A [Month] of Observations, April 2016: Part 8

So here I am posting after a few extra weeks away. I realize how much I miss blogging! I miss you!!

I recently got back from Los Angeles, where I stayed with a good friend and commuted to AWP, a massive writing conference, to meet other Writers in Communities program directors as well as thirteen thousand or so writers who share my love of writing in one way or another.

I probably interacted with about sixty of those thirteen thousand, but it was enough to put my introverted brain on sensory overload. So, after a reading, a signing, and a few amazing panels, I returned to hike at Sherman Oaks then hang out with my friend and try to debrief as we ate Cheerios and listened to her pet pig snore (they can really snore).

At the Black Fox Literary Magazine Table. Thanks, Black Fox!!

Ordering sweet potato fries with my new friend

Sara Fitzpatrick Comito and my long-time (mid/long-time) friend, Isie.

It was fabulous. I enjoyed LA a lot. As such, I came back with some new observations about life. So, alas, here's Part 8:

• Tarot card readers will not always tell you what you want to hear.
• Food is fantastic in LA.
• Reading can be more dramatic when you need to make a quick exit after.
• Uber works in a pinch.
• Writing when overwhelmed is not a good idea (journaling for personal use only is).
• Chicago has great taste in short stories (see: recent acceptances in Chicago Tribune and Chicago Quarterly Review).
• I am not (you are not) who I know (who you know), but it's good to know good people nonetheless.
• I need to revisit the memory palace - I'm horrible with names. And faces. Geesh.
• Walking is medicine.
• Comparisons are usually destructive. Then again, they also motivate. Use with care.
• Cheerios are really great with banana and a pinch of sugar.
• Starbucks employees are far nicer in LA than they are in San Antonio.
• Acting is a fabulous ambition. Odds smodds. Go for it!
• Writing: Same!
• If you tell someone they're not going to like a thing, there's a good chance they won't like the thing. Contrarians are rare, precious creatures.
• This list is getting too long.

Three new story links this go-round:

"Help Wanted in the Midwest: On the Bus Line" at Cosmonauts Ave. Basically my memoir in 500 words

"War Muse" at Cheap Pop - a dystopic presidential story

"Gather the Ingredients" at Chicago Tribune's Printers Row (ask me for a link)

Monthly prompt:

Use yourself as a character. Only reverse everything. If you're shy, make your character gregarious and assertive; if you're skinny, give your character more volume; if you're afraid of spiders, give your character a pet spider. Just write like that for 20 minutes. It'll be fun.

How Writing Transforms

Before heading to a mini-conference at Gemini Ink on "How Writing Transforms Community," I changed my clothes three times. I'm always semi-tempted to wear dresses, then don't. They're not me (on most days), and although I was nervous about heading into this event and presenting on behalf of Gemini Ink's Writers-in-Communities Program, a program I believe in deeply and am proud to direct but am just getting to know. I had to go in as me.

And perhaps this is the reason I was so nervous. To quench my nervousness, I watched my absolute favorite TedTalk, The Art of Being Yourself, and sat for a few moments in silence before heading out. Because sometimes we just need to remember to say fuck it and be ourselves. Especially when we care about what we're doing.



Presenting alongside such strong community voices as Aaronetta Hamilton Pierce and Jennifer Bartlett, as well as an inspiring panel by Our Lady of the Lake's Writing With an Emphasis on Social Justice program, I quickly realized we all had the same stance - writing can be empowering, and we need to use it as a tool for communal growth and change. Funny how nerves step aside when you believe in what you're doing. 

I took this job because I believe that writing—or any developed creative output for that matter—once a part of our lives, becomes a companion, and this companion transforms our view of self and our ability to communicate. Writing, delivered by a passionate and driven teacher, can lay the foundation of transformation not only on an individual level, but on a community level, because the pain that many hold it, once released, loses power. Meanwhile voice, one shared with others, gains power. 

While listening to others present and even when introducing my own panel and hearing/sharing stories of teaching in communities, I was reminded to reevaluate my own work for value and voice. Where am I holding back? Where am I taking the easy route? Where am I ignoring issues?

I'll add pics from the event to this blog as they come in. In the meantime, in lieu of a writing prompt, I'd like you to think about what writing really means to you and how you can use it as a tool for change or awareness. Something as simple as inserting a scene that confronts a current societal issue or something as complex as telling your own truth in a memoir, will get you there. As an exercise, try to write about something that's bothering you but you'd like to change - do it in narrative form. Taking stock can help us get back to the root of why we do what we do. It can also only work to strengthen our voices as artists.

xo Jen