August 2021 - The Unschool for Writers Newsletter

photo taken on sea wall at Stanley Park

August is here, month of blackberries, lengthening nights, and that sense of “enjoy this passing thing called summer.”

Preparation for the 3 Day Novel contest possibly? It’s happening on Labour Day weekend. (If anyone wants, I will be happy to post an ongoing discussion thread through that weekend, and will be around to offer thoughts!) Note in “comments,” please!

A brief word about subscribing:

Huge thanks to those who have gone “paid”—it means I can continue to do this. Without the paying subscribers, this would just not be happening.

Honestly… I’m looking forward to a time when I don’t have to post such notes! (Though those green “subscribe” buttons will continue to pop up for some time!) Ultimately, I just need enough subscribers to “make it happen.” I would like to keep this small enough to feel there is personal connection and exchange in the comments, questions, and feedback—which I am SO enjoying. Thank you for your posting and enthusiasm :)

Okay, enough already. Let’s get on to the good stuff…

July 2021 Exercise/Prompt - RENKU - (aka Party Haiku)

I’m following up on my July 24 “writing book” review about the (best ever) poetry book with this newsletter piece about renku, one of my favourite forms.

Renku is a form of haiku, a collaborative form that I think of as “party haiku.”

It consists of alternating 3 and 2 line stanzas, beginning with one of three lines. The three line stanzas follow the traditional 5/7/5 syllable construction, and the 2 line stanzas are 7/7 syllables.

LINK & SHIFT —

is the operative principle here. That is, each stanza connects in some way to the preceding, but does NOT connect with the one before that.

Think of thus:

A

A

B

B

C

C

D

D and so on…

Or you can think of it as thematically (or in some way) connecting one stanza with another, then pivoting away from that theme/image to something new. This prevents the collaboration from becoming a narrative; rather, it is a collage, with multiple and shifting themes and subjects.

Seasons, Emotions, Moon

Traditionally, certain stanzas had to speak to particulars, and these could be seasons or certain emotions, or specifics, such as flowers or the moon. For instance, the opening haiku—3 line stanza—usually spoke to the current season in which the renku was created. This can be useful to “kick off” the process.

Having one stanza (at some pre-determined point in the whole) speak to love, and another to the moon, has been a part of the tradition. As a group, we might decide on motifs and emotions we can include.

In a face-to-face party situation, you might have some fun with this and pull numbers or names out of a hat to decide which stanza is assigned to a particular writer. Or you might pull the order of participants. This can serve to “keep it moving” if you are working with those who are somewhat hesitant to step up. (Which, of course, none of you will be!)

Avoid repetition; think “expansive”

Because of the collaborative nature and the constant drive to shift to the “new,” a completed renku should be rich—depth and breadth—in themes, images, emotions/moods, subjects, imagination. Let the imagination go! And avoid repetition. This means that participants are paying attention to the contributions of others.

Write in the present tense, and use concrete imagery. Strive for clarity and the right word—always. As with haiku, when you do find yourself using a throwaway word, pause, reconsider. What word can you use with some power? (When possible, cut “the” and “and”—any such fillers. Though when you need one of these, you need it!)

Each stanza will have its own subject and theme.

Always double-check your work to make certain that while your stanza has a tenuous connection to the just-previous stanza, it is in no way connected with the one before that. (The “tenuous” connection does not have to be logical or chronological.)

This is the challenge of this form: to create these connections—the “linking”—all with holding on to the expansiveness of the whole—the “shifting,” the movement. This is also the challenge for the person creating the third stanza. This awareness of the need to have nothing in common with the first stanza; this person is responsible for the initial “shift.”

It’s paradoxical, really—looking for that small piece of connection, yet making each stanza its own thing and new. And all the fun work of it.

Watch for the discussion thread

I will post this shortly! I am going to kick-off the first stanza of three lines, with something I wrote on returning home from my aborted hike. (Twenty minutes from the summit, we met a hiker and his dog returning, and he shared that there was a fire with plumes of smoke two ridges away. We decided to return down the mountainside, too. After hiking five hours, we were down in two! I was going so fast, I took a tumble with my huge pack, and ended up like a gasping beetle… but that’s another story.)

And I’m posting both newsletter and thread a bit early (just around midnight…) as we will be making yet another attempt to hike on Tuesday, and I’m hoping to see some renku madness happen before I go (and party on while I’m away!)

Mostly, remember to play! Renku is play. Watch the Dylan video again, to get in the space.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Forthcoming posts - what I’m working on

I have a post to add to the Foundational series, on the choice to work either with a daily amount of time as a challenge, or word or page count. How to keep yourself writing to develop a daily habit! (A bit of a head-game at times, surely.)

Writing for young people: what distinguishes the age-groupings in novel—junior novels, middle-grade, young adult. This is tricky, as young people are growing and changing so quickly, and it’s such a stop-start thing. Or can be.

Usually I have a Plan for my mid-month post, but at the moment I’m wide open on this… so do let me know if you have a Big Question. Or even a medium-sized one.

“Juxtaposition” is coming to mind—a way to create compelling story with disparate threads. Something like a braided essay. A lot of overlap here.

Requests? Questions? Genres of writing books you’d like to see reviewed? (I’m curious to see how the reads of those reviews are among the most-read posts here!)

email: alison@alisonacheson.com

July posts - summaries

It’s been a busy month.

The Book Review post focused on poetry. In the review I speak of the significance of being open to genres and forms of writing that are unfamiliar—work that stretches you. All forms of writing inform other forms. Whatever you write—fiction, creative nonfiction, greeting cards… will benefit from trying some form of poetry.

Our monthly grammar/punctuation piece was on the en and em dashes. Has this changed your awareness of them? Caused you to use… or avoid?

And the monthly post on writing for children and young adults/YA was all about digging for story ideas. Because sometimes Blank Mind is a thing. (Again, consider reading outside of your area of interest—if you have no intention to write for young people. It might set off something unexpected. Or this post might guide you to some insight into the background of an adult character you are grappling with.)

The mid-month post—always turning up on the 15th!—looked at the challenge in writing connected stories together in a collection. And why it’s not a novel!

One piece that a number of you wrote to say was particularly useful was the post on printing calendar pages to help organize the writing of a novel—a task I depend on heavily as I work through longer stories.

And I have to say that my fave of the month was the post on hearing Dylan riffing, and the PLAYing with words. I was happy to see the responses! If you didn’t have time for this, check it out!

As mentioned above, the piece about the 3 Day Novel contest has caused some of you to consider doing this weekend wonder. More info and registration for this year’s contest is here. Thinking of it? Post in comments—let us know.

If nothing else, do it and you’ll have in hand a rough draft of a project with which to work, to polish, over the coming months.

End note

“Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”
— Franz Kafka

Read six times—slowly. Like this:

Don't bend

Don't water it down

Don't try to make it logical

Don't edit your own soul according to the fashion

Rather

follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly

Mercilessly

Peace—

Alison

alison@alisonacheson.com