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Writing Wednesday: Impersonating My Voice

16 Feb

I dress according to my mood.  I don’t mean I just dress for the occasion; I mean my style itself is subject to whim.  On Monday I could fit into the category of preppy but by Thursday I could be mistaken as a hipster.

Is it any surprise, then, that one of my biggest writing frustrations is finding my voice?  It seems absurd that one would need to find her writing “voice.”  Isn’t voice something inherent?

Yes, and no.

The Million’s recent interview between novelist Bill Morris (Motor City, All Soul’s Day) and personal essayist Carl H. Klaus, author of the new book The Made-Up Self: Impersonation in the Personal Essay, confirmed my thoughts on voice.  In the article, “When We Aspire to Write Like Ourselves,” Klaus discusses the “fluid nature of the self,” and says,

To think that I could in fact create a style that was an echo of such a multi-sided thing as the self – that’s simply a cuckoo notion.

I feel vindicated.  Critics have been saying for years to beware of the constructed identities of authors.  However, it’s refreshing to consider the author’s struggle in creating a portrait of self.  While, writers may acknowledge creating a personae—a “character”—of themselves, either out of convenience or agenda, there seems to be less talk about the struggle of figuring out who their “character” is.

I certainly have a perspective that is uniquely my own, but depending on the subject matter, my feelings toward it, and whom I suspect will read my work, my tone, diction, and style shift.  I’ve feared that this might be a sign of immaturity, but I really do feel that who I am and how I write ebbs and flows.  I will admit there is a predominant voice to most of my personal essay writing, but I don’t think that is my only voice.

If I am to present the most accurate portrayal of myself, how can I limit my voice?

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Daily Frappe Introduces Me to Its Readers

3 Feb

Yesterday I was featured on Daily Frappe!  They published a new article I wrote on best-selling author Eric Metaxas and linked to yesterday’s post here on the young Egyptians protecting the Library of Alexandria.

A few years ago Daily Frappe published an article I wrote on the 76th Annual Greek Independence Day Parade a few years, and it is an honor to be collaborating with them again.

Daily Frappe was founded over Easter Weekend 2005 as “a community for the millions of people of Greek decent that are scattered by geography but united by heritage,” according to the website.  A quick scan through the message boards and you’ll discover Greeks from the United States to Australia.

The articles Daily Frappe publish cover the full spectrum of the Greek diaspora.  There are articles about restaurant chains, films, and even Facebook.  The articles tie heritage to current events in a relevant way.

Mmmm… now I could really go for a frappe.  Metrios, please.

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Writing Wednesday: Consider This Me Updating My Website

26 Jan

Barbara Vey recently wrote a blog entry called “Update That Website” for PW.  The article is aimed at authors who either don’t have a website at all or fail to update it.  She suggested that even writing one blog entry a month is enough to keep readers interested and let them know that you are indeed alive and working on your next writing project.

Well, consider this me updating my website.

Given the publishing industry’s emphasis on writers using social media, I’ve gotten the impression that writers should be in constant communication with our readers.  I wonder, though, what readers really want to hear about from their favorite authors.

How often do you think authors should update their websites?

What sort of content do you want authors (meaning ME!) to update their website with?  Do you only want to hear news related to the specifics of an upcoming book and speaking engagements?  Do you want to read about the creative processes?  Do you want to know what was for dinner last night?

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Christian Resolutions

20 Jan

Part 2 of my look at New Year’s resolutions was published on Burnside Writers Collective yesterday.  In part 1, I asked “Does God Laugh at Our Resolutions?”  Now in part 2, I look at “Christian Resolutions.”  It starts:

I’m tempted to write a satire called Christian New Year’s Resolutions.  It would go something like this:

  1. Pray without ceasing.  Ever.
  2. Don’t watch secular television.
  3. Become a physically fit Proverbs 31 woman.
  4. Read the bible every day and nothing besides it.
  5. Go to church every Sunday.

Is there such a thing as Christian New Year’s Resolutions?

You can read the rest on Burnside.

I started to have some self-doubt about my writing–this piece included but writing in general–and I’m so encouraged by the comments I received on this article.

Larry Shallenberger, author of the books Divine Intention: How God’s Work in the Early Church Empowers Us Today and Lead the Way God Made You, said, “If there were a “like” button, I’d have pushed it.”

Diane Nienhuis, a Burnside writer and food blogger whom I met at the Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin College (she picked me up at the airport, she’s so sweet!), wrote, “Well said, Stephanie! Beautiful!”  She also shared some of her own resolutions.

Michael D. Bobo, who tackles a highly controversial work of art in his thought-provoking piece “Ants on a Crucifix,” currently featured on Burnside, and as it turns out writes the Claremont Christianity Examiner, which is in the California town where I went to undergrad (small world!), said, “Thanks Steph for getting us back to the basics in 2011.”

And, my editor, Jordan Green, said, “This is tremendous, as if that would be a surprise coming from Stephanie.”  Wow.  Jordan recently cowrote the book Besides the Bible: 100 Books that Have, Should, or Will Create Christian Culture and just wrote what is probably the most thorough review of the new IFC show Portlandia there is.  Incidentally, I once met Jordan in Portland.  (We did not Kombucha tea.) (PS. Check back here tomorrow for a bit of trivia on the Greek influence on Portlandia.)

Anyway, the reason I mention all this is two-fold:::

1.  To show my appreciate for the comments I received, I wanted to promote what all these other talented writers are doing.  Check out their links.  Buy their books.  Leave nice comments for them.  They deserve it.

2.  To encourage writers who struggle with self-doubt.  As I mentioned, I was plagued by insecurity and almost deleted the article.  Sometimes my writing is bad.  That’s the way it goes some days.  But sometimes, and I suspect this is true for other writers as well, my writing isn’t as horrible as I imagine it to be.  Sometimes, it might even resonate with someone.  And that’s why I write.

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Writing Wednesday: Making the Most Out of My Writing MFA, Spring 2011 Semester

19 Jan

Winter break’s coming to a close, and I’m getting ready to enter my second semester of the MFA program.  I really want to get the most I can out of this semester.  Unfortunately, it seems like knowing how to get the most out of anything doesn’t usually happen until after the fact, when it’s too late, so I’ve compiled a list of tips from other writers.

While a lot of articles seem to suggest MFA students go into debt for the sake of writing, I’ve chosen to work full time in addition to doing the MFA full time.  I’m the type of person that thrives under deadlines, and if I weren’t working that wouldn’t mean that I was spending eight hours a day writing.  For me, it’s better to carve out special moments for writing.  That could mean during my lunch hour or on a night I don’t have class.  Often, it means most of Sunday.  I think, though, the greater point here is to make a practice out of writing.  Don’t keep putting it off.  Schedule specific times to write and don’t let other events (or Burn Notice–btw, check out author Tod Golderg’s blog) get in the way.

The tip in these articles about submitting struck home for me.  While I’ve always been pretty good at finding places to publish my work online, I haven’t always been as selective as I should.  One of my goals for this upcoming semester is to submit to a literary magazine.

Finding a mentor is probably the most important goal of mine for this semester.  Last semester’s workshops gave me valuable feedback that I’ve been able to work into my rewrite, but I could use some one-on-one time to really talk through some of the issues in my work.  I need to talk with someone who understands the type of writing I do and has suggestions for ways to improve my writing and where I should be publishing.

Those are my top MFA-related goals for the semester.  What are your writing goals for winter 2011?

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Blogging Resolutions

10 Jan

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to start a blog focusing on my writing.  Resolution accomplished!

It doesn’t end there, though, does it?

Much like eating healthy, exercising, and flossing, blogging and writing are habits that need to be ongoing.  That’s why it helps to set some concrete and tangible goals.

Here are my blogging goals:::

1.  Blog about writing at least once  a month.

2.  Blog about Greek identity, Greek culture, or Greece at least once a month.

3.  Update blog whenever I publish a new article elsewhere.

As I continue to think about my writing resolutions, I may need to develop a list of publishing goals as well, as writing and publishing are two separate beasts.

For now, though, it helps just to put down a few simple goals to get me started on the right track.  I plan to fine tune these goals and reevaluate them on a monthly, if not a weekly, basis.  Setting goals with time lines helps me actually achieve them as opposed to just thinking and dreaming about all my projects.

Perhaps I’ll write in next month about the progress of my resolutions.  Feel free to keep me accountable!

What are your writing resolutions?

Happy New Year! Happy New Blog!

4 Jan

Happy New Year!  Καλή χρονιά!  I suppose it’s rather cliche to start a blog in the new year, but I’ve been talking about doing this for a while and a new year seems to have given me the impetus I needed.  Let me tell you a little about why I’m blogging and what you’ll find here.

I’m looking forward to sharing my journey as a writer and editor with you.  I’m currently working on a few different projects.  One of the ones I’m most excited about sharing with you is my memoir about growing up Greek-American.  Whether you’re Greek, Greek-American, a hellenophile, or interested in cross-cultural exchange of any sort, you’ll hopefully find my upcoming project interesting and informative.  As this blog gets underway, I’ll collect inspiring quotes by Greek writers and philosophers, let you know about upcoming Greek events and news, and share some memories with you that might just fall under the category of embarrassing.

Having worked as a professional writer and editor for over ten years now, I also have a multitude of other interesting projects I’m involved with.  Feel free to check out the clips section to sample previous articles on such obsessions as the Beat Generation, The Hold Steady, traveling, and visual arts.  Whenever I publish something new, I’ll be sure to share the news with you in the blog.

I also hope this blog will be encouraging and useful for fellow writers and those interested in the writing process.  You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at what I’m thinking about as I write.  Some of the entries will deal with the practical issues of style and substance and other entries will mean to inspire, support, and create a community of writers and readers.

Please feel free to leave your thoughts and questions for me, about what I’m writing, and about the writing life in the comments section.  I’d love to hear what you’re writing and reading too!

Looking forward experiencing 2011 with you!

Luv ya heaps,

Stephanie

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