Revision

I believe more in the scissors than I do in the pencil.


--Truman Capote


I think I agree with this quote. I find that when I write, the first few paragraphs, or lines or even pages tend to be me getting warmed up. If you revise properly, you should be able to cut away a lot of the fluff and "warmup writing" and get down the the real meat of what you're trying to get at. I think a lot of writers can benefit from cutting away everything that is not vital to the story or message of their writing.

Revision should really be a "re-seeing," not just changing a few words or a few commas. I always try to second guess and question everything in my writing when I really revise, though sometimes I leave it to the eleventh hour and I only have time to change a few major issues.

I always take into account comments from my peers and professors, and they can be very helpful, but I think it is incredibly important to take your writing in the direction YOU want it to go. I wouldn't change a piece of writing just to get an "A" on it. Fortunately, most professors grade revisions based on how much effort you put in, and not how much they actually like the piece.

I think I like revising better than actually writing something for the first time. I like making discoveries about my own work, and realizing things about characters and plot lines that I never meant to happen when I sat down to write the original.

So, there you have it, my thoughts on revision. I can't wait to read what others of you have written!

<3 always,
Heather

Storytelling

The five most important stories to tell:
the story of my parents before my birth
the story of my childhood
the story of my relationship/a first relationship/abuse
a story about psychiatric disease
a story about finding passion in an unexpected place

Stories from the past three days:
Rooney, the drunk who always gets a yogurt covered cupcake
My lit teacher's freakout last week
How Kristine finally fired the girl who stole 30 bucks from the register
The story about the crazy kid's obsession with the poem shaped like a hand
The time the homeless guy shit all over the bathroom walls at work and Alex had to clean it
The story about Alex hating his new job
The history of the Italian mafia
The history of Jersey Mike's sub shop
The story of my aunt's abusive ex-husband
The storybod my cousins from Westfield and how they taught me all the things my parents tried to hide about the world

A Love Poem

In honor of Valentine's Day, here is a love poem I've drafted for my poetry writing seminar.

I had too much to drink.

I lost count at the tenth buttery nipple.

Emerald's Corner,

floors covered with

years of spilled beer and ranch dressing

grab at sneaker soles,

they grab harder at knees and elbows.

After I blacked out,

you held my weight,

all one hundred forty pounds.

I made it out without a scratch--

woke up the next morning

in a puddle of cold piss.

I squeeze my eyes shut,

hoping I'm dreaming.

The stench of ammonia

tells me this is real.

I roll over quietly--

please please please

don't wake up--

but there you are.

honey colored,

eyes wide open,

covered in my drunk piss,

smiling.

<3 always,

Heather

Edgar Allan Poe

 When I was a little kid, my mother used to read me Poe before bedtime.  I only ever had nightmares after she read me "The Tell-tale Heart."  As an adult, I decided to look back and re-read those stories from my childhood, and I fell in love with Poe all over again.  I also realized how NOT child friendly his stories are...I wonder what possessed my mom to read them as bedtime stories.  Anyway, here is the like to the Poe museum, which has a biography, selected works and so-on.  One of my favorite poems by Edgar Allan Poe is "Sonnet: To Science," which isn't on the Poe Museum website so here is the link to that poem.

I look forward to reading what everybody else has listed as their faves.  Enjoy the day off!


<3 always,
Heather