Life in Quotations with mark Stratton
mark (yes the “m” is lower case) Stratton is a poet/writer who abides in Columbia, Missouri with his wife and three cats and a houseful of books and empty notebooks. His poetry has appeared in Four and Twenty, MediaVirus Magazine and the inaugural issue of The American Zig-Zag (Volume 1) He blogs at Aggaspletch, tweets on The Twittah, and his poetry collection ‘Tender Mercies’ is available on his web site, Amazon.com or your local bookstore via special order. He likes pie.
The following is the quote mark has chosen for discussion…
“Success comes to a writer, as a rule, so gradually that it is always
something of a shock to him to look back and realize the heights to which
he has climbed.”
— P. G. Wodehouse
This morning, upon waking up and hearing the train whistle of the local short-line, I glanced out the window. The train took my attention away from the blather on the sports talk on the radio and added a touch of melancholy to the sight of blue sky glimpsed through naked branches. That’s the view out of the bedroom window most mornings. It tends to stop my thoughts in their tracks as I pause for a moment and marvel at God’s beauty, no matter the conditions.
Turning from the window, I spotted one of my old writing notebooks. I keep them around but seldom look back at them. I tell myself it is not moving forward but the truth is, the writing in them makes me cringe somewhat. Not that it’s bad, but that it is raw.
As I’ve learned more about the craft of writing, I’ve come to realize that the process of writing is every bit as important as what I have to say. Because if I don’t pay attention to the craft of writing and only focus on the message or thought then the chance of losing the message in a flurry of words or cleverness is greater. Otherwise, it isn’t communicating, it’s writing. Not many people want to read writing, they’re interested in stories, news, essays, poetry, etc., which is the product of writing.
The craft should never jump out front and center, but should linger in the background. As you progress in your writing, you’ll notice this sort of change taking place. Especially if you’re not afraid to fail, and to fail spectacularly, then you learn from your mistakes. This is the takeaway I have from both the quote and from looking at that stray notebook I glanced through. Random words and ideas that were the dreaded ‘good idea at the time’ that needed to find life and a quick turn of the page for me to “see” that what sounded good in my head didn’t work on paper. It’s a learning process, writing and writing and process and more writing.
And then, one day, when the sun is shining through the window and dust motes draw your attention to an old notebook and you realize that while the contents weren’t all great, there was some good words and work in there. You see growth and those heights Wodehouse speaks of.
In closing, I call another quote to mind. The late Jimmy V said weeks before he died of cancer, “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” Keep writing, stretching, trying crazy and wonderful ideas. Fail and do so with glory and reckless abandon, then learn from it.
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● Do you carry a notebook to jot down ideas or to flesh them out before committing them to keyboard?
● Do you go back and look at old material for either inspiration or to see your progress?
● How much of your “inner critic” do you ignore as being too harsh and/or lacking sufficient objectivity?
● When writing by hand, do you write with a pen or pencil? Why?
Thank you
I carry a notebook most of the time– and in the situations when I don’t have it, I normally wish I did! Life is full of little inspirations, and you never know when they’re going to pop up and surprise you!
Sometimes I will go back and leaf through old pieces in notebooks (and sometimes they do make me cringe) but I chalk it up as a learning experience. Sometimes you even remember how amazing an old piece was upon re-reading it.
And I write with pen. Pencil tends to smudge, and I love seeing all the edit marks from writing in ink–makes the hard work I’ve put into it really shine.
Excellent! And, yes, I write stuff down. I have scraps of paper all over my desk and my desk pad is a mosaic of thoughts and scribblings. But the advice I most agree with is the last quote: Never give up! I couldn’t give up if I tried. I love writing too much! Thanks Kellie and mark for the wonderful words of encouragement!
I still have to keep scrap paper beside the bed because that is usually when my muse decides she has an idea. :/
Giving up is easy, except it’s not. Which makes no sense, except that it does.
It’s easy from the standpoint that it seems easy. The difficulty stems from the fact it eats at you. So, it’s easier to not give up.
Thanks for reading!
I have a notebook I carry around with me so I can write in the street, on the train and so on whenever idea’s come to me. And I have a writing pad where I do all of my writing. Aside from typing on my blog, everything is hand written. Every draft, every correction, every note. And always black ink. And I use pen, well just because really. Guess it stands out more.
I have three used note pads. They generally stay unread. I just read back through my blog. One does need revisiting soon though.
I listen to my inner critic. Not all of the time, but it helps from time to time.
Think that’s about it.
You sound like me, idea’s hit me everywhere but with me… I never have a piece of paper and have to try to remember what the thought was. Definitely need to write more and get me a notebook. Actually miss handwriting myself. It happens less and less because of the laptop. Need to get back to old fashioned scribbling
Thank you for sharing. 
Ps… why black ink?
I couldn’t try and remember everything. Even when there’s no notebook handy, I’m hosed. I’ve tried using my phone, but it’s too clunky for me for that purpose. Not being able to write it down would drive me to distraction, I think.
Interesting thing about the Black Ink. I typically use variations of blue ink in my fountain pens, and mainly because of aesthetic reasons. I think it looks good.
I write with whatever I have handy at the time. When I write with pen, there is a lot of scratching out and wishing I had a pencil. When I write with pencil, there is a lot of wishing I had a sharper lead that lasted longer. Pencil writing always brings with it the hassle of eraser crumbs and smeared and ruined paper.
Preference? Typing!
I type most of what I do now but… I miss the freedom in writing. I do not go back and try to correct my errors when I am free handing it. With typing I notice every little mistake or error keyed and that sometimes makes me lose my train of thought.
man… I need a new notebook. lol
Thank you for sharing! I get the whole pen pencil thing. Always wish for the other.
I like typing, and there are a few things I prefer to type, but for poetry and sussing out ideas, handwriting is the way for me to go.
I did my novels for NaNo totally typewritten. Except for the parts I wrote out long hand….like notes, ideas, snatches of dialogue.
I used to have notebooks and always wrote down any thought that entered my head that I thought had potential. Now, I am chained to this laptop. Much less paper these days.
I do still have notebooks though it has been a very long time since I have pulled them out to look over some things from the past. Maybe I should do that soon.
I am my own worst critic and maybe this is why I do not pull out the books. Certain of how horrible they must be!
When I did use notebooks, I wrote in pen and had many scribbles and strikes.
First, thanks SO much for asking me to contribute to your series. It’s been a hoot. And wouldn’t you know it, I’ve thought of more to say.
For me, my words become “real” somehow when I type them up on the computer. Until that time, they are still just organized thoughts or ideas. Typing them means I’m committed to them, to their life. Sounds strange, but there it is.
Fountain pens and good notebooks for me, thanks.
It is awesome of you to say yes and agree to come play in the Backyard for a day! So, thank YOU mark! xoxoxo
This is so good. I have little moleskine notebooks everywhere, in my car, in my purse, next to my bed. a lot of pages just have random words, or a thoughts, or lonely phrases. And then I have my journals, which are mostly filled with long whiny rants. bu they are for my eyes only so that’s okay. I do go back and read them sometimes, and I cringe, I laugh, and sometimes say, “wow, I wrote that?”
If I’m not on the computer, I always write in pencil.
I love what you said about the craft of writing, I think we forget that it is separate from the content, and you are so right, it is just as important.
Thanks, Kelly. I keep a notebook (or two) in my “European Shoulder Bag (It was a gift)” and lug it with me wherever I may roam. I even pull it out and write stuff in it from time to time. More lately, I’m pleased to say.
And yeah, that “Wow! I did this?” moment is always an eye opener. I sometimes feel that I get those just when I need them most.
Craft is a necessity. Without it, it’s just words on a screen. Kind of like a badly focused photograph. It’s something I struggle with constantly. Mainly because I’m lazy and rewrite and ‘paying attention’ to details are work.
Great post. I once found some ooooold notebooks where i wrote some poems back in junior high school. Funny to see how much i changed in my writing. But there were a couple that were salvagable and i worked them over til i finally got something i could use. Actually turned out better than i thought. Thats what i love though is playing with a thought and the words to create something unique. Even though the poem was from the mind of a 13 year old girl i still could relate and still found those feelings were not buried too deep. I encourage anyone to dig out old work and just play and have fun. Never know what you might learn.
I can proudly say that none of my old angsty, overwrought (I stand at the edge of the abyss, my emotional entrails slowly twisting on the maelstrom of depression you left me in, blah, blah, blah, blah) are all safely rotting in a landfill.
I do wish I had my old green journal from my teenage years. Aside from teenage boy blather, there were cartoons and paper ephemera taped, tucked and stuck inside. Rather than see how the writing has changed, I’d be more interested in seeing who I was in writing then. That notebook, I truly miss.
LOL! I have one of those old middle school notebooks full of love poems to crushes! Shhhhh!!!!
Mmmm….blackmail possibilities?
no kidding! lol
● I do jot down stuff a lot… I have notebooks everywhere.
● Absolutely.. I do this a lot!
● I need to ignore more of my inner critic.
● I write with whatever I can find… even half spent markers..
Fun post!
Thank you, Darlene. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I’m thinking I must be the strange one for not going back into older notebooks much. I never do it with my journals. Ever. Don’t know why, either.
Interesting post, thanks for sharing. In answer to the questions:
1. Yes I do always carry with me a notebook (if not two!) to jot down my ideas before it’s too late.
2. I often revisit past notebooks/diaries. I just love re-reading them; not only do they show me how I’ve grown as a writer (or personally), but it’s like living the moments again. Plus some of the ideas are really good.
3. When it comes to personal critic, writing is actually one of the only thing that makes me proud, so I tend to positively critic my work, even though that might mean I’m lacking a certain literary critic side.
4. I prefer to write with a pen. In fact, I’ve never really written with a pencil. I like to see the doubts (i.e when you cross out a word) – it’s like it’s a part of the piece, but with a pencil you can just erase that thought. Using a pen allows me to see how my thoughts have evolved and taken shape over writing the piece.
I’ve never thought about that, regarding a pencil and mistakes. Of course, I push my pencil so hard at times that when I erase something, it’s evident I did so. However, I tend to write with a pen most of the time as I like the tactile feeling of a pen. Fountain pens in particular…