Just to Say Hi

Hi everyone,

iggi and I have been pondering something.  See, every so often, we come up with wild and crazy ideas like DIY MFA and other cool stuff and we want to give our loyal readers a preview before we make it public on the site.

Or sometimes we're thinking something could be a good idea but we want to test the waters and see if there's interest before announcing it to the whole world.  We need the eyes and ears of our trusted readers to give input.

Or sometimes we just have fun news to share and we want to get the word out to all our online friends.

To that end, I've set up a little sign-up form in the about tab and if you don't mind sharing your email and twitter name, iggi and I would love to have you on our contact list.

And don't worry, iggi and I don't spam and we will only email the whole list if it's something REALLY important.  Also we will never, EVER share your emails with any person or group.

And of course, iggi and I LOVE to hear from you so feel free to email or tweet and share your thoughts.  Or just say "Hi."  Whatever you like.

Fitness for Writers by Missy Groeger

Today's post is by Missy Groeger, my good friend and fitness guru.  She's a personal trainer at New York City's Reebok Gym and has a background in nutrition as well as fitness.  A workout machine, Missy has participated in several fitness competitions, including Nationals.  Lately, I had been tossing around ideas on how to add a fitness component to DIY MFA and I KNEW I would have to ask Missy her advice.  Here follows Missy's customized workout and fitness session, specially designed for writers who spend most of their time sitting at their computers.

Foam Rolling:

Foam rolling helps break up adhesions from everyday wear and tear.  It is like getting a massage.  The action of foam rolling helps so you can use the muscle to its maximum extensibility and decrease chances of pulling a muscle and also reduce soreness!  (You can find foam rolls at fitness stores like Sports Authority and they come in a variety of lengths for easy storage.)

Roll over points at which you feel the most pressure and hold for 20-30 seconds.  Repeat 2-3 times.

Calves

Lower Back

Shoulder

Upper Back

 

Stretches for Major Muscle Groups:

There are many benefits of stretching.  It reduces muscle tension, increases range of motion in the joints, enhances muscle coordination, and increases circulation, which raises your energy level.  The following stretches are good for your hamstrings, lower back and hips, areas crucial for writers to stretch since you spend so much time seated.

Basic Strengthening Exercises:

(Do 3 sets of 15-20 Repetitions per exercise)

Lunges

Push-ups

Squats

Superman (hold for 30-60 seconds)

Plank (hold for 30-60 seconds)

Side Lunge

Five things to keep in mind:

1.     STRETCH
2.     Work Large muscle groups
3.     Sit up straight at your desk/computer
4.     Get rest!!  Your muscles need time to repair themselves
5.     Eat regular smaller meals

Going it Alone

As a writer, at some point you're going to find yourself alone.  Maybe it's because a deadline has got you shut up in your house for days, weeks, months even.  Maybe it's because you're just not ready to share your work even with your most trusted readers.  Maybe it's because you feel your work is fragile right now and you have to protect it from interlopers.  Whatever the reason, you and your work will become each others best company, so you'd better get along.

This is why I love this tree in the picture.  It's a lone cypress tree just of the coast of the Pebble Beach golf course in CA.  It's the only thing of green on that rock and yet it holds on with such tenacity.  It stands there, daring the world to get in its way: proud, tall, and alone.

Sometimes as writers we have to be the tree.  When people say "you can't grow there, it's a big rock" we just have to dig our roots in wherever they'll squeeze and show those doubtful meddlers we can grow.  When people say "you're all alone, a freak, an outsider" we just shrug, look out at the ocean and remember that while we might be alone, we've got the best view on the planet.

When it comes to writing, community isn't just about knowing when to connect with people, it's about knowing when you need to go to that room of your own and close the door.  When nurturing a small sprig of story, we can't let everyone water the plant or it will drown.  New ideas are fragile and can get easily squashed if not protected.

Julia Cameron calls this "containment" and I agree.  I've made the mistake in the past of letting too many writers and non-writers into my "circle of trust" and subsequently stories have been pulled in every old which-way and got torn to pieces.  Now I have a smaller circle of trust.  One person reads my rough drafts and pushes me forward, five readers form a critique group that reads more polished work and one reader is my go-to person for career stuff and big-picture notes on my work.  The rest of the time, my best company is me, myself and I.

What about you?  Are you comfortable going it alone sometimes?

Love of Literature Check-In

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Today I thought I'd do a Love of Literature check-in post to see how everyone's doing with their DIY MFA literature study.

What's on the bedside table?  What are you reading these days?  Right now, I'm flying through a bunch of verse novels: Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff, and Witness and Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse.

How's the reading list coming?  Back in September we talked about building a reading list.  It took me a while to put together a reading list and it's constantly changing, but at least having a general list helps me stay focused.  What about you?  How's your list looking?  Checked off any books yet?

The "Big Paper":  Last time we talked about the idea of writing a big literature paper, we discussed two different approaches to talking about a body of literature: author study and thematic study.  Have you chosen which paper you'd want to write (or at least outline?)  That's the first step.

Step 2--Topic:  For the next step, you need to decide on a topic you want to cover and start thinking about what argument you want to prove in your paper.  To give you an idea of papers I've written in the past, one was an author study where I discussed mother-daughter relationships in 4 different books by the same author.  For another class, I talked about books as a means of creating an experience for the reader and discussed various different books by different authors, books that create experiences in different ways.

Step 3--Making Your Point: Remember, the main purpose of writing a "big paper" is because you have something to say about the literature, some point you want to make for the reader.  The most important part of writing a "big paper" is coming up with this central argument and then using the literature to prove your point, in much the same way as a lawyer uses evidence to prove his case in court.  Some teachers call this step "Formulating your Thesis" but I prefer to say "Stating your Case" or "Making your Point."  Thesis sounds big and scary, and frankly, not everybody knows what a thesis statement is supposed to be.  But if we say this step is like making a point about the literature and then using books to prove our case... I don't know about you, but it makes a whole lot more sense in my brain.

So the next two steps for a "big paper" are thinking about what topic you want to address and then deciding what point you want to make about the literature.  Here are some examples:

• Topic: Mother-daughter relationships in books by Carolyn Mackler
  Point: In all the books, the daughter finds a unique way to break away from the mother and assert her independence, but how the daughter chooses to do this is inextricably linked to the daughter's personality and identity.
  
• Topic: Books as Experience
  Point: Some authors have chosen to stretch the very meaning of the concept “book.”  In these books, the interaction between the book and the reader is intricately designed by the author.  In doing so, these authors redefine what it means to “read” and push the reader to adopt a specific role in relation to the book, thus creating a unique reading experience.  As we examine the techniques and implications of designing a book-as-experience, we will discover that form must indeed follow function—or in this case, story.

So tell me, how's your literature study coming along?  Read anything good lately?

Radio Silence

Dear friends,

I realize that I've been a bit absent the last two and a half days and I wanted to let you all know that I'm still here and still have plans to continue my writing projects!

Here's what's been going on.  First the embarrassing.  On Monday I injured my right thumb, you know with all that hitchhiking I do when I'm not writing.  Anyway, I spent the week hopped up on ibuprophen and my right hand was out of commission, which made it hard to write.  I couldn't get a doctor's appointment until this morning and that was precisely when my thumb magically healed itself.  Feeling like a total idiot, I went to the doctor anyway and learned that there was nothing wrong with my thumb.  Never was.  The most that must have happened was that I flailed around in my sleep and banged it somehow.  I felt like a world-class moron.

But it wasn't just the thumb that hindered my posting this week.  Truth is, I have a big deadline coming up and I've had to focus all my writing energy on it.  That said, this deadline will soon have passed and I'll be back to my frequent posting schedule as soon as I can.

Finally, this fall has been a time of some big life decisions.  I can't share specifics just yet, but anyone of you who's ever had to make a BIG decision knows how it can take over your brain.  That's what's happened to me.

In the end, I just wanted to write a quick something to let you all know that yes I'm still here and I will continue to post.  But for the next week or so, it just won't be as frequent as I promised.  I miss you guys and can't wait to be back full-swing.

A New Leaf

Today is my first non-DIY MFA blog post in over a month.  Part of me is still feeling a bit of withdrawal from the September extrabloganza but part of me is relieved too.  Here are some things I learned from this month-long blogging project (and I think they relate to writing in general too).

1) Blogging every single day with no breaks is hard, but totally worth it.  Don't get me wrong, it was totally worth it and a lot of fun too, but it was still a challenge.  A worthy challenge, sure, but still a challenge.

2) Planning makes all the difference, but over-planning can kill creativity.  During September, I had a plan for each post I was going to write and when I would post it.  I wrote the posts usually the weekend before they were due to go up and programmed them to go live at the right time.  This was all well and good, but it did take some of the spontaneity out of the writing so the trick was finding a balance between over-planning and planning just enough.

3) I can do it.  I know this one sounds like a no-brainer, but before September I had no clue if I had a project like this in me and if I could sustain the writing for a whole month, every day, no breaks.  Part of the reason I decided to embark on this project in the first place was to prove to myself that I could do it.  Now, when I start to doubt myself--"Can I really finish this novel?"--I'll just remember September and remind myself that if I could do this project, I can tackle a novel too.

4) Having a topic you believe in makes all the difference.  Having readers who also believe in your topic is even better.  Excitement is contagious.  No matter how excited one person is about a project, the level of motivation will only go up if you put him or her together with equally motivated people.  You guys are a big part of the reason why I made it through this project.  Without your enthusiasm and great comments, it would've been really tough.

5) I still have a lot of DIY MFA to share so it's not over yet!  Though September is behind us and I've covered the basics of DIY MFA, there are still plenty of topics to share.  Here's my plan for this blog going forward:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday: I'll continue writing about DIY MFA and topics relating to it (like craft or literature), though I won't separate topics according to day like I did with the DIY MFA "classes".  Every so often, I'll do a Monday-Friday week-long series on one topic (and I'll try to announce when those are coming so you'll know to check back during that week).  For the most part, though, I'll be posting more organically, as topics come to me.

Tuesday/Thursday: These will be my "wild card" days when I'll post things that strike me more spontaneously, though writing and creativity will usually be central to the topic at hand, I may branch out to other topics those days as well.  I also may occasionally give myself a day off on a Tues. or Thurs.

Saturday/Sunday: iggi and I will take a much-needed weekend break so we can come up with new and exciting blog posts for the following week.

Sound like fun?  I hope so.  I'm a little nervous about abandoning the DIY MFA structure but I think this plan will work nicely and if it doesn't I'll change things up.  Of course, if I do decide to change things on you, I'll make sure to let you know.

Blog Party!

Welcome to the last part of the iggi U celebration!  Starting today iggi and I are hosting a weekend-long blog party here on this blog.

What's a blog party, you ask?  It's a chance for you to share your blog with the rest of iggi U and also a chance for you all to find new exciting blogs to follow.

Sounds like fun?  Here's how it works:

• Be a follower here at iggi&gabi.
• Leave a comment on this post, sharing your blog info and telling us a little about what you blog about.  Also tell us what iggi-licious yummies you plan to bring to the party!
• Invite some friends and spread the word.
• Visit at least 3 new blogs over the weekend and leave comments.  Follow those blogs if you like.
• I'll check the comments throughout the weekend, visit as many blogs as I can and follow them if I'm not already following.

So come on in, enjoy the weather (it's always sunny at iggi U) and meet some fellow bloggers and writers.

As for what iggi-licious treats I'm bringing, I've made iggi's favorite: Brazilian chocolate truffles called brigadeiros.