What Writing Postcards Can Teach You About Writing Novels
Almost the middle of July and it feels as if I’m halfway through summer. The mornings are warm and sticky, here in Maryland. We are relatively lucky, some poor air quality, but no major heat wave or intense flooding-yet. I remind myself to focus on the present moment. I ask myself What can I accomplish today?
I’ve already written a postcard poem and taken it to the mailbox to be picked up prior to 9:00 a.m. While I can’t share the poem itself, because the rules of the annual Cascadia Poet’s LAB Poetry Postcard Fest, are to wait one month before publishing any of your poetry poems, I will however share here the postcard image and the poem’s title, “Symetry/Symmetry.”
While some of the participants may be writing rough drafts, the instructions were to be spontaneous. This means I’ve occasionally misspelled words and blotted them out. After reading my work aloud, I have the urge to eliminate some words or replace them. It’s all part of the writing process.
I’ve reconciled myself to accepting that my postcard poems are rough drafts. But I’ve made a photographic record. Maybe, I’ll revise or combine some of them into something I truly want to publish in the Fall.
I’ve mailed seven poems on postcards and received back one postcard poem. But I’m optimistic, more will arrive.
Another Fest rule is not to share or publish another person’s work, name or address. But I think it is okay to share the picture side of the postcard they sent and to say I anticipated a poem about a parrot or about Africa and instead their poem was entirely about something else. All part of the fun.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t read the last line because the post office machinery stamps a series of numbers on the bottom of postcards and letters. Now, I’m careful to allow a little space at the bottom of the cards I send.
From writing a spontaneous poem each morning, I’m learning to be more careful with the words and imagery I choose. Whether you write long or short, succinct writing is powerful writing.
The Post Card Fest is just one of several of my writing projects. This summer I am determined to finish revising the novel I’ve been working on for several years. It is finished, theoretically. Approximately 350 pages long, I’m satisfied with the rise and fall of the plot and the authenticity of the setting, but there’s this tricky thing called characterization. My big goal was to bring to life a myriad of characters, in conflict with one another, stirring up a multitude of emotions. As an experiment, I wrote some of those characters in first person while the majority of the narrative is in close third person perspective.
My beta readers didn’t always like or understand the various vantage points. They found some of them too abrupt. So, I took a break, and now I’m revising.
If you follow my blog, you know I recommend that your try writing from different points of view (first, second, and third) to get closer to your characters. If these terms are confusing, here is a link that explains the basics.
Now, I’ve decided to write everything entirely in close third person and it’s a lot of work transitioning. I’ve also discovered interesting things in changing from a first-person unreliable narrator to close third-person such as I don’t need my individual character’s “evaluations” on everything. The words and actions in the scene are often sufficient to tell what is needed. And just like that, with some “tough love” to myself I’ve learned that old adage, “show not tell.”
Writing classes and workshops are important, but in the end, you have to do your own heavy lifting. The best way to learn something well, is to do it and then once you’re starting to figure it out, consider sharing your knowledge with others.
That’s what I’m doing here, sharing my knowledge with you.
“Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the things you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was ‘terrible,’ describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was ‘delightful’; make us say ‘delightful’ when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, ‘Please, will you do my job for me?’”
— — C.S. Lewis
Happy writing. Happy summer. Stay cool and stay focused on your writing goals.
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Originally published at http://nadjamaril.com on July 11, 2023.
