![]() ![]() We often rely too heavily on the feeling of a memory instead of its material details. The first is to think of what you see and describe it in words. There are two approaches to this category. If you can find a small set of drawers (this one is technically a jewelry box) for your desk, you can always have quick access to putting your scraps of paper, napkins, Post-Its, etc. What kinds of flowers and fauna are new to you? What do people say to greet each other? How do they refer to gym shoes? And so on. Travel also offers writers great catalogues of new words. Sometimes when I’m reading, I will take a larger piece of paper and place the book title at the top with the words I want to use someday in it so I can keep a record or map of my reading journeys. Especially when you’re reading books and you come across a word that seems in and of itself stunning or inspiring, make a little note and place it in your drawer. Loved words might come from various places. I love it because it’s precise and under-utilized in our verbal habits. My mom often uses the word “salient” to describe parts of ideas in the business world that should be given more attention than others seem to. Language that is new, beautiful, strange, or under-used. Writers of every genre should constantly be collecting language. I’ve also included categories of my own based on what I’m likely to forget or desire to remember. I have taken Forché at her word and created drawers on top of my desk for each category. Inventory was a key element of Forché’s categories. As an example, when I read a new book, I often keep lists of words and phrases that are inspirational. On my desk, I keep drawers and a note card organizer to make sure everything I might want to keep as a space. You might also get a notebook for each category, or keep separate word documents for each. ![]() While you can track these things in a notebook, creating separate physical space on your desk for these “scraps” will lend itself to breaking through writer’s block no matter when you choose to sit at your desk. Besides keeping a notebook, she requested that we keep track of very specific things. Our earliest assignments were not to write poems, but to incorporate some of her habits (including some she had picked up from other writers) into our writing life during our weeks of workshop. ![]() Forché herself is obsessive about keeping notebooks. When I first worked with Carolyn Forché, she dedicated a lot of workshop time to building healthy habits for our writing lives. Whether you’re already interested in organizing your desk or wary it will be too hard to keep up with, these exercises can help you. But how do you keep track of and organize these gems? How do you make order out of the chaos? ORGANIZING THE CHAOS: THE EVERYWRITER’S DESK You cannot keep these gems without writing them down. What color are its leaves? What kind of tree is it? Or maybe you’re reading a book and come across a word you don’t know but which sounds beautiful that you want to look up later. How will you remember the painting? Its name? What the light was like? WHY you felt moved by it in that particular instance of standing before it? Or maybe you’re riding in the car and you notice a tree. Sometimes, you’ll be in a museum and see a painting you love. And the best writing must utilize language to best articulate those thoughts. Then when you sit down, you won’t remember the words–just the memory or idea they represented. It’s why writers swear by keeping notebooks, lest you forget the language behind an idea. Even if you go through your habits, what is it that makes the material––language itself–start singing? We treat language as ubiquitous–we talk all day, we read tweets, we watch characters speak on TV. Writers connive many strange ways to put their minds in a place to write.Ī lesser discussed facet of this phenomenon–entering a mode of writing–does not directly address another writing enigma: writer’s block. Li-Young Lee stays up until 4am when no one is in the house and sweeps the floor. Toni Morrison “writes into the light” each day. What is it that writers need to be in the mood to write? What does it take for a given writer to conjure the muse? How do writers keep up with their habits? When is it important to break habits? What is the difference between habit and ritual? We can glean a lot from interviews about this. There is an ever-present wonder about writers’ habits. Looking for advice on pursuing the writer’s life? You’ve come to the write place! ![]()
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