July 1 The Unschool for Writers monthly potpourri--

Constraints as monthly prompt; more thoughts on "fears"; archives with "moving forward" posts

Photo by Matt Hoffman on Unsplash

Like poetic form, a cup is a constraint; without it, coffee would be everywhere.

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Constraints / Prompts

Sheldon asked for writing “constraints!”

Yes, constraints can serve as prompts.

Post and share what you come up with. Offer feedback to others.

I’ve shared this piece before, by my friend Walter Rhein (do check out his newsletter here) with 50 prompt ideas, from “first job” to “happiness” and “humor.” For each of these topics—and any others you might think of, or share here, you might apply any of the following constraints… adding up to an infinite number of possibilities.

—write a piece in five paragraphs, as you did when you were in school! (This one is perfect for when you are truly in a blocked place, when back-to-basics is in order.) Have an opening and closing paragraph, and make exactly three points in between. Yep, basic! There’s a time and place for fundamentals.

—advanced! Flipside of the last. This is like one of those visuals of object-within-object… Start with a paragraph that is a straightforward description of something in front of you. Focused on that object, write the next paragraph to explore under the surface of what this object might represent to you! Next paragraph: explore the metaphor or object/representation. Next: explore how that metaphor might function in your day-to-day life. OR… perhaps the image of door-to-door-to-door-to-door works for you in some other—more useful—way, and follow that impulse. Key for constraints, or prompts is to allow them to move you in whatever way they do. If you’re feeling a need not to veer off, then don’t. But if an impulse strikes, go with.

Photo by Andy Fluet on Unsplash

—poetic forms adopted for fiction and nonfiction. I’ve worked several times with the sestina form, and used it for creating short fiction, working through the rotation of words. It becomes a contemplative piece. Or consider haiku form, and write a three- paragraph flash fiction piece or memoir using the idea of “description” to tell a “story,” and the idea that the third line/paragraph needs to turn an abrupt 90 degrees to be surprising, even shocking. Examine other forms and adopt in this way.

—write a piece of flash fiction using words of one syllable. Or alternating one and two syllable words. (Note the rhythm of this work.)

—write a piece of fiction that includes all four seasons. Choose whether OR NOT you will name them. You chose whether or not they’re in order, and how they function within the story. But use all four.

—tell a story completely in dialogue.

—write a short memoir piece using second-person. (What is the effect here?)

—share a constraint you have used—

Use the comment button here to copy/paste post, and for discussion thread:

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Monthly recap — not!

Let’s do “archives”

Every month since the Unschool began, I’ve posted a re-cap of the previous month’s posts. It’s been a way to let people know what we’re up to here, and to encourage you to join and follow.

But I feel more led to serve those who have chosen to pay to be here—thank you! I really can’t do this without you.

So I’m going to change this up. I think the most useful piece this past month was the post on Fear.

We work both against and with Fear. It takes many shapes. I was even thinking of my writing-related fear of “time lost” when I struggle with a piece!

And other than that, I’m going to expand the usual “archives” section. This month I’ll post several pieces from the past that might be useful to you as you are working in the midst of a project. The annual indexes are now four, as we’ve been around that many years. And the number of archived pieces are now in the hundreds; it’s not easy to find things, as much as I index and try to title to accurately reveal the content.

(Don’t hesitate to let me know if you find a piece and want to suggest I grow the title in some way to make it easier to locate! All suggestions to make more accessible here are welcomed.)

Creating "Scene"

GET (YOUR) BACK INTO IT: Finding your way to a project abandoned for too long

Ways to Approach Draft Two of The Novel

"The End Remembers the Beginning"

If you’re new here, know that to access all the indexes, do the following: if reading this as an email in your mail, click on the title which will take you directly to the newsletter on the Substack site. Click on The Unschool title, which will then take you to the homepage. Scroll down to the lower right-hand corner, and you’ll find the four indexes. Click on the various years, and scroll through to browse.

If you cannot find a topic you are looking for, let me know. I like to know your questions, and write posts in answer.

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The “Fears” post elicited a number of comments. It kept me thinking for days afterward about the nature of this in our work itself, in how we approach the process in our lives, and more.

We might break it down to this—

First draft fears

Negative: It’s not going to be perfect!

(That’s okay. It’s not supposed to be. Imagine: if it was perfect on first try, I wouldn’t be learning. Isn’t learning part of writing? Possibly the most significant part?)

Positive: It’s not going to be perfect!

(It’s good to have an anxious edge as I set out on a new project. There’s no certainty. And that means that all is wide open. I’m open, too. This is the vulnerability I need to create. It is positive.)

Mid-draft fears

Negative: I’m never going to finish this thing! It’s garbage!

Positive: I don’t know how I’m going to finish. But I also didn’t know how to get to the mid-point. And here I am.

(Of course it’s garbage! It’s supposed to be: it’s first draft! Who keeps putting this garbage-thought into my head anyway? It’s true that I’m fearful that I’ll never finish it. It’s a fear I’m willing to sit with. It’ll motivate me to see my way—or feel my way—through to the end.)

Almost-done fears

Negative: I’m afraid I’ll never have another project to work on.

(It took me awhile to recognize this fear. It was significant in holding me from moving forward.)

I’m afraid to share this with the world.

Positive: I am afraid to share it with the world; I need to slow down and spend the time with it that it needs.

(This “fear” can work to push through the final stretch, from a strong manuscript to a publishable manuscript! It’s a useful fear!)

I’m afraid for it to come to an end because at this point, the end IS in sight, and it feels too good to be true.

(This is also a “useful” fear, in that it’ll push to find the next project… When I near the end of a project, I need to know where I’m going next. Once I came to know this about my process, I began to allow myself to compile notes and daydream the next piece into my vision. THAT allowed me to put in the final energy to wrap up the current project!)

Next month let’s take a look at Publishing and Promotion/Selling fears.

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Alice Munro

Below is a wonder-filled link shared by one of our reader-writers after the passing of Alice Munro. Check it out: a close look at Munro’s long-hand notebooks, comparing the choices made when the stories evolved and were published.

The material of life transposed to fiction. Her process.

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2024/05/24/inside-alice-munros-notebooks/

Thank you for sharing, Bach5G!

It’s good to have such pieces sent to pass along.

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The first of the month post is filled with bits and pieces. I enjoy putting this potpourri together and seeing the responses and discussion.

If you’re a regular reader and find some value in The Unschool, please consider a paid subscription. As always, a huge thank you to those of you who have already made this choice—