Genius Work Coaching

In A Poetry Handbook, Mary Oliver wrote: “Writers must…take care of the sensibility that houses the possibility of poems.” Oh yes! – And I extend this to all writers and artists. I urge you all to understand that this “sensibility” is not something that is easily just turned on, but rather, is something that you cultivate in everything you do in your life.

I remember when I was young and pursuing my photography work, amidst people who loved and cared about me, and therefore urged more practical pursuits. They recommended that I do my photography on weekends. And for a bit of time I took their advice and ended up judging myself a photography failure for not being able to quickly and instantly turn on my creative sensibilities, after working 40 hours at a job that was very far from being my GeniusWork.

So I ask you: What do you need to do for yourself so that your life is the life of a writer/artist? I understand that you can’t sit around contemplating clouds all day, as some romantic versions of a writer conjures up, but neither can you fit your writing into a busy schedule with only a small slot that fits between working out and work, with no attention to the care it takes to “be” in that place where the possibilities of writing can flourish. Furthermore, I suggest that the care of your sensibility can be done throughout your day, not just during the “writing slot.”

Write on!
Sakada

To add to what Jimmy told us in the previous posting, I offer a quote from Thich Nhat Hanh:

“The almond tree is itself truth, reality, your own self. Of all the people who have passed by your yard, how many have really seen the almond tree? The heart of an artist may be more sensitive; hopefully he or she will be able to see the tree in a deeper way than many others. Because of a more open heart, a certain communion already exists between the artist and the tree. What counts is your own heart. If your heart is not clouded by false views, you will be able to enter into a natural communion with the tree. The almond tree will be ready to reveal itself to you in complete wholeness. To see the almond tree is to see the way.”

Ahh, the heart of a writer/artist!

Sakada

Jimmy Mirikitani is an artist and the star of The Cats of Mirikitani, a PBS documentary. The documentary filmmaker is the woman who brought him into her home after 9-11, because he was living on the streets in NYC. It is an amazing film and I highly recommend it.

I mention it because Jimmy, who says he is a natural born artist, tells the filmmaker at one point, “I’m an artist. I know you inside, inside the heart.” Jimmy is right – This is how writers and artists know people, they know them inside.

This is certainly part of living like a writer. If you think about it, I would bet that you “know the inside” of people you encounter, especially since we are all natural born artists. So cultivate this knowing, in your writing, and in your life – both will be richer for it.

Sakada

P.S. Thanks to Renee Lackey, the artist who gifted me with this film.

A fabulous poet I know, John J. Trause, defines a poet as “someone who doesn’t necessarily write poetry, but who lives poetically, who sees the world in a really different way and wants to express that world.”

This I want to say to all writers. Yes, it is of course important to write. We all know the story about the man who prayed to win the lotto. God had to finally ask him to help out a bit by buying a lotto ticket!

But let us also listen to Trause – Live your life as a writer. In doing this, your life will be a creation itself and your writing will prosper. Live your life deeply and your stories and poems will “know” where to go. Live your life fully, and your writing will grow and expand past what you think. Live your life with passion and compassion, and each word you write will hold this energy.

Live on!

Sakada

John J. Trause has just published a new book of poetry, Seriously Serial. It was released on December 3rd and is already in a second printing. Hmmm, a popular poet! Another treat about this book is that the images of artist/photographer Jill Greenberg are used on the front cover and throughout the book. For more information: http://poetswearpradanj.home.att.net/Upcoming.html

Ahh, resolution time! Not quite like Miller time, but not at all unpleasant– at least at this point of the year, when no resolutions have yet been broken. On January 1st we happily make these resolutions, on the assumption that our firm determination will get us everything we want.

Well, I have nothing against firm determination, but I don’t like to see it as the primary driving force behind the accomplishment of writing. It is though, part of something that moves me to the kind of action and “being” (Oh I can be so ridiculously zen sometimes.) that really brings about meaningful texts. What is this something? I want to call “it” things like inspiration, intuition … and/or (forgive me) – GeniusWork! “It” is a process of creating, and so firm determination alone might get you to write, but it will not unearth and release the authentic voice that your writing deserves. Hmmm.

Well, let me just suggest that you think about what jazzes you and use that energy to bring openings, surprises, and authentic boldness into your writing. Letting in the energy of inspiration, the wisdom of intuition, and the trust that comes from believing in your genius writing, will bring you to the kind of texts that are satisfying all the way to the tips of your toes. And this feels good!

So I resolve to feel good this year – while I write on!

Sakada

P.S. Happy New Year!

As we wrap up this thanksgiving weekend, I must admit that I am full – of both food and story. Many writers I encounter are, in fact, so full in their story tanks that it becomes impossible to even begin writing. Having so much to say becomes overwhelming, and nothing gets written or revised.

Which brings me to the clichéd question and answer of how you begin a journey of a thousand miles – with one step. And so writing… with one word, after another word… and so on. This is much easier to do, one word at a time, if you have come to understand that the writing can lead you, and that you therefore don’t have to think so much. A much fuller use of the writing process, and miles away from the old model of “get an idea and write it down.” Now the trip is getting interesting!

Write on.
Sakada

When Brenda Paik Sunoo asked one of her graduate school mentors, Sharman Apt Russell, if her story had arc, she was told, “Yes, its your movement towards healing. Your book isn’t a lesson plan for recovery. We just want to know what’s its been like for you.”

Well, Sunoo told her story – from such a deep and intimate place, that it is both specific and universal, both story and “lesson.” Her story is not a simple story to tell. In fact, it may be one of the most difficult to tell – Sunoo lost her sixteen-year-old son Tommy, in a sudden and tragic way. Her book, Seaweed and Shamans: Inheriting the Gifts of Grief, is the story of what it was like for her after that devastating loss.

By writing the story she was meant to write, specifically, honestly, and intimately, she creates a beautiful arc that readers can relate to. In fact, I will mention two who encountered this story. One is a friend of mine, who has no children and has not yet lost a close family member – she read Sunoo’s book and immediately ordered fifteen more, to give to friends. She found, in a story that did not relate to any experience of her own, a resonance beyond the story itself, a universal connection to it.

The second person I want to mention is Donald Hall, a preeminent figure in American literature, who was the guest reader at Sunoo’s graduate reading. Usually it is the guest reader who the graduate students want to talk to. In this case, it was Donald Hall who sought out Sunoo, to thank her for her reading.

Writing from the stories you are “given,” whether you are writing nonfiction or fiction, and writing them specifically, is an important and fulfilling approach to take in all your writing.

Write on.
Sakada

(I have included a link to Sunoo’s website Compassion At Work, a consulting firm that helps companies work with employees who have experienced a loss. See the Recommended Websites category.)

A fortune cookie gives good advice! – “Every production of genius must be the production of enthusiasm.” Which then brings me to a recent dance/theater performance by Pina Bausch’s troup at UCLA.

At the end of this very full evening, the dancers performed a piece that had so much energy that I, as an observer, was stunned. That energy, that could only come from enthusiasm and belief in what they are doing, was an amazing thing to witness, and will likely stay with me the rest of my life.

Any description of the piece would be inadequate, but let me just say that there was no rest for these dancers in this intense and long segment. Yet, each dancer was completely present on the stage.

The point to this is not to advise you to write until you are exhausted, but rather to suggest that working from a place of enthusiasm will have great rewards. This present-ness is an important part of your writing practice and will give you the kind of energy that will allow you to leap tall building, at least in your writing.

So write on – with enthusiasm!
Sakada

Now, I don’t mean to brag about my photography skills, but this amazing feat is true – I actually got a photo of one of my writing demons. I know that this will be difficult to look at, since she is quite scary…

I can feel your shivers moving across the internet. But have no fear – it is just a photo. We do all know though, how very treacherous real writing demons can be. They can push us into fear before we even have one word written. Well, the good news is that this story has a happy ending. I have found, through extensive research and experience, that if you look your demons, writing or otherwise, straight in the eyes, they will shrink into small cute muses. It is a proven formula, proven by writers all around the world! Here is the evidence…

I do know that some of you will see this as a mere ploy to show you my dog’s Halloween picture. I do admit to loving the photos, but I also believe that the story is not only poignant, but valuable too.

Happy Halloween!

Sakada

“However romantic it may be to say so, I think most of us are drawn to writing in the first place (and stay there) for reasons at least partly related to what we can discover, through writing, about the way we use narrative and language to shape and give meaning to experience.” (Katharine Haake, What Our Speech Disrupts)

What do you think…?