Author’s Gab, Reader Talk.
A letter to you, the reader, so that you can finally figure out what I’m thinking.
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This Month: Why it’s important to share (and read out loud)
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— Isabella J. Mansfieldlemon
Dear Reader,
I stood up in front of a small group of people at a 2 Dandelions Bookshop holding my sister’s phone and suddenly remembered what I loved doing and why I loved doing it. It was only a smattering of my latest work from my website, since it feels like I’ve been working and scraping around for money more than I have been writing lately. But, I looked at the crowd and then I looked at Isabella J. Mansfield, a poet who you all should know I love by now, and told her she had inspired my villanelle “Christmas 2020”, with her poem about coronavirus, also published in 2020. And then, I read it to everyone, pausing afterwards for a bathroom break, only to have Isabella tell me she thought it was really good and that I reminded her of a poet she met in Texas who also wrote villanelles. I thought to myself, “Hey, Isabella, villanelles aren’t all I have! I’ve got sonnets, semi-perfect sonnets and free verse too!” Then, I realized I never thought any of that would happen, especially in that order. And then, this older guy shared his free verse about growing up in Maine and lobstering with his brother, and I felt inspired, because it was really, really good. I only wish I remembered his name so I could share it with you, but I believe he has a book of poems out.
But, how would any of us have gleaned the flickers in each others’ voices, the up and down cadences of each verse as we meticulously turned each page, spilling each part of our souls into existence? The irony, the humor, the tragedy — all were released in a single hour or two of freeing words from their caged pages. Poems were read as they were meant to be read, in tone from their creators’ mouths. This is the power of reading aloud.
My brother-in-law, Frank, asked me recently why I bothered to record so many of my poems on YouTube (not all but many). And, I said it was for this exact reason. And so, I remembered this, as I stood there, quaking in my boots: it’s important to read things aloud, in my voice, so people can hear what the poem is supposed to sound like.
Many people, as is popular nowadays, are making me feel like a relic for writing form poetry by writing and reading free verse. Nonetheless, it’s like I told Isabella: “It’s a box, but it’s a box I can play in.” But, would I have known that had they not gotten up themselves and courageously dared to read what they had written? Nope! This is the power of sharing.
I have been going to Odyssey, a 30-plus singles group that has recently formed at AHCC, and one thing I really like about it is that we share our creativity with one another. One person is writing fan-fiction, another, Christian, is writing a comic about a medieval Cossack warrior, Danylo, and I’m plodding through trying to re-write my novel and still trying to write poetry and short fiction. Indeed, I can go on for a very long time about my characters and plot, and it’s really helping move the novel forward. Similarly, Christian has recently gotten serious about his art and developed a website alongside his comic; and, he just showed me a fancy new stylus he bought on Super Bowl Sunday. In fact, we had a whole discussion about the plot of Danylo and I got all these writing ideas about his plot I’m not supposed to have, because it’s his world and his plot. And then, Stephanie shared more of her new fan fiction. When I went home, just like all the times before, I realized how much all of this was spurring me on to write my own stuff and giving me new projects to work on I never thought of before, provided I could keep track of them all, not to mention the tips I now had for my own stories. The critique and brainstorm session was helpful. So, while I may not be necessarily looking to hire an artist for my book (I told Christian I was just fine on my own, having illustrated my first book all by myself), I appear to have been looking for a friend to bounce things off of. Gosh, do you know how much all three of us could make on YouTube? But nope, that’s the point of sharing: it’s important to relate your story to someone else, to get it out in the world somewhere and let it live.
But, it’s also to sharpen the other person’s writing. Even Isabella, in writing her most recent book, “lemon” found her weaknesses in the last days of publishing her book. She knew she had to get it out there, though. It had to see the daylight, to let it live. Yet, she found an instance to apologize to her readers on Facebook for why the book wasn’t out yet. It made me think, even the best writers are a little sensitive about their weaknesses. And so, we all need someone to spur us on in that last little second, to offer critique and support, to get us past the things that burden us, and subsequently our work.
I wrote “Asking her out” in the dark at 3 a.m. the night before Ruthie and Brandon’s wedding. I had terrible writer’s block and had accepted the poem would never happen. I was just going to go to the wedding and apologize later. And then, I laid down for the night in my new, queen-sized bed and inspiration hit me. And why? Probably because I had been talking to everyone about how I couldn’t finish the poem and had to finish the poem! I said this when I got up to read it in front of everyone.
“That’s how it always happens,” Isabella laughed.
And then, when I was talking with Christian, he told me he was going to need help on the writing part of his comic and the website work, both things I’m fairly good at by now. I realized I could at least help him with the writing part of it. And so, I began to tell him about the opening scene of Fullmetal Alchemist, which perfectly and succinctly describes the plot of the entire series in just one opening scene. Even things you don’t know yet, not until later, are explained in that scene. I told him, that’s how you write a story. Suddenly, I was hopefully able to help through sharing that. Indeed, if I had not, he would never have known. And, if you have not watched Fullmetal Alchemist, get to watching it, because you don’t know what you’re missing. Here’s that scene. It’s a bit graphic, as a warning.
When you add two plus two, you get four. And, when one person shares their writing with one other person, they get two copies of that story, even a better story than they had before. The act of sharing naturally perfects writing, because writing itself is meant for sharing. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it yet again: my writing isn’t for me. It’s for my readers, so it doesn’t get “caged to the page”. Even this column is meant not only to share my thoughts about writing with you, but to help spur you on in your own writing. Perhaps, here, there’s some advice I can offer.
Thus, it’s like the old adage: “Sharing is caring.” And, so it is, folks. So it is.
Think about that. ~
Sincerely, Your Writer,
Jessica A. McLean
The Rose 