Make nice with friends, writers

Despite what movies show us about writers as lone wolves struggling with their genius and isolation, writers should be social animals. While some recent studies by York University have suggested that reading fiction can enhance social skills I believe the reverse is also true: enhancing personal skills can help you create better fiction. You can use your own interpersonal relationships as kindling for a creative flame. Just, for the sake of your friendships, don't turn your writing into gossip about your friends.

Also, if you have other friends into writing or creative projects try to group together to create. You can feed off each others creative juices.

They are what they own

Characters can own things. They have houses, condos, apartments, shacks, campsites, backpacks, castles, towers -- in short, they have places where they live. Try writing a story that describes the character(s) only by the things they own. Feel free to simply create a list, or join the descriptions of the objects themselves with descriptions of where those items are or how the character came to posses them.

For example:

I cursed aloud as the boiling coffee burnt my lip. Dropping my navy mug, I spilled the instant coffee I'd just made onto my computer's keyboard. The blinking LEDs quickly winked out; the keyboard was certainly wrecked. Black coffee wet the shoes and socks of my Tiny Spongebob plushy and stained the screen cleaning cloth I sat next to the monitor. I grabbed a dirty t-shirt from the floor and kept the liquid away from my accumulated collection of Kinder surprise toys and Starcraft CD case.

Condemning the desk, I grabbed each item already swimming in coffee and wiped them off. The leather case of my glasses, the engraved pen my sister had bought for me as a Christmas gift, my brother's measuring tape, the camping knife I use to open letters and scare off visitors, the coffee mug from yesterday, the coffee mug from the day before that and the spoon I had used to stir them all each had their turn being carefully dried and stacked on the bookcase next to my desk. I walked off the grab a towel from the bathroom hamper, leaving the coffee and my desk time to get acquainted.


In case you're wondering: no, that didn't actually happen, at least not today; and yes, that is essentially my writing desk.

Write in your own voice.

This article may get back to some earlier discussions regarding just getting something written, but often writer's who attempt to write in a tone or with diction that is unnatural to them, may find themselves getting stuck on how to phrase something.

Just write it how you would say it.

If you don't like it or the passage doesn't fit you can always alter it later. When writing a first draft don't worry so much about grammar. Try not to fret over comma splices, don't worry about ending sentences with prepositions because you need to give yourself a base to start from. Not everyone will notice (many will!) but its better to have something not completely correct than nothing at all.

For academics this is akin to handing in a C paper as opposed to handing in no paper. At least it's something. Feel free, in a first draft, to use slang, colloquialisms, over used metaphors, bad grammar, or to wind up on the wrong side of a homophone. You can correct your use of elicit drugs after you right about them.

Writing should be Zen. Fret during the correction process.

Just please for all our sanities, have a correction process.

Tons of errors in this article, most all of them deliberate, but at least I wrote something.

In speech, we make errors, we run off topic. We also don't note punctuation. We also use informal words and phrases.

Inspiration - Pictures

Art begets Art. When I get really stuck for ideas I turn to other art and often pictures are the most accessible. Google images or any search engine with photos should work. Type in anything and scroll until something catches your eye. Then simply try to tell the story of what's happening in the photo and see what comes of it.

Splayed by Sarah Varnam is the result of similar inspiration techniques.

Only the Beginning

When you're feeling guilty because you haven't written anything for a while but you just don't have the energy, much like my suggestion to write only a few lines and see what happens, try just writing the first sentence of a piece you never really intend to finish.

Number a page 1-5, like this:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Just like that. Write in each place the first sentence for a story. This sentence should really start to form a whole story in a reader's mind, but they can be simple. Here are some examples:

1. Let me tell you about my dog.
2. I once saved my brother Michael's life by not being good at archery.
3. I like being a good student, because no one will believe it when I suddenly decide to turn bad.
4. The loose stone ground struck Benjamin's stumbling feet, and he returned the favour by leaving a trail of red behind him.
5. Angela stopped digging; she was quite certain no one would find it here, not this deep.

A beginning should not always be an introduction, because introductions can be boring. Instead use the beginning to get to the point like in line one. Also, try leaving your reader just a little bit in the dark like in the fourth line. What exactly is 'it' and why is Angela so obsessed with keeping 'it' hidden. Benjamin from line four seems like he's probably wounded and who can possibly resist discovering a little more about the archery almost accident.

Don't bother finishing these stories. We can get back to them later, when we have more time and energy.

Become a Hoarder - It's Good for Your Creativity

Spend some time in strange shops. Vintage stores, antique dealers and exotic or ethnic markets. As Canadians, and as is often the case for Americans as well, we are exposed to a multitude of cultures and many items we encounter can spur stories. If an item grabs you but you still can't think of a story just try describing the item and for what is it intended. If you do not know what its purpose is, make one up. In the very least you have an exercise in description. In most cases a story will come and you've added an interesting piece to your portfolio. If you can, try finding a chest or box large enough to hold these items and when you get stuck again revisit them. These wonderful treasure troves can also be shown to other writers who may get their own ideas.