A Philosophy of Art

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 30) Response

Reposted from My College Writings (c) 2014.

The average person does not know that they have a philosophy of art until they are asked to state their philosophy.  Often times, their philosophy of art is discovered through the eyes, ears, heart, and soul of a person who does not fully understand philosophy or art, but through some discovery, they can ascertain their philosophy of art.  By understanding what art is, where it begins, making it real through the human experience and emotions, and forming an aesthetic opinion, one can develop a philosophy of art.  This process will be explored fully in this paper.

As one begins to define their philosophy of art, they must begin by defining the words philosophy, art, and the phrase philosophy of art.  The word philosophy means “love of wisdom,” (Kemerly).  The word art can be harder to define.  In his essay, “On Art,” Leo Tolstoy states, “I think it would be useful, first, to separate what really is art from what has no right to that name; and secondly, taking what is really art, to distinguish what is important and good from what is insignificant and bad,” (Tolstoy 1).  He further suggests that the subject matter of the art should be something meaningful, imperative to mankind, favorable, righteous, and enlightening.  He also states that art should be beautiful and interpret life as it really is.  Using what Tolstoy reveals in his essay, a definition of art becomes clear.  Art is a meaningful work that is beautiful, enlightening, motivational, helpful, and inspirational to mankind; it must also be true to reality.  Philosophy of Art can then be defined.  It is the study of how art is created, how art affects and relates to mankind, and how art makes a person feel.  It is with this designation in mind that one can discover their personal philosophy of art.

R. G. Collingwood wrote that art begins in the mind of the artist.  This is true.  The artist gets an idea, whether from a divine source, the unconscious mind, or from the air.  Collingwood suggests two theories as to where ideas come from.  “The first alternative, that the artist’s activity is controlled by some divine or at least spiritual being that uses him as its mouthpiece…,” (Collingwood 1).  He does submit that this notion is outdated, but it is worth listening to the theory.  “The second alternative, that the artist’s work is controlled by forces which, though part of his mind, are not voluntary and not conscious, but work in some mental cellar unseen and unbidden by the dwellers in the house above…,” (1).  He acknowledges that this theory is favored by psychologists more than by artists.

An artist first creates the work of art in their mind, creating what Collingwood calls an “imaginary thing.”  He states that this is the true version of the work of art.  He states, “A work of art may be completely created when it has been created as a thing whose only place is in the artist’s mind,” (3).  In essence, he is saying that the artist does not have to publish the work that is in their head.  They do not need to make it a “real thing.”  In order for the work of art to be useful to mankind, the work of art must be made real and physical.  It must exist in the real world for mankind to enjoy it.  Art must be made and created using various raw materials available that will best portray what is in the artist’s mind.  Martin Heidegger writes, “The nature of art would then be this:  the truth of beings setting itself to work,” (Heidegger 3).  The reality of the work of art is important.  As the work of art is made physical and can be seen by others, it becomes a work of art that can help, inspire, and influence mankind.  Its beauty can be seen and appreciated by all who view it.  Heidegger writes, “Art is real in the art work,” (5).  After a work of art is a physical entity, mankind can enjoy and appreciate it.

Most forms of art are visual.  Most forms are seen through the eyes.  Plotinus writes, “Beauty is mostly in sight, but is to be found too in things we hear, in combinations of words and also in music…” (Plotinus 1).  Beauty is most often seen.  Also, most of the beauty that man acknowledges is seen.  Often, man sees beauty through the senses.  The color palette of a work of art helps to show the beauty of the work of art.  The shape and form of the work of art enhances the beauty of the work of art, as well.  The melody of music produces the beauty that is heard in music.  Plotinus illustrates this point when he writes, “the beauties in the realm of the sense, images and shadows which, so to speak, sally out and come into matter and adorn it and excite us when they appear,” (3).

Experiencing art leads to all kinds of discoveries that help, inspire, and influence mankind.  A connection must be made between the viewer and the artwork.  The viewer must have an experience when interacting with art.  There must be a human experience; one for the artist, where they share what they experienced as they created the work, and one for the viewer where they share what the artist experienced and is trying to convey to the world.  John Dewey, in his essay entitled “Art as Experience,” wrote “in order to understand the esthetic in its ultimate and approved forms, one must begin with it in the raw, in the events and scenes that hold the attentive eye and ear of man, arousing his interest and affording him enjoyment as he looks and listens,” (Dewey 2).  One must have an experience with art to appreciate it fully.  Without this experience, art is simply art for the sake of art.  There is no relation to man, if there is no human experience.  Man “senses” art.  “Sense covers a wide range of contents.  The sensory, the sensational, the sensitive, the sensible, and the sentimental, along with the sensuous,” (11).  This sense encompasses many things such as physical reactions to emotional reactions.  Each sense is experienced in a real way in life by mankind because life is experienced through mankind’s bodily senses, sight, sound, taste, smell, touch, along with other non-traditional senses, such as temperature, kinesthetic, and pain.  These bodily senses lend themselves to mankind’s appreciation of art.  “Art is thus prefigured in the very processes of living,” (13).  Art shows mankind’s ability to use what he has available to him to create great works of art that will be beneficial to all of mankind.  “Art is living and concrete proof that man is capable of restoring consciously, and thus on the plane of meanings, the union of sense, need, impulse, and action characteristic of the live creature.  The intervention of consciousness adds regulation, power of selection, and redisposition.  Thus it varies the arts in ways without end.  But its intervention also leads in time to the idea of art as a conscious idea – the greatest achievement in the history of humanity,” (13).  Using the senses, mankind can have an emotional experience with art.

The beginning of all practices of aesthetics is one’s personal experience with distinctive emotions.  Works of art produce distinctive emotions.  Each work of art produces a different emotion.  The emotion produced by art is called “aesthetic emotion.”  Aesthetic emotion is examined in Clive Bell’s essay entitled “The Aesthetic Hypothesis.”  He writes, “There is a particular kind of emotion provoked by works of visual art, and that this emotion is provoked by every kind of visual art, by pictures, sculptures, buildings, pots, carvings, textiles, etc., etc., is not disputed, I think, by anyone capable of feeling it.  This emotion is called the aesthetic emotion,” (Bell 2).  The elements that provoke the aesthetic emotion are different with each person.  “Aesthetic judgements are, as the saying goes, matters of tastes; and about tastes, as everyone is proud to admit, there is no disputing,” (2).  Each individual must experience an emotion when viewing art; Bell suggests that it is an aesthetic emotion, whether there is such a thing as an aesthetic emotion or not, an emotion must be felt.  There is no clear-cut definition of the aesthetic emotion other than it is an emotion that is felt while viewing art.  This can be confusing and lead to a person feeling as if they possess no aesthetic judgment; but if that person experiences an emotion of any kind, it can be implied that they experienced an aesthetic emotion.  As emotion is felt by viewing art, beauty is recognized by the soul.

Plotinus proposes that the soul comprehends, identifies, and receives beauty.  The soul possesses the capacity to perceive beauty.  The soul can perceive beauty because it is touched by beauty itself.  While the soul recognizes beauty, it also recognizes ugliness.  “But when it [the soul] encounters the ugly it shrinks back and rejects it and turns away from it and is out of tune and alienated from it,” (Plotinus 2).  The soul of an individual is greatly affected by the beauty of art.  Since one’s emotional nature lies in their soul, it stands to reason that their soul must be affected by art.  The soul must be taught to see the beautiful aspects of life; then the soul must be taught how to see the beautiful works of art created by man.  By learning to see beauty through the soul, a person can have an amazing human experience with art.  Mankind can also begin to understand his aesthetic viewpoint.

Each individual possesses an aesthetic viewpoint.  People must experience an aesthetic education to learn what aesthetics is as well as to discover their aesthetic viewpoint.  Freidrich Schiller discussed man’s aesthetic education in his essay entitle “On the Aesthetic Education of Man (Letters 26 & 27).”  He wanted mankind to use their feelings and emotions in their virtuous thinking through art and aesthetics.  He believed that the “aesthetic mode of the psyche” granted humans a freedom to be moral (Schiller 1).  This freedom to be moral could help an unpleasant person in their discovery of beauty.  He concluded that beauty could not develop in a person deprived of feelings and emotions.  “The germ of beauty is as little likely to develop where nature in her niggardliness deprives mankind of quickening refreshment, as where in her bounty she relieves him of any exertion – alike where sense is too blunted to feel any needs as where violence of appetite is denied satisfaction,” (1).

One’s aesthetic viewpoint is based on semblance, in particular, aesthetic semblance.  Schiller writes, “It goes without saying that the only kind of semblance I am concerned with is aesthetic semblance (which we can distinguish from actuality and truth)… To attach value to semblance of the first kind [aesthetic semblance] can never be prejudicial to truth, because one is never in danger of substituting it for truth, which is after all the only way in which truth can ever be impaired,” (2).  To disdain aesthetic semblance is to disapprove of fine arts all together.  Fine art is at the heart of semblance.  Mankind learns semblance from nature, through his eyes and ears, through the real world.  As mankind learns from nature, they develop semblance, which helps them cultivate their aesthetic viewpoint.  The more developed one’s viewpoint becomes, the more they appreciate and value art.  A developed aesthetic viewpoint leads to one discovering their philosophy of art.  Once a person has developed their philosophy of art, they can voice their opinion on art as well as judge art.

Philosophy of art, as defined in this paper is the study of how art is created, how art affects and relates to mankind, and how art makes a person feel.  Art is helpful to mankind.  Mankind needs art to help make the world a better place; therefore, artists, viewers of art, and critics are needed.  Once a person develops their philosophy of art, they will be able to help expand man’s viewpoint of art and to broaden the transcendent affluence of humanity through their discussion of art.

 

Works Cited

Bell, A. Clive H. "The Aesthetic Hypothesis." Art. New York: Chatto & Windus, 1981. 15-34. Print.

Collingwood, Robin G. "Chap. 7." The Principles of Art. Oxford: Claredon, 1938. 125-52.  Print.

Dewey, John. "Chap. 1-2." Art as Experience. New York: Perigree, 1980. 3-27. Print.

Heidegger, Martin. "The Origin of the Work of Art (Lectures 1 & 2)." Poetry, Language, Thought. Trans. A. Hofstader. New York: Harper, 1971. 32-48. Print.

Kemerling, Garth. "Philosophical Dictionary: Philia-Poincare." Philosophical Dictionary: Philia-Poincare. Garth Kemerling, 30 Dec. 2011. Web. 07 Aug. 2014.

Plotinus. "Section 6." Enneads. Trans. A. H. Armstrong. Vol. 1. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1996. 229-63. Print.

Schiller, J.C. Friedrich. "Letters 26-27." On the Aesthetic Education of Man. Trans. E. Wilkinson and L. Willoughby. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1967. 191-219. Print.

Tolstoy, Leo. "On Art." What is Art? and Essays on Art. Trans. A. Maude. London: Oxford UP, 1930. 46-61. Print.

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Ending Message)

 

I am inspired and renewed as a writer after the 30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge.

Remember... “A personal journal is an ideal environment in which to become. It is a perfect place for you to think, feel, discover, expand, remember, and dream.” Brad Wilcox

So, continue to journal your thoughts and include journaling moments from writing affirmations.

Visit https://tinyurl.com/30daysaffirmme to see the full list of affirmations and journaling moments.

I will see you next year for 30 more days of journaling affirmations.

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 30)

 

Affirmation:

Writing is my art.

Journaling Moment:

Why is writing your art?

How has your art helped you?

How has your art helped the world?

Just A Writer (Friday Feelings)

 

#fridayfeelings – simply; only; no more than

I hate it when people say, “I’m just…”  it grates my entire spirit.  They are saying, “I’m simply… I’m only… I’m no more than…”  That seems to self-defeating talk to me.

Writers should not say I am just a writer.  That is incorrect.  They MUST say, “I AM A WRITER.”  This must be said with confidence, assurance, and tenacity.

When you say I’m just a writer, you are saying that you are nothing but a writer or you are merely a writer.  This is not true.  You are more than a writer.  You are a carrier of words.  You convey messages and meanings that give people life, hope, inspiration, motivation, and assurance.

Saying I’m just a writer cheapens the craft.  Writers create worlds, people, ideas, ideals, and so much more.  Writers share their stories and those stories move people to act, change, and move.  Writers entertain, enlighten, encourage, and electrify the world.  Writers help people use their imagination so that they can escape to magical places and meet amazing people.

You are a WRITER!  You are a minister that gives life, heals souls, changes minds, and rebuilds hearts.

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 29)

 

Affirmation:

My words flow easily and beautifully.

Journaling Moment:

How do your words flow?

What is easy to write for you?

What is one thing that you have written that is beautiful?

Choose to Be Kind (Thursday Thoughts)

 

#thursdaythoughts – it starts with you and yourself

As writers, we must be kind to our readers.  We must think about our readers with intention and purpose.  We must show them kindness by respecting their time and their intellect.

Being kind begins with you as a person.  You must be kind to yourself.  You must speak positively to yourself.  When you feel good, you write good.  Then, you must be kind to yourself as a writer. You must speak well about your writing and your craft.  You are a writer; and you must tell yourself that each time you write.  Start with positivity.  Even if you are writing a hard or difficult piece, starting with a positive attitude and a positive mindset will help the writing be easier and better.

Self-talk is good.  Tell yourself you are a good writer.  Tell yourself positive affirmations.  Being in good spirits when you write is key.

Once you are kind to yourself, you can be kind to your readers.  Being kind to your readers is involved and requires dedication and diligence on your part.  At every instance of the writing process, you must keep your readers in mind, because they will read your product.

Readers are intelligent.  You do not have to “dumb it down” or tell them everything.  In novel writing, we say, “Show, don’t tell.”  What that means is do not tell readers everything.  Instead create an atmosphere with words, feelings, and emotions that will lead readers in the right direction so that they get to the correct conclusion.

Alternatively, if you need something in your text that is important, put it in there.  You insult readers’ intelligence when you do not give them every thing they need to understand what you are trying to say.  If it needs to be said, then say it.

Use your words wisely.  Be sure to use the words you are writing in a way that works best for the text and will engage your readers.  Often, writers want to show their intelligence or superiority.  That is okay, but be sure that the text requires you to do that.  There are times when you simply do not need some material in the text.  Be wise enough to know when you need to leave things out.  If you are “showing off” in your writings, readers will not like that.

Show your love for the craft.  When you write, write like you care about the art of writing.  In his book, The Art of Writing: Four Principles for Great Writing that Everyone Needs to Know, Peter Yang gives four principles of writing.

Principle one is Economy – use your words sensibly and efficiently.  Use short sentences.  Do not repeat yourself. Write with conviction. Use positive language.  Use active voice instead of passive voice.  As mentioned earlier, using your words wisely is important.

Principle two is Transparency – have a clear intention when you write.  Have an outline or a story or essay map to help guide your writing.  (Even if you are a panster, have some idea of your format before writing).  Give your writing life by being precise with your points and ideas.  Be consistent through out your writing, especially with which tenses you use.  Use concrete language instead of abstract and flowery language.  Being transparent creates honesty and respect between you and your readers.

Principle three is Variety – Do not be monotonous in the presentation of your writing.  Vary your sentence length and structure.  Vary your paragraph structure and length.  Do not use a lot of long paragraphs.  Variety makes your writing flow better, which makes reading it better.  Creating a piece of text that is easy to read engages readers and encourages them to read more of your writing.

The last principle is Harmony – Your writing must flow together in a pleasing and consistent way.  You do not want to throw your reader off and make reading the text problematic.  Use the same voice, style, spelling, structure for your writing.  Creating harmony in your writing shows the ultimate love for your craft.  This takes skill and practice to master.

To show the love for the craft, you must be detailed in your revising and editing.  Check everything more than once.  Have someone else check things for you.  Taking the time to carefully read over your work and look for errors and mistakes is vital to being a writer.  Writing is more than just putting words on the page.

Being a skilled writer requires you to be meticulous, aware, genuine, flexible, and patient.

Leave reader with hope.  No matter the subject, leave your readers with hope.  Even if you write about negative, hard, or scary subjects, leave readers with something good to think about.  Readers often read to be inspired, to be encouraged, or to get help.  Being kind to your readers is acknowledging this desire in readers.  You acknowledge this by giving them hope.  This does not mean that there has to be a “happy ending.”  It means give them something to feel good about, whether it is knowing that things work out or get better, or showing them that others have conquered, so they can conquer.

Think about the feelings you want to inspire in your readers.  Be positive as much as you can and use genuine emotions.  Remember to be helpful because your words have power.  You have the power to change people’s lives and thinking.  Use that power wisely.

Kindness begins with respect, human being to human being. -Jenny Hubbard

 

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I have affirmations for writers on my blog.

Thirty-one affirmations that you can tell yourself - http://31daywriteraffirms.iamagracefulwriter.info/

Thirty affirmations that you can journal about to help yourself understand yourself as a writer - http://30dayjournaling.iamagracefulwriter.info/

 

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 28)

 

Affirmation:

I am creative.

Journaling Moment:

How are you creative?

How does being creative help you?

How does your creativity help the world?

Praying Helps Everything

 

I love writing prayers for writers. Check them out here.

Here is an article I wrote about why writers should pray before they write.

I usually pray before I write. It is a habit that I began in the early 2000s. I have at times felt that maybe I am unable to write fiction because I am not praying enough.  But I know that is not true.  I am just in my head.  I am trying hard to get out of my head, but I cannot.

Perhaps writing prayers to help other writers will help me get inspired to write for my novel.

Adapt to Change and Change to Adapt (Wednesday Wisdom)

 

#wednesdaywisdom – oh… so you just gone change up on me!

 

Part of developing your writing style is to adapt and change.  Yes, you are developing your writing style, but there will be times when you need to change it up or adapt to a particular style.

Adapt means, “make (something) suitable for a new use or purpose; modify.” (Google.com)

Being a good writer means that you can adapt or modify your writing style to any writing task or assignment.  If you normally write fiction, but are asked to write a poem, you have to adapt your style to that of the structure of the poem.  If you generally write novels and you enter a short story contest, you have to modify your writing to still meet the needs of the story with drastically fewer words.

You can practice modifying or adapting your writing style by writing in different genres occasionally.  While I love writing novels, I write short stories based on an element of my novels from time to time.  Such as, if a character has a flaw, I may write a short story about how the flaw was developed in the character.  I write essays for my English classes all the time as sample essays to show my students what the particular essay should look like.  So, find moments to write in another genre as you develop your writing style.

Change means, “make (someone or something) different; alter or modify.” (Google.com)

Good writers have to change or alter their writing style to match writing styles when theirs does not fit the writing task or assignment.  If you are usually a funny writer, but you are writing something for religious purposes, you may have to be serious.  If you typically are a sad writer and you enter a writing contest that asks you to write about a happy moment in your life, then you will have to change your writing to be happy instead of sad.

You can practice changing or altering your writing style by writing different styles of texts.  While I love writing about life and the daily happenings of people in their lives (giving things a positive spin in the end), I write religious texts that require me focus only on what the words say and mean.  If there is no positive moment in the writing, then I do not add one.  I like to write happy things, even if there are sad moments, but I have written stories where there was no happy ending because the story did not call for a happy ending.

While you are developing your writing style, you have to remember, there may be times that you need to modify or alter your style.  That is okay.  Just remember… You can still be you, but tailor it to the writing task.

“Things change. The only thing constant is change. It’s up to you to be adaptable.” -Anonymous

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 27)

 

Affirmation:

I write every day, with confidence and enthusiasm.

Journaling Moment:

Do you write everyday? Why/Why not?

What do you need to do to write with confidence?

What do you need to do to write with enthusiasm?

Writer Versus Author (Tuesday Tips)

 

#tuesdaytips – is you is or is you ain’t a writer or author

One question that is asked in the writing Facebook groups I am in is…

What’s the Difference Between A Writer and An Author?

Another way it is asked is… At what point to I become an author instead of just a writer?

(Let me just say… I hate the phrase… “just a writer.” But that is for my Friday feelings this week.)

Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette was a French author and journalist in the early 1900s.  She said, “Put down everything that comes into your head and then you’re a writer. But an author is one who can judge his own stuff’s worth, without pity, and destroy most of it.”

This quote succinctly describes the difference between a writer and an author.  This quote reminds us that becoming an author takes effort.  Writing is defined as “the activity or skill of marking coherent words on paper and composing text,” by Google.com.  that is what Colette is suggesting.  That you as a writer, when you write what comes to your head in a composed way, you are writing.  You are putting words in sentences, then sentences in paragraphs, then paragraphs in to essays and pages.

But, being an author takes more effort.  To be an author, you must critic and scrutinize your own work for its merits, value, and worth.  You must determine if the writing is good (style, grammar, quality, and coherence and cohesiveness).  You must decide what to keep and what to delete.  What do I need, what do I not need?  You must read, reread, write, rewrite, revise, edit, revise again, and edit again.  And ultimately, you must destroy your work.

In my estimation, destroy your work means two things.  One, you must delete and remove precious words, sentences, and paragraphs that you spent your time and talent writing, but they are not needed.  You must dissect every word, sentence, and paragraph to see if it belongs on the page.  You must skillfully determine what matters for the clarity of the text.  Two, you must be so critical of your work that you almost want to throw some parts of it or most of it in the trash, even if you feel it is the best thing you ever wrote.  Leya Delray said it like this, “Editing. It’s like dieting; except a lot more violent.”

So, if you just put “coherent words on paper and compose texts,” you are a writer.

But if you want to be an author, you must go further, and judge your work.

To judge your work is to form an opinion about your work outside of writing it.  It is to take a step back and look at it as if you did not write it and you want to obliterate the work.  And, that part, is what separates the writer from the author.

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 26)

 

Affirmation:

I am responsible for my own writing destiny.

Journaling Moment:

Why are you responsible for your own writing destiny?

How are you responsible for your own writing destiny?

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 25)

 

Affirmation:

I grow stronger in my unique talents every day.

Journaling Moment:

What are your unique talents?

How do you grow your talents?

What kind of professional development do you use?

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 24)

 

Affirmation:

Creating stories or texts is where I have decided to make meaning in my life.

Journaling Moment:

Why did you decide to write?

How does writing give your life meaning?

How does writing make you feel?

Short Writer's Prayer...

  

 

Heavenly Father,

Grant me the power of revision.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 23)

 

Affirmation:

I am free to make my own choices when it comes to my writing.

Journaling Moment:

Why are you free to make your own choices in your writing?

What is one choice you have made?  Why did you make it?

What's A Writer's Notebook?

 

#fridayfeelings – I have a notebook and I write in it.

I have always kept a notebook that I jotted things in about my writing or for my writings.  I did not know it had a name until 2015 when I talk my first English 1301 class.

This was the first college class that I had ever taught.  It was a week before the class started and I had no idea what I doing.  The chair of the department gave me a copy of her syllabus and I followed it to the letter.  The syllabus discussed “The Writer’s Notebook.”  As I read this section, I realized that I had been using one all of my writing life, in some way.  For the most part, it was collections of pages of notebook papers that I kept in a binder.  But, in my late 30s and beyond, I began using a spiral.

I believe every writer should have a Writer’s Notebook, a physical one that they can hold in their hands, write in with a pen, and feel the texture of the pages.  Writing is a sensory experience where you need to get your senses involved.  The sound of the pen scratching the pages, the smell of the paper and pen as they connect, the feel of the paper as you glide you fingers across it, all of it adds to an intense experience that creates an atmosphere to be creative.

With technology, there are many apps that you can use to create notes, and I do use them, but I do not get the same experience from using those as I do with using pen and paper.  There is only the clicking of the typewriter, which if you have misophonia, it can trigger mental anguish which can cause you to stop writing or a mental block.  A quick swipe of the keypad does not lend itself to a sensory connection with what you write.  So, you usually do not remember what you wrote in the electronic note.

I believe… when you use pen and paper, your brain sends messages to your body which causes so much to happen.  Your brain tells your arm and hand to move.  Your brain tells your hand what to write.  Your hand and your fingers work in unison to hold the pen and form letters.  Your brain has to concentrate on each letter so that they are formed correctly into coherent words.  The writing creates a memory mark that you can relive from time to time.  It is an enchanting moment that creates magic for the writer.

I encourage all writers that I come in contact with to use a Writer’s Notebook.  Get a notebook and write in it.  It should be something that you can keep and reference for a lifetime, to see your growth, maturation, and discovery.

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 22)

 

Affirmation:

I matter.

Journaling Moment:

Why do you matter as a person?

Why do you matter as a writer?

Who are you as a writer?

Worth A 1,000 Words, but I Will Just Use 500 Words (Thursday Thoughts)

 

#thursdaythoughts – but it’s a picture

Once during NaNoWriMo, I posted an update to a Facebook Group I was in and said, “I didn’t write anything today, but I created quite a few images for NaNoWriMo.”

To which one of the moderators wrote (I am paraphrasing again), “Those are part of your word count.”

Another person said (paraphrased, “A picture is worth a thousand words, so I’d count them.”

It was at that point, I began counting the images and graphics that I create as part of my word count.  I had to figure out a system for giving the picture a number value, so I ended up doing some math.

Just in case you do not know, Math and I fell out in the 8th grade when my teacher said letters were part of math problems.

Here is how I calculate the numeric value of a picture…
I count the number of words that I write for the graphic.
I use the highest number for the dimensions (in pixels) of the picture up to 500 pixels.
I add both of those together and get the numeric value.
It has been fun to do this.

Writers use and create pictures all the time.  Perhaps it is a picture of a character.  It is a cover for our book.  It might be a picture that reminds us of a place.  Maybe it is a picture that we will include in our book.  We even use pictures that are symbols for words, ideas, and feelings.  To writers, pictures are almost as important as words.

Pictures conjure up thoughts and words in your minds.  They also inspire us to write about them and explain them.  Writers use pictures to help us visualize what we are writing or want to write.  We use them on our vision boards and story boards.  I think it is only right that we count them in our word count.

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 21)

 

Affirmation:

Giving up is the only sure way to fail. -Gena Showalter

Journaling Moment:

Why is giving up a sure way to fail?

Why is giving up not an option?

What are ways you can encourage yourself to not give up?

I Am Glad to Be A Part of Your Daily Family (Wednesday Wisdom)

 

#wednesdaywisdom – it’s all about the connections we make

At the beginning of each semester, I send a welcome email to my students.  I encourage them to send me a response back.  (I offer extra credit. 😊)

A student emailed me… “Hey professor Boone… thank you For allowing me to be a part of ur daily family… can’t wait to jump right in this year…”

This truly made my day.

Part of developing your writing style is developing a family.

First, hone your writing style to be consistent in everything you write.  You want people to know that it is your writing.  Learn how you write, how you choose words, how you put phrases together, how you craft sentences, how you shape paragraphs, and how you structure texts.  That is important.  Work to develop that.  Create connections between the texts you write by using interconnecting ideas, thoughts, words, phrases, people, and places.

Second, write in a way that your readers feel like you are talking to them one on one.  Make connections with your readers with the words you write.  Draw them into your world with your words.  Create characters that they can relate to and refer to as family members.  Be an auntie, uncle, or cousin that gives them sound advice when they read your writing.  Craft a bond with them so that they look forward to reading whatever you write, no matter what it is.

The Erin Go Bragh Publishing Website says it like this… “Excite the reader.  Energize their mind.  Make the Eager to want to pick up your book by Enriching their lives with the Eloquence of your words.”

And that is what family does…

Brings excitement to dull days.

Give you energy on down days.

Are eager to see you.

Enrich your life with their presence.

Speak words of eloquence just at the right moment.

Remember, part of creating a family is using social media and technology, so learn to use social media and technology to build an online world where your family can keep in touch with you.  You never know how a post, tweet, blog, or video may brighten someone’s day. 

Kendall Hailey said, “The greatest gift of family life is to be intimately acquainted with people you might never even introduce yourself to, had life [writing] not done it for you.”

Literacy Narrative: Mama, I Want to be A Writer

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 20) Response

Reposted from My College Writings (c) 2014.

My maternal grandmother has written in a journal for as long as I can remember.  Each time we would go visit her, I would sit at her feet and watch her write in her journal at the end of the day.  I always wondered what she was writing in that book of hers.  I would ask her what she was writing and she would say, “Something about the day.”  That is where my fascination with writing began.

I became a writer at the age of nine when I wrote an Easter speech because I was tired of memorizing the words of others.  I thought that I could write a poem better than the people who wrote those speech books and it would be easier for me to remember and that is exactly what I told my mother and the coordinator of the Easter program.  It was at that moment that I began my journey to be a writer.  Thirty years later, I still remember the first poem I ever wrote.  I wrote something every day from that point on, but I never told anyone that I wanted to be a writer.

I discovered that I wanted to be a writer in high school.  I was in an English Creative Writing class taught by Ms. Spightner.  I cannot even remember how to spell her name, but I remember what it was.  She assigned the class an assignment where we were given the first two sentences of the story and had to finish it.  We were to turn the assignment in after we read it aloud to the class.  I ended up being at the end of the list.  That was an advantage for me although I did not know it at the time.

I completely my story the day before the readings was supposed to begin, although I had until I was assigned to read my story out loud to work on it.  The first student went to the front of the class and read their story.  The story was lackluster.  I made a point to watch everyone in the room, especially the teacher, as the student read the story.  I wanted to see their reaction to the stories.  None of the students were paying attention.  Ms. Spightner was not paying attention either.  She stared at the walls, looked at the ceiling, and looked around the room.  I was the only person in the room who appeared to be paying attention to the stories.  Another student read their story.  It was better than the first story, but no one was in the mood to listen to any stories after the first one, so no one paid attention to the reader.  The last reader for the day read their story an to uninterested audience.  The class was over for the day.  I went home and rewrote my story, trying to make it better.

 The next two days, went the same way as the day before.  A student would read their story.  The only person in the class who was paying attention to the stories was me again.  On one of the reading days, Mrs. Spightner was doodling her and her future husband’s name on a piece of paper on her desk instead of paying attention to the stories she was going to have to grade later.  I knew this because my student desk was right next to her desk and if I leaned just right, I could see what she was writing.  When she caught me looking at her, she looked at me, shrugged her shoulders, and gave me a look that let me know she was uninterested the stories that were being read in her class.  At that moment, I declared to myself, “Everyone in this room will listen to my story!”

I went home and looked at my story again.  I had allowed my mother and brother to read the story.  They loved it.  I still knew in my heart, that the class would not pay any attention to it.  I prayed and asked God to help me write a story that everyone would listen to.  I left my story alone for a while and went outside to play.  As I was playing, I remembered a rap, a horrible rap that I had written.  In the rap, I had written all of my friends from church name in it.  Although the rap was horrible, everyone asked me to repeat it over and over because their name was in it.  I decided to use the names of the people in the class in my story.  That meant that I had to redo the story, but I was so excited that it did not even bother me.  This was the day that I learned to include some names and something familiar to the people in my life in my writing to say thanks for inspiring me, to include current culture in my writing, and to always be conscious of who my audience was.

I was second person to read my story.  As the first person read their story, the class and Mrs. Spightner took their usually positions, the students looking around the room and the teacher doodling.  When the teacher called my name to go read my story, I looked her in her eyes and smiled at her.  She gave me a crazy look.  I went up to the front of the room with confidence.

Before I read the first word of my story, I looked at Mrs. Spightner.  She had her head down and was doodling.  I began reading my story.  All I remember about the story is that it was a story about a crime.  The first person’s name I mentioned in the story was the teacher’s.  I paused after I said her name to look at her.  She looked up from her desk at me with an astonished look on her face.  I smiled and continued on with my story.  The characters in the story not only had my classmates’ names in it, but some of the descriptions of the people in my story resembled my classmates.  At the end of my story, the entire class was looking at me and listening to my story.  I went home that day and told my mother that I wanted to be a writer.

30 Day Journal Affirmation Challenge (Day 20)

 

Affirmation:

I am a writer. I honor that fact by living that truth.

Journaling Moment:

How are you a writer?

Why is it important to honor this fact?

Why is it important to live by this truth?

Just Write! (Tuesday Tip)

 

#tuesdaytips – sit yo’ tail down somewhere and write

In my Tuesday Tip where I discussed How to Start Writing, the surprising answer to the question was…

WRITE!

So, the next question that new writers ask is… How do I write when I do not feel like writing?

Again, the answer to the question is the simplest thing…

WRITE!

I will say, first, assess yourself to see why you do not feel like writing.

• Perhaps you may be tired and your brain needs a break.
• Maybe you are experiencing writer’s block. (Combating Writer’s Block)
• Perhaps you may be feeling ill and your body needs to rest.
• Or even, it may not be the time for you to write.

If it is one of these, then take a break and do not beat yourself up because you cannot write.  Take a break for 2-3 days, then come back and try writing again.

If you do not feel like writing because you just want to be lazy or you are scared to write, then you need to write.  You can use a writing period schedule to help you write.

• Pick three times during the day (write them on your calendar, either physical or digital) to spend 5 minutes writing for each day.
• Every 5* days, increase the number of minutes by 5 minutes.  Again, write your scheduled writing times on your calendar, whether physical or digital.
• Give yourself a reward for each day that your write for that set time.  (I use stickers on a calendar and a habit tracker for each day.)
• By the end of a month (four weeks), you should be writing for 20 minutes a day, three times a day. (20-minute writing periods is average for most writers.  I do not recommend going any higher than 30-minutes writing periods.)

Please note, you may need to adjust the minutes and times per day to match your schedule.  Also, it can be different at different times during the year.

You can also use a word count goal to help you write.

• For each day, write 250 words for the day.  Put Write 250 words on your to do list. (Write it on your calendar, either physical or digital).
• Every 5 days, increase your word count number by doubling the previous week’s word count.  Again, write the new word count goal on your calendar, whether physical or digital.
• As with the daily writing goal method, give yourself a reward for each day the goal is met.  (I use a habit tracker for each day.)
• By the end of a month (four weeks), you should be writing 2,000 words per day. (Most writers can average between 1,600 and 2,000 words a day.  I do not recommend going any higher than 3,000 words per day.)

As with the minutes per day method, you may need to adjust the number of words per day to match your schedule.  Also, it can be different at different times during the year.

With either of these methods, be flexible.  If you know Wednesdays may be hard for you to write because of particular events that occur, plan to split the writing between Tuesday and Thursday.  Also, you can still write on Wednesday, but for a reduced amount of time or words.  You can reflect this in your scheduling.

It is imperative that you give yourself grace.  Do not be a hard task mater when writing.  While being on task and keeping to a schedule is good for writers, going with the flow is also good for writers.

Find what works best for you as a writer and make it a routine.  That is the best way to JUST WRITE!

* I only write on the week days.  I take the weekends off to rest.