Month: April 2021

Art and Craft of Writing

Jane here with a quick message before today's blog post! Maureen and I have been working on getting a podcast together! Our dream is that this podcast be interactive, kind of like a radio show but not exactly. That means we'd love to hear from you all: send us any questions you'd like us to address in the podcast by filling out this form. We can give you a shoutout or you can remain anonymous. Thanks so much! -J

I’m a writer and I’ve been teaching writing in one form or another since the early eighties.  I love technique.  When I started learning to write, I loved workshops.  Who doesn’t love a workshop?  Is there any other time in your life when a group of people will spend a big chunk of time talking about you?  Other than your funeral when all that talk is great for the participants but frankly wasted on the dead.

I love books on writing.  Writing is hard and reading books about writing makes me feel as if I’m working.  I’m not writing, exactly, but I’m reading about it and that should count for something.  

Writing books were fun, insightful, made me think.  But the ones I read mostly talked about prose.  They talked about consistent p.o.v. and not using adverbs.  What they didn’t tell me was how to write a story or a novel.  I had a lot of problems.

  • Finishing something
  • Keeping it from being interesting
  • Making myself write
  • Figuring out how to revise
  • Knowing if it was any good or not

What I wanted was something like a carpentry class where they would announce that we were going to make a table.  We would select wood and learn how to measure and cut, how to do dove joints, how to sand it.  At the end we might have a bunch of tables that looked pretty much alike, but I would understand how to do stuff.  And next time, I could use the techniques to make something more individual.

Jane says: May's newsletter addressed how to get started when you aren't eaxctly sure! Also, Maureen included a very practical, nuts-and-bolts exercise she uses in her classes that will get you launched into writing something with legs. Sign up below if you haven't already!  :)

Jane and I are both teachers, both writers, and we’re both very interested in the process of writing. And we’re interested in how people learn writing.

We’re hoping that we’ve learned some things we can teach and that you can teach us.

What are the things you struggle with? What do you most want to know? What sorts of tools or support do you wish you had? What are your questions about your writing?

Let us know!

The Case for Taking Classes as a Writer

I had a revelation this past year: artists take classes all their lives.

Dancers are always in class. Painters still drop into life drawing sessions. Musicians take masterclasses and attend rehearsals. If you’re an artist, you’re always learning and working on your craft, testing the boundaries of your limits and gently expanding them.

But I think there’s often an expectation that classes for writers are for beginners. That once you achieve a certain level of professionalism, or craft confidence, you simply write on your own. You might have a critique group, or a couple of trusted beta readers, but there is no expectation that writers receive formal instruction after they achieve a certain level.

But I think that might be a mistake, at least for some writers.

This past year, partly to relieve the stress and anxiety of being trapped inside and partly because I missed writing communities so much, I took a bunch of online classes, some pre-recorded but most of them live, run by an instructor. While some classes definitely fell into the category of covering basics I was already confident in, many opened up new avenues for me, prompted story ideas, gave me new tools for storytelling and story generation. I grew more aware of my weaknesses and more able to create a self-study program designed to strengthen my shortcomings.

So that’s why we started The Story Kitchen, so we can examine the ingredients of story and practice our craft in a formal, systematic, but playful and open-ended way, like in cooking! There will be content here that is for beginners, because we all start somewhere. There will also be content here for emerging professional writers, and for experienced writers. Because learning never ends and a formal practice of instruction can be a valuable part of maintaining your creative spark, honing your skills, and opening you up to new explorations you didn’t access in your writing before.

Lots of writers have said this, but it bears repeating: there is no one right way to write. Just like there is no one right way to cook. But searing a cabbage has a very different effect on the vegetable to boiling it, and adding miso has a very different impact on the palate versus adding vinegar. Both great! But different! So we thought, this could be applied to writing, too. Understand the ingredients you’re working with, understand the techniques of handling those ingredients, and then you’ll understand what dishes you’re putting together and how the flavors will blend or contrast, and you’ll become a much more confident chef — er, writer — with a great range. Plus it’s fun to play!

(I just made myself hungry. This is a thing that happens a lot, because I write about food a lot? Literally and metaphorically?)

If this sounds interesting to you, sign up for our newsletter below! Our first one goes out today, and it’s one of the main ways we’ll deliver notes on writing craft, advice, tips, and writing prompts. We also include what I started calling an Unrecipe because they’re about techniques, not recipes, as well as writer quotes, links to books we like, and other fun tidbits. Join us!

Happy writing!

-Jane

Welcome to Story Kitchen

Story Kitchen came about because Maureen and I met while both teaching at a university, and we started getting together to talk about writing, fiction, and teaching. Pretty soon we had a critique group and a couple of weekly co-writing dates. We also had ongoing conversations about craft and books and how to help other writers.

Add to that mix the fact that we both love to cook, and Story Kitchen was born! We conceived of a place that was like getting together with your friends around a kitchen table, sharing stories, tips, techniques, commiserating and celebrating.

In our view, the way we learned to write was similar to the way we cook. Recipes are a good starting place, but what really changed the game for us was learning techniques and how to apply them in different contexts. Learning to handle POV is a technique. Voice is a technique. Literary devices are techniques — and once you understand how they work and what impact they deliver, you can create your own recipes for stories, knowing that each one is going to be different, too.

We’re planning lots of exciting stuff coming out this summer and fall! We’d love it if you’d stay in touch by joining our newsletter, where we’re also going to feature a ton of useful context, including tips and craft essays and a recipe (naturally!). Sign up for our newsletter, and get a free PDF guide, 10 Things to Try When You Feel Stuck.

Happy writing!

-Jane