A Writer's Notebook by Ralph Fletcher

I read an article recently espousing the refreshing wisdom of reading a children’s book on a given topic as a strategy for understanding new things and concepts. Ralph Fletcher’s books on writer’s notebooks fulfil this brief, particularly those written for primary school age children. I knocked off A Writer’s Notebook in an hour or so, and it was quite illuminating, laying out the somewhat ephemeral concept of the use and method of the writer’s notebook practice in practical and easy to digest ways. I can recommend it.

Find it on the monstrous Amazon beast here.

Back again and thinking of Lem

What is it about Stanislaw Lem that I love so much? He straddles that gap between fluid prose and stylised tale-telling. I love that. There is an experimental or unusual aspect to his writing, and he can change gears between more conventional tropes and the mechanics of fables at will. I love it. I aspire to this flexibility. I am far from this level of skill at this time, but having an aspiration and lots of personal practice is a good start.

Declaration of intent

I intend to write as a practise in 2018. I will write for at least 20 minutes every night, by the light of my lamp. I will do this whether the spirit moves me or not. It will be painful, and my heart will be full of doubt and second-guessing, but I will write nonetheless. 

I will hold fast to the following ideas:

Start anywhere and just get on with it. Do not expect a sense of validation to emerge from the writing act; such validation will only be emergent in retrospect, if at all. It might take a while - potentially years - for this sense of retrospective validation - so don't wait for it.

Write despite how you feel. Feel like not writing but write anyway and see what happens. Start anywhere and just get on with it.