Big Think Interview With Anne Lamott

Big Think Interview With Anne Lamott | Anne Lamott | Big Think
Please see my August 31st post for more about Anne Lamott

Professional Writing 2: One Bird at a Time

At the risk of cutting my nose off to spite my face, as the old saying goes, I have to say I've felt uninspired to write a blog entry about anything in Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer, which is required reading in my Professional Writing seminar. Frannie may be a brilliant writer herself (I've never read anything of hers other than this book), but she ain't doing a great job of inspiring me or giving me much insight about writing. Her book is replete with examples from great literature about how to write character, dialogue, voice, etc., but her "mockingbird" just doesn't sing for me. I think the point of her book is that if we take cues from reading the "masters," our own writing will benefit. I would just like to suggest that it doesn't take an entire book to point that out. But maybe I'm just being cynical and difficult.

That said, I believe what "inspires" one person may do nothing for someone else, and this must be what is going in my relationship with Francine. I personally prefer Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. Not only is it full of good anecdotes about the "writing life," but it also is a great read: humorous, humble, and honest. I like her ideas about starting "small" and how to turn writing frustrations into writing epiphanies. The metaphor captured in the title of her book is a reference to the fact that writing is a process that, to extend the metaphor even further, can really leave one's feathers in a ruffle. She tells one anecdote from her childhood about her 10-year-old brother who'd had a month to write a report on birds. On the day before it was due, he was panicked because he had not written a single word and writing the report seemed like an impossible task. Lamott writes, "my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.' " That is a small example of how Lamott does such an incredible job of making what she has to say about writing feel as though she is talking to each of her readers on a personal level, as though she is sitting there next me saying, "Bird by bird, Christi. Just take it bird by bird." That sentiment is also a fine way to approach life as well, I think.

I very highly encourage checking out this interview with Lamott at this link below. You'll get a sense of her self-deprecating humor, struggles, and insight into what it means to be a writer. Click here to link http://bigthink.com/ideas/19807 to the interview with Lamott, or see my September 2 entry for embedded video.

Keeping a Roof Over One's Head

I remain hopeful about the future for writers in the 21st-century marketplace. While it is true that circulation for magazines, newspapers, and other traditionally printed publications are on the decline, new opportunities for writers in the electronic arena are growing. Web-based written, streaming, and downloadable content is needed for an array of electronic media, and these prospects are not just limited to the internet. Writers will be needed to produce mobile and/or wireless applications, video games, and marketing copy for increasingly e-savvy consumers. In addition, it is very likely that as future computerized and digitized technologies evolve, developers will need writers to produce technical and creative content for these new and innovative avenues of media distribution. However, edgey, sophisticated multimedia delivery paradigms will also force a demand for writers with multiple skills. Writers will need to have not only a concise, engaging command of language, but also an understanding of various technical design tools as well.

The Bureau of Labor Statistic (BLS.gov) seems to confirm that a shift in writers' and editors' roles is taking place in the current job market. As is the case with most industries in the current "Great Recession," news, entertainment, and technology firms have increasingly demanded a higher rate of employee productivity in the workplace. This means many employees take on more responsibility with less compensation than in years past. According to the New Hour's 2004 report on America's future job market, higher productivity expectations may also increase the number of jobs employers try to migrate to computerization. Unless a job requires genuine "face time" with other humans, the need for certain positions may become expendable. Luckily, most writers possess critical and analytical talents for communicating complex information that simply cannot be programmed into a computer-generated commodity. However, the fields of publishing and writing have always been rather competitive, and the BLS projects that competition will be particularly stiff in the coming years as "organizations move their publication focus from a print to an online presence and as the publishing industry continues to contract." The U.S. Labor Department suggests that "writers and editors who have adapted to the new media and are comfortable writing for and working with a variety of electronic and digital tools will have an advantage in finding new work."

The consumption of the e-book format is also on the rise, and the market more has become more user-friendly and affordable for writers who wish to self-publish their work. However, being published does not necessarily provide the assurance that a sole living can be made as a writer. The BLS reports that the average income for writers is between $36,000 and $60,000 a year, depending on the industry and organization for which the writer works. Yet, as an old journalism professor of mine used to tell all of his students, "you'll probably never get rich writing, but if you write well, you've got a better shot of at least keeping a roof over your head."

[artwork: "Tech Thoughts" blog at http://billmullins.wordpress.com]

No More Excuses

Summer is over—at least as far as the school year is concerned because it's still a thousand degrees outside everyday—and I've started back to classes this week. The good news is that I did get a position as a Graduate Research Assistant, but could have applied to be a TA (teaching assistant) instead. There's always next year, possibly. I will be working with Dr. Rice on the English Department's communications projects (i.e., newsletter, etc.), and I always enjoy working with him. He's extremely busy though, so I may end up working with others more than him.

Quickly, here are some "highlights" from my extremely exciting (not) summer:

• My car broke down twice, costing me about $1300 in repairs. Hey, what do you expect of a 9-year-old car? So, I can't really complain, although my bank account sure did.

• The kids and I built a deck in the backyard in order to put up one of those metal frame pools for the them. It wasn't really that hard to build, but since we were working in temperatures that were in the near vicinity of hell, it seemed like slave labor. However, the deck turned out really well; I'm proud of what we did. Even little Quinn helped drive the screws.

• We were able to go to the lake several times with Wayne and Steve (Cameron's BBBS big brothers). I was able to convince Quinn to try "tubing" when we went. She's not much of an outdoorsy adventurer, but I was very proud of her when she decided to give it a go. I think she even enjoyed it. Cameron also learned how to go tubing and had a blast, although Wayne told me Cameron was petrified at first. He hates roller coasters, so I think he thought of tubing as though it would be a roller coaster on water but without the lap bar. We all managed to survive Wayne's manic boat driving.
  

• My parents actually called about seeing the kids this summer in late May. It had been two years since they had seen them. They went down to Florida for two weeks to stay with them. Miracle of miracles—my parents actually drove up to Atlanta to get them. My only irritation about their two night sprint up and back was that they didn't even bother coming out to the house. Instead, they spent the night with their friends, Betty and Herb, and I took the kids over to their house the next morning.
  
  During the time the kids were gone, I got absolutely nothing accomplished at home and went into a deep funk because of the situation with my car. I laid on my bed and mindlessly destroyed brain cells by watching television all day and night. I stocked up on Stouffer's Lean Cuisines and devolved into eating microwavable, pre-packaged, factory-manufactured bricks of frozen food. On top of that, the summer temperatures began firing up into the realm of Hades while they were gone, and it became unbearable to work in my shadeless front yard where I was halfway finished building a new stone patio.

• Cameron and I cleared out a large portion of the wooded area of our property. The canopy is mostly hardwood growth, but the understory is overgrown with barren muscadine vines and demonicly evil greenbriar vines that can cut like barbed wire. We must have clipped or pulled up literally hundreds of sweetgum seedlings. Those trees are as prolific as rabbits and as hardy as kudzu—you just can't kill the damn things.
  
  During our clean up we discovered places where our wildlife residents had nestled themselves. The three rabbits we often saw in our yard—and destroying my liriope—had made their den under the knarly roots of a large, rotting poplar tree that fell a few years ago; we discovered an enormous black rat snake had taken up residence in an old and very deep hole that our dog Rumor dug about 3 years ago; and we found a good number of mockingbird nests in the tangles of greenbriars. They were all abandoned but still cradled wafer-thin remnants of brown- and cream-colored speckled eggshells. Oh yeah, and then there was the lovely dog tick that decided to make a home in Cameron's forearm.
  

• Earlier, I referenced the stone patio out front, which still remains unfinished. However, I'm pleased with the way it was progressing before construction came to a halt because of the summer heat. I look forward to finishing it up and hope it turns out well when I finish it up this fall.

• The kids and I started collecting anthropomorphic vegetable and fruit salt and pepper figurines. We had fun scouting them out on eBay, etsy.com, and Ruby Lane. Our favorites have become the 50s-era Japanese Py/Miyao shakers; they are just adorable. I got a little off the trail of salt and pepper when I became smitten with the anthropomorphic Lefton cocktail and jelly pots, so I started collecting them as well. My bank account has also begun to complain about buying all these collectibles too.

As usual, the dogs' coats became enmeshed in matted ropes this summer, and I am still in the process of shaving them all down. Every spring I promise myself I am going to cut them down before the summer "coat blow" begins. Yet when the time comes to sheer them, they have developed these wonderfully chocolate caramel-colored, velvety curls over the winter months, and I can't bear to cut it all off. I dupe myself into thinking that if I constantly keep them in the house during the hot months, the heat won't decimate their lovely, plush coats. Unfortunately, I seem to forget what a delusional joke that is, and I end up with three dogs that look like they've been knitted up and bound inside some bristly, ill-fitting, angry hirsute at the end of the summer. *Sigh*

As the school year gears up, I know things will start to fast track again, which is why I tried to get some structured organization into my life over the summer. We'll see how long that lasts. I did decide to be nice to myself though. I dropped two of the four classes for which I had registered back in Spring semester. I came to the realization that the stress of carrying twelve hours of graduate-level coursework and fulfilling my obligations as a GRA would probably whip my tenuous nerve-endings into a puddle of quivering custard. I think I did the right thing by dropping back to six hours: one English course and one Linguistics course.

Interestingly, in my English course we are actually required to establish and write a personal blog. Now there will be no excuses for not posting entries.

Summa Cum Grad, but No Job to be Had

Forgive me, blogoshphere, I have sinned; it has been three months since my last confessions—or blog entry—whichever you prefer.

What a hellacious semester. I am not sure what the problem was, but I can tell you that I felt very embarrassed about the way some of my papers and/or other academic postings were handled. Although, because of the nature of my university (and my OCD), I was able to soldier on and succeed. However, I can't say I felt I was at my best this last semester. I guess the important thing is that I did graduate, and summa cum laude at that, 4.0 intact. However, I fear that despite my strong academic background, I will be unemployed for quite some time due to the miserable U.S. economy.

I'm trying to find the brightside. Guess things could be worse. I could be a citizen of Greece—apparently they are in a economic free fall and are all subject to mandated austerity measures. I suppose that even once grand civilizations are no immune to societal degradation., O! Ye United States of Excess! Take a lesson from the Romans and Greeks.

Well, there's a lot I could write about this first blog back, but I think I'll keep this one simple. Just a howdy from the orchard. I'll have plenty of time on my hands for the foreseeable future to write about everything.

Decade of Endearment

My daughter's birthday is tomorrow, and she turns 10 years old. It's hard for me to believe that she is that old.

She is a lot like I am: creative, dreamy, lives in her "head," prone to passionate feelings about things. She is truly an "apple" that fell close to the mother tree. I think one of the great things that I have learned from my children is to think like a child again, too. All the frustrations and joys about how to handle life are in front of my kids now. I think as adults we feel overwhelmed with our own "adult" problems so much that we forget to see things through the eyes of youth.

So, this blog entry is for you, my dearest baby girl. Happy Birthday, little petunia. I know you read my blog. I hope you also know how much I love you, and I am very proud of all of your talents. Celebrate all those creative things you do well, and do not judge yourself too harshly on what you cannot do well. It all works out in the end as long as you have faith in yourself. I'll always have faith that you can do whatever you want with the wonderful, creative, deep thoughts and talents that you have.

Love forever, Mommy

Sister Soldier

The county office emailed my substitute teacher paperwork yesterday (even though I'd already done it before and been in the system, fingerprints, background check, education verification, etc.). I have to pay another $50 bucks to have it all done again, you know, because in the last six months I might have committed some heinous crime. Whatever. Am I complaining? No, not really. I just find bueracracy maddening sometimes. Actually, subbing is more than most of my peers have been able do.

This opportunity all came about because of the contact that I made at the job fair last Friday. Counties aren't even hiring subs, and when they do, it's only certified teachers. Can you believe that? Two years ago, school systems would take you if you were a warm body. It's especially difficult to get into this particular school district because the compensation is about double what most counties in the metro area pay. However, there was also a bit of a "situation" over it as well. One of my peers, who has already graduated but hasn't taken the state certification subject tests, couldn't even get a business card from the HR substitute supervisor—according to her, anyway. She was really miffed and actually made a deal about it with the university's Career Placement Office. You see, she was upset because I was able to get the HR person's card, and she wasn't. The reasons that I got the contact information are very logical:
1) I have already passed both pedagogy and subject matter certification tests (that was one of the first questions the HR person asked me).
2) I had, just six months prior, been on the sub list, and somehow my data was lost. The HR person thought that was something that could be easily reactivated in the database.
3)I've already got a certified application on file with the school system, and my references completed, etc.

My friend was upset about it because four years ago, prior to her degree in English Ed., she had also been in the sub database too; however, since she hasn't passed the certification exams, she can't technically be considered "highly qualified." In her eyes, though, the fact that the HR person would not even give her a business card seemed very unfair.


You see, here's the real problem in today's economy. Things are so competitive that even getting the "right" human resources card has become a contentious issue, but I still don't think complaining is the way to get what you want. That's why I was surprised when I walked outside to the reception table and saw her complaining about the way she had been summarily dismissed. I thought the way she handled the situation was poorly done, and I got aggravated with the fact that she didn't approach her point with a little more finesse. One thing that some people have to realize is that while the "squeeky wheel does many times get the oil" that often "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar." You can have what I'll call a "clean" squeek, and it's a skill to know how to get what you want without scrubbing people the wrong way. It's been a difficult skill for me to master in my professional life sometimes. Lord knows I have pissed people off and been called "abrasive." I know for certain there were times when I just didn''t realize that my personality needed some curbing in order to better fit into a certain culture. It's so hard to bite your tongue and suck it up. It takes real patience and grace to confront people who really irritate you with genuine largesse and positivity when you just want pinch their pinheads right off the tops of their bodies. Often times it takes experience to figure it out, and some people never do regardless of how much time they spend in any work environment. But, because the field of education is populated predominately by women, it makes matters even more politically delicate.

There is another advantage I think I have over my friend. I don't think like a woman. I mean that I don't think like some women, which can be "catty," (i.e., vengeful, petty, defensive, manipulative). I am not saying my friend is this way, though. However, I consider myself more of a "man's woman." I very much like and understand the male mind, which is more, let us say, comprehensive and less, perhaps, circumspect. Yet at the same time I am a woman and obviously can think like a woman as well. I guess what I'm really saying is that women are excellent at remembering the details of every—uh—design, and they think very creatively. To make matters in this particular situation more complex, this is the South; women here say one thing to your face, but say and/or do other things behind your back. It's all a performance. Yes, that's it. A performance. You have to act the part—appear non-threatening, etc. and wait for the right moments to make your move. Therefore, working behind the scenes requires an even more nuanced performance than that of the main stage. I get into all this NOT because I approach my issues by "acting fake," but I do change directions depending on what is required by the person and the situation.

That's also what it takes in the classroom too. Change lanes, but don't get off track. Bend, but don't crack up. Never be velcro, be rubber instead. Don't let any "fuzziness" get stuck to you: a label, a person, a group, a philosophy. Things must bounce off you. Men are better at managing that that than women, and I guess it's because women operate through a pack mentality. Like a pride of lionnesses. I mean, look at the whole pack mentality in women's bathroom behavior. It's a fact—women are more "nesty" and territorial, and men are "non-commitalish" and less likely to fence themselves in.

All I'm saying is that airing your grievances negatively isn't often the best approach with females that you are trying to get on your side. Make 'em think you are doing them a favor when actually you are getting what you want out of a situation. Never let 'em see you sweat. You gotta be tactful, agreeable, cool. Does this mean just forget about the rest of your "pride?" No, but you gotta think to yourself, "I'm a sister soulja and a soul sister." In this job market I realize you have to slug it out to get your foot in the door, but no one wants a whiner for an employee.

So, I need to go back and tell my friend all this. "Imma Be . . . from the soul sonically/sending positivity," as the 'Peas would say. I don't know if she'll really hear me though.