The Invisible Woman

On the SheWrites Blog, Kamy Wicoff writes about The Invisible Woman.  This post triggered a memory from childhood, and the Invisible Man. When I was a little kid, around 1958 or '59, my brothers and I loved to watch the TV series The Invisible Man based loosely on the 1933 novel by H.G. Wells. The main character walked around with this mummy-like wrapping on his head, hands, and any visible appendage, and sunglasses so we could not stare into his empty eyes. You see, he was invisible underneath all the wrappings and clothing. Some scientific experiment gone awry, I believe.  This man was powerful, a force to be reckoned with.  We never once thought about his not having a brain or a heart. Fodder for nightmares in children. But we felt drawn to watch it anyway.

There was never a series about The Invisible Woman. Perhaps because women are too easily invisible in our culture, and that has been an accepted stance, until Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique stirred the crock pot with her silver spoon. Yes, there has been improvement, but not enough, especially in the publishing industry. From what I have found, 60% of published books and stories are by men and only 40% by women. Historically I imagine that is a great improvement. But is this acceptible?  Wicoff's post is about women, and how they/we become invisible.  Wicoff says, "What happens when women don't tell their own stories?  Their stories are told for them -- or more often, about them -- and the narratives that result are partial at best, and demeaning, damaging or downright dangerous at worst." 

I think about the women in my life, and how they may have been invisible. I read somewhere that  when psychotherapist Maureen Murdock asked Joseph Campbell (author of The Hero With a Thousand Faces and The Power of Myth) about the heroine's journey he told her that women don't have such a journey, since "the woman is there." I have never felt there, although I have some ideas on where there might be.  Murdock went on to write her own book, The Heroine's Journey.  This calls me to question, who is telling the stories of the heroines in my life?  I've got some thinking (and writing) to do about this . . . More later on The Invisible Woman!

Novels, Body Hair and Taking Chances

I know folks are gearing up for Sunday’s Super Bowl. I'm no sports fan, except that I always root for the underdog. 

After a month of painful (only because of deadline stress) rewrites and edits, I decided to throw my new novel into the pot for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest, and got tremendous help from some past winners in the CreateSpace (Amazon’s contest management site) on sifting down my pitch to a very tight few sentences. There are community pages there with offers to assist in steps along the way. Several authors and editors helped me with my preview and samples. I am amazed at how generous they were with their time. My final version was saved to the site just 30 seconds prior to the deadline (they lock all entries at the 5000 entry point).  After reading so much about “you have one in 100,000 chance of getting your novel published” (or one in a million, or whatever), I thought 1 in 5000 was much better odds.  And even if you become a quarter finalist you receive a book offer.    Some folks say, yeah but it's only for ebook deals. And I'm such a diehard hardback fan. We’ll see how it goes.

I also wanted to remind you of the AWP call for submissions – I’m sending off a ms this weekend, here’s their site: AWP. Richard Bausch encouraged me to send one of my manuscripts to them last year, and I did so. But nothing. I’ll try again this year – deadline is Feb. 28th. Hope is a thing with feathers . . .

And, Susan Cushman suggested I try small presses like Algonquin so I did get a ms off to them yesterday as well.

Writing is a full time job. I’m plotting how to retire early and still survive. So far I can’t figure out how to succeed. ;-)

Some have likened to working on a story to the feeling that the words have hold on every hair of your body. Sometimes when I've completed a piece I feel as if I've had all my body hair removed. Or given birth. And then I sleep. The following is from the blog Novel Matters: 
I’ve worked on a step-by-step list of how to write a novel. Perhaps you might find it useful.

Step 1:
Please choose one of the following options:
a) Give birth multiple times. (You may also choose to give birth to multiples. Triplets work well)
OR
b) Have all of your body hair waxed off in one afternoon. (It is preferable that you have this preformed by a person who does not speak your language) Repeat weekly for one year.
(This step ensures you have vast experience with pain, AND attempting to reason with characters who are indifferent to your needs.)
Step 2:
Commit acts of Random Bizarre Behavior (RBBs) in public places. Record people’s reactions to your behavior in a purple notebook.
Examples of possible RBBs:
- Enter a crowded elevator and begin singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic at the top of your lungs. Be sure to flail your arms around, especially during the chorus. Interrupt yourself often by asking others in the elevator to give you more room.
- Enter a busy shopping mall. Shake hands with everyone you see and thank them for their excellent customer service.
- Approach a female stranger. Address this stranger as “Aunt Bea”. Demand to see pictures of the new baby.
- If you are approached by a police officer: calmly and patiently explain that you voted for ‘the other guy’. If this fails, claim you are Canadian and don’t know better (this only works if you are in the US).
(This step exposes you to the full range of natural, spontaneous human reactions and emotions needed to create believable characters.)
Step 3:
Invent a perpetual motion machine. Give it a catchy name. Then, hide it in a closet for at least one year. After the appropriate amount of time has past, take the machine out of the closet, tinker with it until it moves at double the speed.
(This step ensures you are able to do the impossible – at least twice.)
Step 4:
Knock on a stranger’s door. Tell the stranger you are the love child they gave up for adoption. Mention you are unemployed. Repeat this several times until you are numb to all rejection.
(This step ensures – well, you know what it ensures.)
Step 5:
Take all of these experiences and divide them into chapters. Give it a plot and a catchy name. If possible, include vampires.

It’s possible to be on more than one step at the same time. So, which step are you on? Do share!

Fear of Being Found Out: I Am An Imposter!

Pat Schneider is one of my heroes. She is a writer, poet, teacher, and wise woman. I found her book, Writing Alone and With Others, in 2004 when I was facilitating a writing group in a women's shelter in Jackson, MS.  I read the entire thing in two days.  It was exactly what I had been looking for. Even though I compiled writing prompts and had a loose structure for the group, she gave a name and structure to the method I was already using.

“Fear is close to the center of the first stories we will want to tell….Fear has a good reason for being; understanding it can make all the difference.” (Page 3)

In her book, Schneider quotes a piece by Sister Milagros Sanchez titled If I Succeed:
“If I succeed, my work will be public; I will be public. My work will be viewed by people…who will pry deeper, as if what I have revealed is not enough. They will demand more, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to deliver. They will find out what a big fake I am; I, myself, will find out that I am not THAT deep, THAT profound.” (Pages 15–16)

I have other fears as well.  That people may find that I'm not THAT good a writer.

Or even more fear that they will find that I am.

Have you ever seen something, witnessed an event or an action or a news photo that stirs up your emotions so profoundly that you have a visceral reaction to it? And you wrote about it?  Well I have. And it won a prize in the Memphis Magazine Fiction Contest last year. I entered two pieces and I really didn't think that story was the best one of the two.  But someone did. And paid me money for it.

What I saw that affected me deeply was a story in the New York Times and the photo that you see here. In the photo in the Times, two people are carrying an old beat up and patched mattress and all you can see are their legs.  In the background is a 1950's version American car sans engine, and people are watching from the balconies of run-down tenements. Envy in their eyes. I was so touched by that photo that I ran to my keyboard and wrote a story about a young couple carrying their marriage bed through the streets.

The story focused entirely on the young couple's yearning, the envy of their friends, and their fear of being found out.

Have you ever witnessed, heard, or read something that stirred your emotions to the point that you had to do something? And you wrote about it?

Where I'm From

The Jacoby Store in Louisiana,
where my father grew up.

A model of my fathers old red truck.

Walthall Elementary School, Hattiesburg
(I alway likened it to the Alamo)
,

I’m from Mamaw Bass and Papa James,
the piney woods and Gore Springs,
butter beans and blackeyed peas,
Mason jars and bumble bees.

I’m from Aunt Emma, Alvin, Helen and Jacoby,
Walthall School and the Seale-Lily.
I’m from wire clotheslines and wooden washboards,
Swings on porches and torn screen doors.

I’m from tree houses in sweet gum trees,

The Beverly Drive-in Theater
burned this past year.

the sweet aroma of burning leaves,
shrimp gumbo and the Atchafalaya River,
from Cajun music and a guitar picker.

I’m from Edwards Street and the Dairy Dream,
red eye gravy and turnip greens,
rabbits in cages and more chicken please,
hot water poured over Luzianne tea.

I’m from Hattiesburg and a wooden boat
Antoine, Pierre and a billy goat,
playing under the house, the Beverly Drive-In Theater,
From diabetes and congestive heart failure.

I’m from cane poles and mule skinners,
all you can eat buffets and catfish dinners
buttermilk cornbread, coffee and chicory,
barbequed ribs smoked with hickory.

I’m from South Carolina and Louisiana,
Anjou pears and the Bouie River,
a big old house with an old red roof,
and ceilings that were never waterproof.

I’m from a faded red truck with a running board,
from wanting things we couldn’t afford,
from a fig tree and a hand-me-down,
Hattiesburg, Laurel and the Mississippi Sound.

I'm from Lake Shelby and Kamper Park,
kids catching fireflies after dark,
from the Golden Rule and love thy neighbor,
and burning crosses and Vernon Dahmer.

From sit-ins and a cow-pulled wagon,
Woodstock and a Beretta hand gun,
fig trees, rabbits and home-grown tomatoes,
catsup poured over French fried potatoes.

I’m from fried corn and cracklin bread,
the Sunday paper in Mama’s bed,
Moonshine and hurricane Camille,
From don’t let mama behind the wheel.

I’m from a petticoat and an undershirt,
digging to China and playing in the dirt,
from the (cedar) Christmas Tree that Daddy'd provide
To playing I Spy, and a country ride.

I’m from space heaters and fire halls,
wooden steps and popcorn balls,
old wooden radios with glass tubes,
and clumsy metal trays for ice cubes.

I’m from Bayou Lafourche and the Natchez Trace,
from roller skates and playing chase,
from a Catholic, a Methodist and a Baptist,
from a bigot, a blowhard, and an absurdist.

I’m all these things inside of me,
as exciting and embarrassing as they may be.
Using this formula as a rule of thumb,
Now, can you tell me, where are you from?

A Wonderful Summer: Turning a Fall into a Spring

Before Christmas I had a wonderful spirited conversation with a beautiful young woman. Her name is Summer Owens, author of Life After Birth: A Memoir of Survival and Success as a Teenage Mother.

When I read the Commercial Appeal newspaper article about her several weeks ago, I was impressed with her accomplishments, which are many. Most notably is her self-published memoir of her life - so far. I was determined to meet her and purchase her book.


On the cover of her book are two contrasting photos. One is a small, touching photo of Summer at age 15 holding her newborn son.  The other is Summer today, at age 30, with her 15 year old son.  He is the same age she was at his birth. The book begins with the gut-wrenching story of her fear and trembling as she gave birth, her mother at her side. Thank God for mothers. She continues with the story of growing up, feeling like an outsider, awkward, then at last coming into her own.  As I sat with Summer that day, I could see the light in her eyes, the inner hope that she exudes.  She held up her book and the pride illuminated the entire place.  Get her book. Read it.  She is an inspiration. And then volunteer to mentor teen girls.  I plan to use her book in WriteMemphis classes to show these girls a wonderful role model for all of us to follow. 

Devils, Gatekeepers, Warriors & Heroes: Archetypes of the Night

The Twelve Archetypes

By Emma F. Connolly

Over at She Writes, Anjuelle Floyd started a discussion titled Why Do I Write & What Is My Process? This set me to thinking about what really does inspire me. Then I read the blog post at Novel Matters on Archetypes in Fiction and I was reminded of the characters, both familiar and unfamiliar, that come to me in my dreams. I do not work though all my dreams, but those I do write down and meditate on many times result in works of fiction, bits of dialogue, and settings for stories. Journeys to the inner world of dreams and the unconscious have changed my life. I believe the Great Creator sends us messages in the nighttime; stories filled with Heroes, Enemies, Shadow figures, Adventures and Ordeals are delivered to us as gifts. It is when we listen, explore, and converse with these characters and elements that the stories unfold.

Heroes and other archetypes are symbols of the soul in transformation, and of the journey each of us takes through life. And we all have a story.

I believe that dreams come to heal and to make us whole. What I have found is that I no longer see the people, places and events of my life existing only in black and white. I am aware of a vast gray area that harbors a depth of color that I never imagined. People appear with dimensions that I heretofore did not know existed within them. This work has given me a deeper awareness of the presence of an “inner knowing” within my own soul and how we are all linked to the universe. I am compelled to pass this on.

Two years ago I completed the Dream Leader Training at The Haden Institute in North Carolina. We explored our dreams through the use of numerous methods of looking at the symbols and images in our dreams. A few of these methods I continue to use include Group Projective Dreamwork, Active Imagination, Image Amplification, and 6 Magic Questions (using Gestalt methods). We shared our waking life experiences of synchronicity as well, learning to recognize our shadow, and manifestations of our masculine and feminine energies.

How do I work with my own dreams as a basis for creative writing? I use my knowledge of Jungian concepts to “carry the dream forward”.  One of these concepts, Active Imagination, is a method of consciously dialoguing with our unconscious – in dreamwork, this is working with a dream that involves simply having a conversation with the symbols or characters in a dream where the dreamer speaks for both sides of the conversation. I know, this sounds a little spooky, but believe me when I say I have had major insights with this type exercise. Interesting dialogue has emerged and I have included some of it in my fiction, developing it into short stories, poetry, artwork, and novels.

I believe that creative writing begins the journey of the terrain of one’s soul when we carry our dreams forward into the wonderful world of descriptive language and colorful character development, whether recorded onto the page or painted on a canvas.

Writing is one of the closest ways to get a detailed look at our dreams. Anyone can write creatively, and as Flannery O’Conner said, anyone who had a childhood can write fiction. Stories, poetry and songs come from the subconscious at a most divine level; they show the author’s inner thoughts and let the reader into the divine arena of a person’s dreams, a true expression of the soul. Writing is a continual dialogue between the irrational, creative, dream-logic part of the mind and the rational, critical, linear part – the opposites, the masculine and feminine energies. How do we balance the two? The solutions and answers lie deep within each one of us, often to be revealed through the symbols and archetypes in our dreams.

Fiction is full of archetypes. Added to that are threads of quirky behavior, wit, romance and trouble. And being from the south, I know about trouble. And interesting characters. There’s one on every bus, train, checkout line and street corner. Archetypes are leading families, having children, defending criminals, breaking into houses at night, toiling under the hood of a car, and preaching in pulpits. Writers need tragedy, comedy, crisis and peculiar characters and the South has an abundance of all of these, but we don’t have the franchise on them.

While I’m certain every area of the world has a plethora of archetypes, I am not steeped in other cultures as I am in my own.

But each of us has our share of Heroes, Tricksters, Gatekeepers and Mentors. And of course there are some Evil Ones. We cannot abandon our history, our stories, like we abandon old clothing, shedding it and thinking we can move forward and not be bound by the emotions, tensions, memories, passions and instincts that never leave us. In the dreamwork that I do, I teach that as a rule every person and every thing in your dream is a part of you. Deep within our unconscious, the above characters reside. I believe this is a major reason why southerners love to write. We have all these characters in our families. We know them.

About the writing process, E. M. Forster writes:
“In the creative state a man is taken out of himself. He lets down as it were a bucket into his subconscious, and draws up something which is normally beyond his reach. He mixes this thing with his normal experiences and out of the mixture he makes a work of art.”   

   - The Novels of E.M. Forster, by Avtar Singh

This is what we do when we dream – or when we write from what Robert Olen Butler calls the dreamspace.   We dip down into our unconscious and pull up memories we had long forgotten, and symbols and images from the collective unconscious of the world. As a fiction writer, I use some of these elements in creating scenes, character development and plot.

One of my novel manuscripts is based on a dream I had about a Black man who tended elephants. There was a little girl of about 8 years old standing nearby.  Using Active Imagination, I carried that dream forward into a dialogue, then a story, when I realized they had much more to say.  This story developed into a 100,000-word novel with those two characters as the Hero and the Mentor. Another dream included a rickety old bridge, and two brothers, and evolved into a short story about a murder. As I begin writing my dreams, the stories unfold and I am compelled to speak for those who appear (or disappear), to tell their stories, to shout for them, "Tell them I was here".

Of the 45 or so short stories I have written, I would guess at least half began as a dream. Stories of comedy, tragedy, and stories of the hero's journey, which are the stories of our own lives. We each have our own hero's journey, and we each have a story to tell, with all the trials and trouble that life brings to our doors.

***

The best book on archetypes and story structure for me has been The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Storytellers & Screenwriters, by Christopher Vogler. I have used it for years. The basic outline is below.

“The Hero’s Journey” Outline:

1.   THE ORDINARY WORLD.  The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma.  The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history.  Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress.

2.   THE CALL TO ADVENTURE.  Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change. 

3.   REFUSAL OF THE CALL.  The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly.  Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.

4.   MEETING WITH THE MENTOR.  The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey.  Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom.

5.   CROSSING THE THRESHOLD.  At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values. 

6.   TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES.  The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Special World.

7.   APPROACH.  The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special world.

8.   THE ORDEAL.  Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear.  Out of the moment of death comes a new life. 

9.  THE REWARD.  The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death.  There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.

10. THE ROAD BACK.  About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is brought home.  Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission.

11. THE RESURRECTION.  At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home.  He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level.  By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.

12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR.  The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed.

The hero’s journey, once more:  The hero is introduced in his ORDINARY WORLD where he receives the CALL TO ADVENTURE.  He is RELUCTANT at first to CROSS THE FIRST THRESHOLD where he eventually encounters TESTS, ALLIES and ENEMIES.  He reaches the INNERMOST CAVE where he endures the SUPREME ORDEAL.  He SEIZES THE SWORD or the treasure and is pursued on the ROAD BACK to his world.  He is RESURRECTED and transformed by his experience.  He RETURNS to his ordinary world with a treasure, boon, or ELIXIR to benefit his world.

***

What is your own "Hero's Journey"? What was it like on the road back? And which of your own dreams have inspired you to write?

A Conversation with the Creative Unconscious.

As an INFP, I love doing a variety of things, and can multi-task like a champion. To paraphrase from the description of this personality type, INFPs never seem to lose their sense of wonder. One might say we see life through rose-colored glasses. It's as though we live at the edge of a looking-glass world where mundane objects come to life, where flora and fauna take on near-human qualities.There are others like us out there - who become interested and adept at a variety of things and like a new puppy happily jump from one thing to another. We are also multi-talented.  And sometimes we have to stop and back up, and sleep.  The following is a dialogue, in a Dear Abby kind of way,  that I shamelessly stole from the SheWrites' blog Creative Catalyst and revised it to fit my own conversation with my creative unconscious:
Dear Creative Unconscious: It’s only the first week of the academic year, and I’m feeling swamped already! Is painting and gardening and mentoring and facilitating workshops and training volunteers in addition to pastoral counseling a dodge from my main work as a writer? Is it a secret wish for failure? Or a fear of success?- Swamped in Memphis

Dear SM: That depends on your motivation and how you manage time and energy. Does fear not being enough lead you toward distraction? More practically, are you over-committing yourself?

SM: I don’t want to say no when someone asks me to do something, but I certainly say it plenty. I want to help people.  Do you think this is the unconscious pursuit of something?

CU: Wholeness, as I see it. But there is only so much of you to go around. Your quest leads to fragmentation rather than wholeness.

SM: I want to feel that expressing myself as a writer is enough. I want to feel worthy without having to add another layer—say, becoming a hero for the downtrodden before I can be a worthy writer.

CU: It’s a bitch to be an artist in our linear world! Be careful not to internalize judgments from well-meaning volunteers, family and friends. Sure, it’s okay to be the writer you are without another layer. You don’t have to prove yourself to feel worthy. Layering springs from a creative impulse and is a quest for richness. Simpler is easier. But now all the richness, wholeness, and layering is a part of you and your writing. Do not renounce an iota of the richness yet continue to focus. Do what you can without going crazy.

SM: How can I know if I’m sidestepping commitment, or avoiding success? What if I am unconsciously afraid of success?

CU: Ask yourself if some fear leads toward your seeking distraction.

SM: If I were truly committed to my writing, wouldn’t I do something like go on a month-long writer's retreat and dive deep into myself?

CU: Not necessarily. You don’t have to prove yourself by undertaking extraordinary steps. Staying home and doing your work is enough. However, I love the self-guided writing retreat idea! You could even volunteer during your retreat! Does mentoring, your secondary interest, feed your primary writing interest? If so, you’re on a path that will serve your work.

SM: Oh, yes. For me, the smiles and words of the girls in writing workshops embody the rhythms and richness of language. I know that mentoring helps reduce my stress. It makes me feel alive and healthy (as does painting). Plus, it’s fun to be in community with women. Even when we speak different languages, writing unites us.

CU: It’s rejuvenating— your personal Fountain of Youth.

SM: Yes! But how can I tell when studying with a good writing mentor myself will help me, and when it’s more of me hiding from what I know?

CU: Take stock of what you know now. You are wise. Do you need to know more in order to go further? Claim your authority, and just do it. Perhaps later you’ll benefit from a mentor, or another class, or another workshop.

SM: My new resolution is to focus on my writing in the coming months Instead of spinning off in so many different directions.

CU: Focusing your prodigious talent and energies makes perfect sense. Go easy on yourself, and let your work flow.  Say “No” before you say yes. It’s easier to change your mind.

What are you thoughts on the fear of success?