The Write Balance: How to Embrace Percolation, Revision &
Going Public by Bonni Goldberg
Writers
write. Being a writer or a book lover also means being a literary
citizen. As such, Lynn (a.k.a. Ellesea, a.k.a. Linn) extends her
writing to include a blog and book reviews. I extend mine to include
writing advice books. Besides offering advice, exercises and tools
for writers, The Write Balance reveals a great deal of the inner
workings of writers and the creative process. Productivity is
something many of us worry over.
“How
much do you write?” I’m often asked. Most people really want to
know if there’s a magic number of pages or hours that makes one a
legitimate writer. My answer always surprises me. When not working on
a specific project with a deadline, my general habit was to write for
two to three hours a day, five days a week. When I think about this,
it’s amazing to me that I organized my entire life to support
twoish hours a day of work. On the surface it doesn’t seem to add
up to much of a day. But I’d spend those writing hours creating new
work, revising it, and editing it. I’d spend the balance of my
working-writer day reading and researching, teaching, and doing the
ever-expanding tasks of the business side of my profession:
correspondence, follow-up, filling out grant applications, working on
book proposals, making and returning calls, and brainstorming about
other avenues for sharing my work to pay the rent.
It’s
a small amount of time, those two to three hours daily. Couldn’t I
make it longer if I didn’t socialize, take yoga classes, make art,
read, see movies, spend time with my family, help the occasional
stranger, and comfort troubled friends? I don’t believe so because
my sense of self includes all the above just as much as writing. I’m
also not convinced I would get more writing accomplished if I gave up
some of these other activities because I don’t have the
wherewithal, even if I had the time, to write more. After a few
hours. I’m spent.
Some
writers also have full-time jobs. One of my college classmates is a
full-time lawyer who has published two short story collections and a
novel. He wrote them during his daily one-hour train commute between
Baltimore and Washington, D.C. I was not this type of person. When I
worked on a specific project, I used to need to give over whole days
to writing a first draft. Even if I physically wrote for only a few
of those hours, I needed to immerse myself, without distraction, in
my subject for the day.
My
rhythm made me feel like a dilettante and a fake, or worse, a
mediocre writer. I envied my colleagues who had the security of a
comfortable salary, the energy for another way to contribute to
society, the focus, and the comfort of fitting into the societal
norm. But I had to accept my reality:
I
was not like them.
Spending
energy being bitter about this takes away from writing time.
I’m
already committed to being a writer no matter what.
Then
my circumstances changed. I was the one working full-time. I learned
a new writing rhythm. There’s no guarantee that having a Writing
Self is easy, but perhaps we focus too much attention on how hard it
can be given our personal circumstances or rhythm. Instead of judging
yourself so harshly, if you accept who you are you can enjoy the
writing process as you experience it. Whether it’s life
circumstances or personality traits that define how you write, you
may be better off working within their confines instead of expending
potential writing energy being aggravated by them. Author Peter
Korn’s writing time is defined by being a father. Because he shares
work and parenting responsibilities with his wife, his writing
schedule changes all year long in conjunction with his children’s
school calendar. As a result, he writes a lot of articles and essays
because it lends itself to his time frame. Meanwhile, his next novel
percolates away in the back of his mind until the kids are old enough
to go to sleep-away camp.
I
remember hearing a true story about the writer who would get up in
the morning and have her his wife lock him in his office. At noon she
would unlock the door, serve him lunch, and ask, “How did the
writing go this morning?” “Wonderfully,” he’d reply. “I put
a comma in.” His wife would lock the writer back in his office
until dinner, when she would ask him how the writing 67 The Write
Balance went during the afternoon. “Splendidly,” he’d answer.
“I took the comma out.”
(from
The Write Balance, pp. 64-67)
Bonni
Goldberg’s The
Write Balance introduces
you to alternative perspectives and motivation for lasting creative
fulfillment. This companion book to the beloved bestseller, Room
toWrite is
filled with encouragement, tools, examples and exercises.
Through
years of teaching writing in workshops and in classrooms, Bonni has
seen that the writers who are most passionate and grounded in their
Writing Self embrace three aspects of the writing process: nurturing
ideas, revising to best communicate those ideas, and completing the
writing cycle by going public.
In this powerful guide,
Bonni invites you to explore these creative stages which are
essential to satisfying your Writing Self.
Use
The Write Balance to:
Find
Fulfillment as a Writer
Explore
Creative Writing
Add
to Your Writer’s Toolbox for Perspective
Overcome
Writer’s Block
Teach
Creative Writing
Inspire
Your Writing Group
Give
as Gifts to the Writers in Your Life
https://books2read.com/u/3n2XQ9
Bonni
Goldberg is the author of The
Write Balance: How to Embrace Percolation, Revision & Going
Public,
the companion book to the best-seller Room
to Write: Daily Invitations to a Writer’s Life.
Bonni is an award-winning poet and writer. She is the creator of the
2
Minute Journals™
series. Both traditionally and indie published, her books include
non-fiction for adults and fiction and non-fiction for young readers.
Her essays and blog posts can be found in numerous print and online
publications.
Bonni
teaches creative writing at colleges and leads writing workshops
internationally for all ages. She knows everyone is creative, and she
supports people to discover and share their authentic, meaningful and
imaginative experiences through words. Whether through her
writings or through teaching, her methods and perspectives continue
to empower thousands of adults, families, and children.
Bonni
is also a Jewish educator. She speaks, writes, and leads workshops on
Jewish topics such as Jewish identity, rituals and antisemitism at
Jewish women’s events, JCCs, and conferences.
Bonni
Goldberg lives in Portland, Oregon with her partner in life, and some
creative projects, artist Geo Kendall.
Giveaway to win one of these prizes –
30-minute
coaching call (video or phone if US)
Q&A
Zoom with their group (video)
Feedback
on 3 double spaced pages of their work (via email)
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