WOW! Women On Writing Blog: flow

Friday Speak Out!: Tuning in to Good Writing

Friday, March 04, 2016

by Carie Juettner

Sometimes writing feels like magic. Most of us have experienced it at one time or another. Some people call it “being in the zone.” Other people label it “muse.” Whatever name it goes by, there are moments when the writing flows from our fingers with ease and fluidity. Moments when it seems as if the words were already there on the screen before we even had a chance to think them. Moments when we read what we’ve written and say to ourselves, “That’s good. Where did it come from?” If you’re lucky enough to have experienced one of these magic moments, then, chances are, you’ve spent a LOT of time since trying to recreate it. (If you’ve been successful, please send me an email with your magic recipe.) While I’m still not able to conjure such carefree creativity at my whim, I’ve learned a few tricks to help me get there, and one of them is music.

Writers have different opinions about what makes good background noise for putting words on paper. Some prefer lively coffee shop conversation while others need absolute silence. And when it comes to music listeners, I’ve heard of everything from classical to thrash rock.

I used to make specific playlists for my larger projects. My middle grade novel about a geeky gamer included “Pinball Wizard” by The Who and “Hero” by Family of the Year on its playlist, while my comedy-fantasy novel set in Hell had more Band of Heathens and Hank Williams. (It made sense, trust me.) While themed soundtracks are fun and sometimes do inspire me, they’re also prone to steal my attention away from the task at hand. A slow song switches to a fast one or something easy to sing to comes on and before I know it I’m Googling lyrics or checking Facebook while humming along. Plus, creating those playlists is a really fun method of procrastination.

Eventually, I figured out what I need is music that fits any genre—something that inspires me without distracting me. And I found it: yoga music.

I used to take kundalini yoga classes, and I loved the musical mantras that played while I breathed and meditated. Unfortunately, I rarely make it to yoga anymore, but I can still tune into the kundalini mindset by listening to the music at home, and that mindset works well for writing too. While the songs are different, they all have a similar cadence and tone so that transitions aren’t jarring, and the beat is both energetic and soothing. These days, when I find myself fidgeting in my desk chair and wanting to run away from my work-in-progress, I turn on my yoga playlist, take a deep cleansing breath, and get one step closer to that magical writing moment that I seek. And, as a bonus, the mantra always puts my dog right to sleep.

Here are some of my favorite yoga songs:
* In the Light of My Soul – GuruGanesha Singh
* Adi Shakti – GuruGanesha Singh
* Sat Nam Wahe Guru – Singh Kaur & Kim Robertson
* Bountiful, Blissful, Beautiful – Bachan Kaur
* Pavan Pavan – Guru Shabad Singh

What do you listen to while you write?

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Carie Juettner is a poet, short story author, and novelist in Austin, TX. Her work has been published in Nature Futures, The Texas Observer, and The Texas Poetry Calendar, among other places, and she has a story forthcoming in Ember: A Journal of Luminous Things. In addition to writing, Carie substitute teaches, shelves library books, and speaks to students about poetry. Follow Carie's blog at cariejuettner.com.
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Would you like to participate in Friday "Speak Out!"? Email your short posts (under 500 words) about women and writing to: marcia[at]wow-womenonwriting[dot]com for consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!
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5 comments Carie Juettner, flow, Friday Speak Out, muse, songs, writing and music

Five Ways To Improve Your Writing

Saturday, December 06, 2014

As a journalist, I need to be able to write when it's time to write. I'm on deadline - well, all the time - so it's imperative that once I've interviewed someone, I sit down and tell the story.

Despite writing two or three articles a day, I continue to look for ways to improve my writing. Even if you write fiction or poetry or plays, these practical ideas will help you fine tune your work.

Tip #1: Inspiration. I spend at least an hour a day perusing other newspapers, observing the storytelling style of its reporters, as well as the types of stories printed. A lot of the time, one of the stories I've read sticks in my mind, and by the time I should be working on a story, I'll catch myself daydreaming about that particular topic and how I can tie it to the community where I live and write about. Daydreaming - investigating and imagining - are important parts of the writing process. It allows you to question what's going on in the world and narrow it to something specific. Without asking those questions that come about from a daydreaming session, writing becomes stagnant. Why not take a half hour each day to investigate what subject can be molded into a story?

Tip #2: Flow. Once inspiration hits, it is time to put words on paper. What happens if the well runs dry or if a story takes a detour, into something that's not quite where it should be? This is why a routine - flow - is a key component on the writing process. I like to flesh out a story in my mind first and have a mental outline of what should be included. Then, the words take off, like a melodic sonata of give and take. Now that's writing.

Tip #3: Voice. A former fellow teacher would argue with me about the definition of voice. Naturally, I would win the argument. (Note my sly grin.) I had a knack for being able to read a student's piece of work and tell you who wrote it without looking at the name on the outside of the folded essay. Voice is how you write, how you string words into phrases and how those phrases create a rhythm and that rhythm morphs into a fluid piece. A reader contacted me the other day and told me that she enjoyed reading my newspaper articles because they were different. I asked her what she meant and she replied that the articles told a story, that they drew in the reader and made her feel like she was experiencing what I wrote about. In other words, my writing has a distinct voice, and that, fellow writers, keeps readers coming back for more.

Tip #4: Sentence Structure. The same teacher I mentioned above taught students a formula for sentence writing. Personally, I found the practice a bit strange. Sometimes, a single word completes a sentence. Sometimes, a compound-complex sentence does the trick. What I'm saying is that sentence structure needs to vary. A lot. If it's all written the same, it'll read the same. And (yes, I started a sentence with 'and.') after awhile, same becomes boring. Stagnant. Get. The. Point?

Tip #5: Word choice. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Granted, I like visiting thesaurus.com as much as the next person, and at times, I think there's good reason to consult a resource like this, but precision - connotation and even denotation - drive a story. Is it OK to say the grass is green if the color resembles an emerald instead of a lime or the ever-popular Kelly green? Great writing relies on precision to make a point, create an image, set the tone. You can accomplish those goals through word choice.

Writing requires practice on paper - maybe even a dry run through the mind - and implementing key writing processes will improve what you put on the page.

by LuAnn Schindler