CREATING AND SUSTAINING A WRITING PRACTICE… the seminar workshop by Joel Gilman –Capital MFA Antioch/LA—middle school teacher of 26 years– Joel.Gilman@Bellinghamschools.org
# JOEL GILLMAN’S GROOVY HANDBOOK FOR TAPPING IN! **DO IT, BABY** THIS LITTLE GUIDE WILL HELP YOU TAP INTO A HIGHER STATE OF GROOVINESS —SO, YEAH, BE COOL —GOT IT?!
# A. ONE IDEA This class is about making it easier for you to find the motivation and inspiration to _write every day._ It is based on the premise that that is where the power of writing is – in the doing, and then finding a way to do it consistently – to establish a practice around it – so that it becomes a part of your life. Because this so-called magic happens through kind of commitment to it – regardless of how it’s going, or how you feel about how it’s going.
# B. FOUR THOUGHTS 1. Write what is yours to write – Margaret Atwood >If you were supposed to write something else, you would. Learn how to listen–not just the outer world, but also to the inner world.
2. If you want to learn to write, watch someone do a job that requires focus. – Gary Snyder
>The essence of writing lies in how you focus, concentrate–stay in the present moment and work with the next word.
3. Don’t revise your writing; instead revise your life. – William Staffor
>Your writing is ultimately a reflection of how you live, how you pay attention to your life, how you process it and reflect upon it–your attitude and your thought patterns. If you want your writing to be different or better, look at how you’re living, what sorts of changes you can make. Writing can teach you how you want to and need to live. 4. The difference between the developing or neophyte writer and myself–is that I know I can fill up a blank page. – Toni Morrison
>Know that it’s all about willpower and attitude and self-belief–the ability and desire to keep going forward–to add on the next word and one after that. You can do it.
# C. NINE COMMANDMENTS
1. Use a pen/pencil that feels good in your hand–writes smoothly.
2. Be informed–stay up on current events–use online media sources such as NYTimes.com 
and Vox.com ; fivethirty-eight.com; Twitter.com/NY Times; you want your mind to be deepen by what’s going on in the world.
3. Seek out inspiration and community–establish a blog –www.WordPress.com; and then read other’s blogs– focusing on those created by people you know–is the writing will have the most impact on you–as it will teach you and show you how to be a closer reader.
4. Acquire knowledge about writing–and broadening your mind on what’s possible–read interviews with other writers –google, “authors’ name interviews”; Read book reviews; Read essays, poems.
5. Read like a writer–pay attention to what writers are doing on the page–generally and specifically. How does a writing advance from one sentence to the next?
6. Set goals–small goals that are achievable–small short term goals. Like 100 words in five minutes or 500 or 1000 words in an hour.
7. Listen to the birds, the creek, the wind. Count the stars at night. Take walks with her without the dog. Wash the dishes. Clean your room. Give yourself time to think about stuff.
8. Do 2-minute time the writings. This can teach you to _write without thinking_–how to get from one word to another–using focusing willpower–and letting go of expectations. It gives you practice on listening _without judgment_.
9. Do 2-minute time typings–as fast as you can–don’t even look at the keyboard or the screen–just move your fingers according to what comes up in your mind–pay attention to the word–the images that guide you. You were building fluency with your fingers–and a facility of thought and language.
# D. FOURTEEN ENTRY POINTS—some techniques for starting and generating material
1. **It/The/A…** (I call this the indefinite vague opening—can be and lead to anything—no pressure or expectations)
2. **He/She/They…** (Third person). **You…** (Second person—I love this technique—especially in conjunction with repetition). **I/We…** (First person).
3. **Fred Jones/Helen Thompson…** (third person/familiar) **The store clerk/The bus driver/The principal…** (third person/unfamiliar)—tends to emphasize a psychological distant narration—more objective than personal.
4. **Aunt Sue/Grandma, Ted/My friend, Sal/Mom/Dad…** (familiar character opening—which encourages a more close narration—you’re more connected to what’s inside the head of the central character)
5. **Go/Make/Clear/Burn/Light/Stop/Create/Limit/ Realize…** (Verb, directive opening—like you are giving orders, which shifts your mind into the directive mode—that knowing mode–and inside you is someone who knows, which is a really strong concept to connect to) and learn to apply in your own daily affairs. Writing is power—and language is the key that unlocks that power.)
6. **Why/How/Should/Could/Would/When/Where/Did/ Can/Will…** (question opening--Q and A—with four sentence min. Response to the question—can set up an interview style; can also create a writing completely made up of questions, which can just be statements rephrased--which is a powerful technique for directing it back into the reader’s court.)
7. **Epistolary—using letters—creating a project of letters**—thank you/apology/letters about the world—to a friend/parent/president—or a back and forth story between made up characters—be sure to use the
> P.S.—a powerful device for branching out with your imagination. Dear_______, Thank you for… I want to apologize for/I am writing to tell you that… (can start small and go big)
8. **One word at a time/one word per line ten or twenty word ‘poems’—then…** incorporate extended footnotes. **This reminds me of/I was thinking/Maybe/Sometimes…** 100-word footnotes, for example.
9. **Yesterday/This morning/Last night…** (dial into the nuts and bolts of personal experience—describe, then go from there—see where it leads—allow yourself to be led—800 word is 45 minutes. Go!
10. **Describe something you saw or noticed —** the first five sentences with as much detail as fits with your style--use that opening image as a guide and catalyst—again let the writing take you where it goes.
11. **I read/I have been reading/There was an article on the/ That movie made me think about …** (Important to tap into and more deeply explore what your mind is taking in of the world of art and ideas)
12. **Postcard collage—of words/phrases/sentences/ short novels each in its own bordered space —** really good for tapping into what lurks in the back of your mind—spiral shaping/prose poetry/flow.
13. **THE SPONTANEOUS ESSAY —** each paragraph times for two minutes—and each paragraph with two words that begin a sentence from a random page in a book. This encourages a facility of mind—gets you out of a rut of formulaic writing—imposes a voice—language driven narrative style — **coercing a mindset of working at the level of the word, the sentence…** can’t plan ahead.
14. **Greatest Novel (or Short story) of All Time!** —in three to five chapters—or ten chapters of two to five minutes per chapter—working with a mix and match of the above techniques.
# E. FIVE “NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES” —every sentence is one of the following. This will show you that you have five options for every sentence—and with that, it will give you **a framework for reading as a writer** — as it will guide you to identifying what the writer is doing on the page.
1. **Background** (PAST—situated, fits, context): _________was/is/has been/used to/can/had/would/could. Usually/sometimes/often/not often…
2. **Action** (PRESENT-Exterior—Verb is 1°): _____________grabs/reaches/runs/throws/ brushes/steals/lifts…
3. **Internal Monologue** (PRESENT-Interior—thinks): _________________ thinks/believes/ wants/wishes/hopes/feels/realizes/wondered/ remembers…
4. **Dialogue** (TALK—conversation): “----------------,” said__________. “_________________. ________________.” OR… He/She/I/You said/say…
5. **Describe** (DIFFERENCE—specifies): person/place/thing looks like/has the appearance of/sounds/smells like/feels like… OR It is… 3 sentences.
# F. EIGHT WAYS OF EXPANDING—OPENING THE MIND—EXPLORING IDEAS USING SENTENCES STARTING ANWYHERE IN A PIECE OF WRITING
1. **Background info:** Usually/Sometimes/I used to/We usually/In the past I have…;
2. **Reflections:** I realized/wondered/thought…;
3. **Opinions:** I felt/thought/believed…;
4. **Preferences:** I wanted/should have/wished…
5. **Possibilities:** Maybe/I could/Perhaps…;
6. **QUESTION STYLE:** Why/How/What/When/Will…
7. **FUTURE GAZING:** Someday/I would like to/In the future, I hope/I dream that one day
8. **RANDOM:** There is/Sometimes/It made me think about how/You can see that/We must…
# G. TWO ADDITIONAL NOTES
1. The above **‘I’ can be switched to:** he/she/it/we/they/you/someone’s name/role/profession.
2. These can also be used to start a **footnote or parenthetical aside** within the context of a sentence or topic.
# H. THREE EXAMPLES FOR USING MODELS TO CREATE IDEAS/TEMPLATES FOR PROJECTS
1. **Make your own encyclopedia —** each entry begins with random word/phrase. You can experiment by using the techniques in Part D to start the entries—and set a word-count goal for each entry—say 300 words. Examples of entry topics: Apple/in the Zone/Zipping Along/ Channel/Making it/Dogs/ Frankie
2. **Create a book of letters —** made up, real, personal, thank you, apologetic, topical, opinionated. Create a simple form to use foe each letter such as: > Dear ____________-, P-1: My name is _________. I am a _________. I recently read a _______ about how… 1 sentence. The _______ described/talked about /mentioned that... 2-4 sentences. P-2: Connect/Comment: This make me think about/This reminds me that sometimes/It seem that… 4 to 6 sentences. P-3: Offering ideas/solutions/questions: Maybe/What if/We should/Should we/Could we…4-6 sentences. Sincerely yours, Name; address; phone #
> THANK YOU/APOLOGY LETTER EPICS! Dear ___________, P-1: You are/I want you to know/This is a letter to/Lately I have been thinking/noticing/Thank you for/I want to apologize… 5 sentences minimum. SINCERELY YOURS, YOUR NAME p.s. Maybe/I want to/Do you… 4 sentence minimum
> Dear (AUTHOR), P-2:I recently read YOUR most excellent book titled/ … I really liked how you… 4 sentence minimum of facts/details about the main character’s experience in the story. P02: Choose a PART F TECHNIQUE—you can change the tense or wording of it; 4 sentence minimum. P03: Choose another PART F TECHNIQUE—you can change the tense or wording of it; 5 sentence minimum SINCERELY YOURS,
3. Create a story form based on and **modeled after another story form**. Incorporate a variety of techniques into the project. Here is an example from the Arabian Nights, in which the narrator of the next story is a character of thing from the previous story. For example, if you have a chair in the previous story, you can have the chair narrate the next story. The story would be titled, “The Chair’s Story”—and it would not necessarily be about the chair—only that the chair would be telling the story. The stories do not need to be connected—but they can be. As well, certain details from the story can reappear in other stories. A template for doing this project follows:
EXPERIENCING HOW TO **BREAK DOWN A GENRE** AS A MEANS FOR CREATION
**STORY #1** —Take one of your recent writings—retitle it through who you imagine could be telling the story.
**Story #2B** —Take a character or thing or object or idea from that story and use that as the narrator of the this next story. Title it based on that choice __________________’s story.
Make that story 15 sentences long. Start the first sentence with a word beginning with the letter A. Start the second sentence with a word beginning with the letter B. Start the third sentence with a word beginning with the letter C. Continue that pattern until 15th letter. You can challenge yourself and use the whole alphabet if you want. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O …
**Story#3** —Take a character or thing or object or idea from that story and use that as the narrator of the this next story. Title it based on that choice _____________’s story. Use the following traditional story telling format to write this story. Pay attention to sentence minimums.
Once upon a time… 3 sentences And Every day… 3 sentences Until One Day … 3 sentences Because of that… 3 sentences Because of that… 2 sentences And because of that … 2 sentences Until Finally … 2 sentence minimum And Ever since that day… 1 sentence
**Story #4** —Take a character or thing or object or idea from that story and use that as a narrator of the next story. Title it based on that choice ------------‘s story.
# Use the fictional techniques format.
P-1: -------- and I were in/at/ ------ing… 2 sentence minimum
P-2: It was/There were/There was… 3 Sentence minimum
P-3: _________ is/has been/usually/seems… 4 sentence minimum
P4: He/She/Person’s name/I said “-______ 2 sentence minimum _____________.”
P-5: “one sentence, “ said ________. “Two more sentence minimum of what they said.”
P-6: Background info related to situation/person AND/OR internal monologue RELATED TO P-4 (4 sentence minimum)
P-7: “_____________,” said ____________. “______________.”
P-8: ________________ replied, “__________________. ________________.”
P-9: Character actions(s) 4 sentence minimum
P-10: “_____________,” said ________. “___________. ______________.”
P-11: Dialogue: “----------,’ said _____________. “______________.”
P-12: Conclusion/Ending: Internal Monologue/Character Action/Description 4 sentence minimum
**Story #5:** —Take a character or thing or object or idea from that story and use that as the narrator of the this next story. Title it based on that choice ___________’s story. Use a flash poem format. Each poem is its own chapter. Each poem/chapter must be at least five lines and 25 words in length. No more than 6 words per line.
# Follow the following format for starting the chapters.
Chapter 1: I/He/She/They/It/We/ said/looked/learned…
Chapter 2: By the way/river/lake/side of the road…
Chapter 3: The officer/bride/truck/caravan/sky
Chapter 4: You believed/thought/could/know…
Chapter 5: Do/Can/Should/Would/Maybe/Will…
Chapter 6: Aunt/Uncle/Grandma/Grandpa/Mother/Father…
Chapter 7: It seems/I suppose/That never/On some level/Something told me/It did not…
# C. Reflect on this journey:
1. It was interesting to… 3 sentences
2. I like how… 2 sentence minimum
3. Related to writing, I am seeing that/noticing even more than… 3 sentence minimum
# FEEDBACK—DOING IT AND RECEIVING IT
1. **Be descriptive** —be able to articulate exactly what is happening in a piece of writing—chronologically. Then you can move to discuss the voice, the language, the stance and tone—the psychological distance— The context—the importance of setting—the function of characters—the central thrust of engine driving it forward.
2. **Partner reads your piece aloud to you** —for one to two minutes at a time — Each person reflects on what she or he notices/liked/wondered as she or he was reading/hearing the piece aloud. Allows for the voice of the work to be absorbed, felt—understood, experienced. Along with this—it benefits you the writer to hear your voice in your mind as you write—
3. **Read around** —feedback on back of paper or on separate sheet of paper. A. First… Next… Finally, … B. My favorite section was when… C. I like how/I wondered/I feel that…
4. **Margin comments** —This is saying that/I like how/ This is making me think about/I’m wondering/ Why/How/ Maybe/What if…
5. **Reflective comments** —Your writing motivates me to/inspires me to/shows me how to/makes me want to try and…
6. WRITING GROUP DISCUSSION STARTS
What’s the connection between…
Why did you…
What were you thinking when you said/wrote that…
What did you mean by---
I like the part about…
It made me think/wonder…
I wanted to hear more about…
Could you explain more about…
What would happen if…
My attention was grabbed when…