tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post116300971772869841..comments2023-07-20T08:35:44.681-07:00Comments on A person named Eunice: AML Writers ConferenceDarlenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02390374931911258822noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163432356470499972006-11-13T07:39:00.000-08:002006-11-13T07:39:00.000-08:00South Jordan, about 1/2 hour north of UVSC (unless...South Jordan, about 1/2 hour north of UVSC (unless it's game day).Darlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02390374931911258822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163349814978815402006-11-12T08:43:00.000-08:002006-11-12T08:43:00.000-08:00WOW! What a generous offer! I might just take you ...WOW! What a generous offer! I might just take you up on that one day.<BR/><BR/>Are you in S.L. or Utah Valley?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163272563195806672006-11-11T11:16:00.000-08:002006-11-11T11:16:00.000-08:00Sharlee: Thanks. But it doesn't touch yours for q...Sharlee: Thanks. But it doesn't touch yours for quality. You are a master ("Oh wicked world").<BR/><BR/>Patricia: Well, I suppose you can be forgiven. (Without the phone going out, you would have been cutting it close, though. A fire alone won't do it.) I did miss seeing you, though. I hope your daughter is doing better.<BR/><BR/>And, to Patricia and anyone else who lives out of town but longs to attend an AML shindig, I say this:<BR/><BR/>I bought this big house SPECIFICALLY so that I could entice people to come visit us and stay in our spare room (with queen-sized bed AND bathroom to yourself).<BR/><BR/>So, Patricia, next time come up and stay with me.Darlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02390374931911258822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163196814260573842006-11-10T14:13:00.000-08:002006-11-10T14:13:00.000-08:00Hi Darlene,Just dropping by to say I appreciate yo...Hi Darlene,<BR/><BR/>Just dropping by to say I appreciate your posting on the AML conference and apologize for not making it. I had looked forward to it for months. I registered but then experienced a series of unfortunate events: disabled daughter hit a rough patch, our phone and Internet service went out (not much to choose from where we live--service providers have their way with us), and finally, Thursday afternoon, while I was debating whether I dare drive 250 miles away from family when I wouldn't be able to contact them to find out how things were going, my 9-yr-old started a house fire by tossing an afghan over a space heater. I beat the fire out, but the adrenaline rush poisoned me for days! Just seemed too risky to drive off. I moped all weekend. In fact, I'm still moping. <BR/><BR/>So may I please be excused and forgiven? I am now looking forward to the Feb/Mar meeting and hoping fate does not conspire against me as it did last week.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163194127909553562006-11-10T13:28:00.000-08:002006-11-10T13:28:00.000-08:00I was deeply moved by your poem, Darlene. (wiping ...I was deeply moved by your poem, Darlene. (wiping away a tear)<BR/><BR/>Why don't you give up that other stuff you write and take up sentimental, didactic poetry full time? Hey, I even know of this great new online magazine where you can submit it! :-)<BR/><BR/>Wonderful overview of the conference. Thanks.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163177745408434052006-11-10T08:55:00.000-08:002006-11-10T08:55:00.000-08:00Wow, Stephen, thanks for some fantastic insights. ...Wow, Stephen, thanks for some fantastic insights. I really feel the truth of what you've said here. It's that being willing to leave questions unanswered that is so difficult but which is the key to a good and non-manipulative essay. The difficulty is finding a way to make the essay feel finished, feel as if it has said something, while leaving the most important thing unsaid. <BR/><BR/>I really like the idea of juxtaposing things and letting the reader insert the third thing. Another example of preserving the reader's agency--and another proof that writing is RISKY, and that to eliminate all risk in my writing would be to squelch it. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for your insights.Darlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02390374931911258822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163176805067214772006-11-10T08:40:00.000-08:002006-11-10T08:40:00.000-08:00Hi Darlene,You asked:"how does an essayist create ...Hi Darlene,<BR/><BR/>You asked:<BR/><BR/>"how does an essayist create order out of experience in the crafting of the essay without attempting to create order for the reader? I can’t figure out how to structure an essay, how to really make it go somewhere or make some kind of point, without it feeling didactic and manipulative."<BR/><BR/>This is something I struggled with for years while I was pursuing my MFA. I think one of the main things that makes it so hard for Mormons to figure out how to write non-didactic stuff is because didacticism is pretty much the only thing we're exposed to.<BR/><BR/>This is what I started to figure out. First, my work needs time. The way I usually compile essays is by writing down narrative versions of important times, or unimportant, whatever strikes me. I keep the ones with similar themes in the same document hoping they'll come together someday. Then I let time pass. I let things fement. I don't try to rush the essay. And finally one day, I see a connection that brings everything together. Then i have to work. Which stinks. But I do it.<BR/><BR/>Second: I learned from Gene England that the best writing is that which can draw maximum tension between contraries. So far it has worked for me to, instead of resolve contraries in my essays, to stretch their tension as tautly as possible. The resolution of the tension is a question, or a launching pad. I want the end of the essay to launch the reader into his/her own thoughts.<BR/><BR/>The most recent essay where I tried to do this is online at: <BR/><BR/>http://sunstoneonline.com/magazine/issues/142/50-54.pdf<BR/><BR/>It's kind of funny, but I'm struggling with an essay right now that doesn't want to end with a question - the heretical little thing.<BR/><BR/>Third thing: I quit taking myself so seriously. I finally came to the conclusion that the way I looked at the world had no claim on anyone else. This was difficult for me to achieve because of my Mormon idea that when we preach the truth other people are bound to obey or stand condemned. This idea is bad for the kind of essayist I am. It's essential that I openly acknowledge just how subjective what I'm writing really is. Essays are not a way of establishing truth or convicting the guilty. An essay is only one story of many that you draw out and perfect.<BR/><BR/>One idea that really helped me in my work was Eisenstein's theory of montage. His idea is bascially that when you juxtapose two pictures of different things, you can bring up a third idea in the viewer's mind. For example, a picture of a book in a bookstore window, and a picture of a man reaching into his pocket. The idea that comes up is, the man wants to buy the book.<BR/><BR/>This has been a helpful structure for my essays. I carefully put sections or paragraphs, or sentences, side by side that point to a third idea. An idea not directly expressed in the essay. <BR/><BR/>I think Gene England wrote an essay on that too once. That the best art points at the divine, rather than tries to embody it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163173594136127352006-11-10T07:46:00.000-08:002006-11-10T07:46:00.000-08:00Angela,I was glad there were two of us. Mob mental...Angela,<BR/><BR/>I was glad there were two of us. Mob mentality, you know.<BR/><BR/>And . . . that wasn't Scott's wife acting with him. His wife is very nice, though, and worth knowing. My guess is you might meet her if you come to Scott's reading at my house on Saturday night.Darlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02390374931911258822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163135311745610442006-11-09T21:08:00.000-08:002006-11-09T21:08:00.000-08:00Hey Darlene! I found this even though the address...Hey Darlene! I found this even though the address you posted on the AML list had misspelled "Eunice" and didn't include "blogger" -- but I'd been here once before and figured it out. Loved your analysis, your insight, your honesty . . . and the fact that you refrained from mentioning the reason the whole DB/publishing conversation got rolling at lunch was because I recognized the woman's name as the one who'd recently signed my rejection letter. Ha! One of the highlights of my day, actually, that whole conversation. We had DB cornered, at least for a good 15 minutes!! So I loved that AND the churros. And Tessa's session, too, and watching Scott and his wife act. I've always wanted to be an actor as well. Writers want to be actors, actors want to be rock stars, rock stars, well . . . seems to me they're usually pretty happy being rock stars. I wonder if rock stars have conferences, and, if so, are they well attended?<BR/><BR/>I hope that anybody out there who didn't come and reads this decides to come next time. It's so worth it! And thanks to Darlene and the AML board and a big BIG thanks to Kathleen Dalton-Woodbury--the quintessential woman behind the curtain--for pulling the whole thing off. I loved it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163131631755963512006-11-09T20:07:00.000-08:002006-11-09T20:07:00.000-08:00Jen: I wish you could have too, Eternal Roomie. Yo...Jen: I wish you could have too, Eternal Roomie. You would have liked the churro. Oh, and the literary offerings as well. Why oh why don't you move to Utah?<BR/><BR/>Scott: Yep, I got the same enigmatic smile as you did.<BR/><BR/>Marj: Uh . . . hope it's OK that I did that. It is, isn't it?<BR/><BR/>Chris: I knew you were just joking around. But someone else commented to me that day that you mention spiciness every time you talk about your offerings. (And she was confused.) I know your point--but consider that NOT ALL of your offerings will be spicy necessarily (or maybe they will?). And a lot of people will go for "challenging" but not "spicy." I'm probably one of them, at least to an extent. So I think it would be worthwhile for you to make efforts not to get your label categorized in people's minds that way. You don't need to limit your audience. Experienced readers know how to pick and choose, but if they think the whole label is that way, they might not bother. Just a thought. (I am SOOOO rooting for you--can you tell?)<BR/><BR/>Just waiting for you to open the door to poetry.<BR/><BR/>Yeah, I know. Lost cause. (Sigh.)Darlenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02390374931911258822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163125369882171772006-11-09T18:22:00.000-08:002006-11-09T18:22:00.000-08:00Jeez, I was really just trying to joke around when...Jeez, I was really just trying to joke around when I said the bit about Zarahemla being more open to sex and swearing and I thought I backpedaled nicely from it, but it didn't go over well, did it...Christopher Bigelowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01417741940958662788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163116986610770222006-11-09T16:03:00.000-08:002006-11-09T16:03:00.000-08:00Hey, look! I'm on your side bar. That made me fe...Hey, look! I'm on your side bar. That made me feel special. Thanks!Marjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13437069864888330124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163025470976874272006-11-08T14:37:00.000-08:002006-11-08T14:37:00.000-08:00On the subject of DB stepping up to the plate with...On the subject of DB stepping up to the plate with some more challenging publications: I once asked Cory Maxwell (when he was still managing editor at Bookcraft before Bookcraft was bought by DB and he became a DB VP), "Don't you think you guys have built up enough consumer trust that you could publish a more difficult book and get people to buy it simply by telling them--in some special marketing strategy--you think they should buy it?" Cory said, "Yeah, probably." "Then why don't you do it?" He smiled enigmatically. I interpreted that to mean, If I could I would but I can't. I guess these things are decided further up the chain.<BR/><BR/>scottAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23774671.post-1163024593389955902006-11-08T14:23:00.000-08:002006-11-08T14:23:00.000-08:00Sounds so fun. Wish I could've been there.Sounds so fun. Wish I could've been there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com