Category: Philosophy

USING RESISTANCE TO MAKE YOU BLEED ONTO THE PAGE

3/24/2014

Hello again from the world’s worst blogger.

I’ve had a festering writer’s block this year, only finishing up two fiction pieces I started at the end of last year and pulling out an old memoir piece called Jagged Little Summer, which was one of the final works I completed in college. As all old work does, I had a palpable physical reaction upon revisiting it that was akin to a fight-or-flight adrenalin dump—intense aversion. I hated it and knew it was all wrong. This piece is a memoir, and there were places I didn’t want to go with it, things I resisted reveal.

So first I rehashed it vigorously. I worked it and reworked it for at least the past six weeks. I kept revisiting it and tweaking a word here, a phrase there. It slowly got leaner, then longer, then better, but still it needed some stitching up, it needed a little more flight. Finally, frustrated, I made myself leave it for a while. If I stared at it for more than about 15 minutes, I closed the document and did something else.

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On the Topic of Acceptable Content

1/20/2014

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There are so many opportunities in art, life, literature, to smack your open palm over your mouth and gasp. Gratuitous sex, inappropriate images, foul language, vulgar innuendo are arguably ubiquitous in the new normal of our culture.

In answer to the never-ending discourse about what is OK, and what is verboten for us to explore as writers, and how morality can quickly turn perverse, I penned my short piece Writing for God.

As if on queue, about a week after the piece was published over at the provocative Literary Orphans, one of my finer LinkedIn writing groups began a discussion titled: "How do you feel about sexually explicit/graphically written material appearing on LinkedIn literary threads? Is this art or pornography? " The poster elaborated on a particular piece that was submitted for a poetry contest--I have not read the piece. As you may have guessed, the resulting comments were largely indignant. Ranging from a man who loathes erotica, to a woman who quoted OSCAR WILDE in defense of "taste," to finally someone saying, "if the words offend, by all means stop reading!"

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Of Short Story Construct and Hotel Gentrification

6/13/2013

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Today Tin House linked over to Open Culture for a list of 8 suggestions for constructing a short story by Kurt Vonnegut. They are concise and helpful for every writer to bear in mind, or at least to try to only break one or two at at time:

Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
Every sentence must do one of two things–reveal character or advance the action.
Start as close to the end as possible.
Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them–in order that the reader may see what they are made of.
Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

While each has strong merit, I'm paying particular attention to #8, since I chopped such a beginning from a recent CNF that has been getting rejections. Maybe I'll add the old beginning back and try another few places before I give up on it entirely. I am also going to have #4 tattooed to the inside of my wrist--happily my most recently completed story passed this test. Finally, we all pretty much know that I'm already committed to #6.

In other news, what does this image have to do with anything?

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Meanwhile in Theory ... (Judith Butler, Socrates and a cat)

5/24/2013

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If you've ever delved into feminist theory, you are aware of Judith Butler. She is one of my intellectual heroes and in my opinion one of the great thinkers of our time. I am more attuned to her notions on the socio-political, such as her thoughts on precarious life, terrorism and sovereignty. Although I understand her ontology regarding gender performativity and false heteronormative binaries (see graphic below), I still feel there is gender biology at work to some (perhaps miniscule) degree that tends to inform our identity. Still, the thinker Butler rocks, and what ontology isn't rendered clearer when interrogated by cats?

This is the first part of the Socratic dialogue:

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Pamela Langley

In the past decade I have written memoirs for a nun, tutored children from Somalia, edited a college literary magazine, interned at Literary Arts in Portland, published a few stories, graduated from University with highest honors, given a speech to a packed house at the Schnitz, remodeled a fixer-upper, written grants for programs that helped, extended my emotional /intellectual horizons, made an intra-state move, started a business, regained my groove, placed my finger back on the pulse, joined Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn, bought a smartphone, traveled, raised puppies, and most importantly--honed my writing skills. I bare myself here on The Paper Garden and hope some moments will resonate with you.

USING RESISTANCE TO MAKE YOU BLEED ONTO THE PAGE

On the Topic of Acceptable Content

Of Short Story Construct and Hotel Gentrification

Meanwhile in Theory ... (Judith Butler, Socrates and a cat)

Pamela Langley

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