Conversations with Calliope

JOE: Good morning, Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning, Joe. How are things this morning.
JOE: Good, I guess. I can see signs of Fall finally arriving but have immensely enjoyed the extended summer. My plumeria seems to be about at the end of its three month blooming season but a gorgious red hibiscus blossom awaited me this morning on my porch. I am feeling a stronger urge to delve into my new writing project.
CALLIOPE: That's good. How are you coming on Marital Property?
JOE: A little slow. It's hard getting into a new project after finishing a novel I spent eight months on. I picked up Heather Sellers' book Page by Page yesterday. She suggested some exercises to start and stay writing consistently. Do you mind if I share them with you?
CALLIOPE: Be my guest.
JOE: Thanks. The first exercise is to write three lists. First is qualities of my ideal writing guidebook. The book would be clearly written, well organized, specific, give quotes and refer to excellent examples of the points made, give me concrete tasks, and give suggestions for the roadblocks which appear before me as well as help me incorporate the rest of my life and experiences into my writing.
CALLIOPE: A good list. What is the second.
JOE: The second is the qualities of my ideal writing class. I recall my writing classes in high school and college and do not remember any encouragement. Writing petrified me. My ideal class would encourage me to write, initially ignoring quality but just getting my pen (or reasonable facsimile) moving, teaching me how to incorporate information from my senses and from my inner life, balancing dialogue, internal reflection and description, making dialogue intriguing and interesting, making my characters alive and unique, helping me have my characters tell my stories rather than relying on narrative, and not be afraid to have my stories be metaphors for my own hopes, dreams, worries and fears.
CALLIOPE: Well stated. What is the third list?
JOE: Imagine I am a small new pupil, a writing student, and list the attitudes I have when I am loving the act of learning something. I sit in wonderment of all that goes on around me, see the story in each movement, gesture, color, smell or sound, realize that there are words to express each of these, try different kinds of writing implements to see what my writing is like with each one, find fascination in my words and sentences, regardless of what my teacher thinks of them, realize that each person I see has endless stories within him or her, and know that what I write has the chance to be unique.
CALLIOPE: Great. I think you should put these lists on your wall with other things you want present while you write. Look at them when you feel stuck or tend to get down on yourself for being only human. I am here to help but you will still be you and the one who does the actual writing.
JOE: Thanks, I'll try to remember that when the going gets tough as it does from time to time.