On, In, and Around Mondays: The Enchanted Writer
I have been thinking about enchantment.
My big girl has been carting Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment around. And this is part of it for me. I had meant to read the book, but as of yet it's been coming to me through her, this sense that the child in us (and sometimes the big person too), needs some kind of mystery and beauty and whimsy to inspire us.
Let's bring it down to me though. I have been thinking about what I do best. Or maybe just what I want to do best— and that is, be an enchanting writer, speaking directly to readers who want what I have to offer. There are readers who want what someone else has to offer; those aren't the readers I want to try to relate to.
This is important, because it means embracing who I am and trusting that there are readers out there who, in a sense, are similar, and want to obtain an experience of their voice, dreams, visions, and longings being expressed through words.
These readers probably have musicians and artists they prefer too. And maybe the musicians and artists give them something similar to what I give. I have been thinking about this a lot recently. I have love to give. Crazy, tangly, image-rich love. This might not enchant you. That's okay. But if it does, I might just be the enchanting writer you've been searching for in the woods, at the edge of twilight.
_______
On, In and Around Mondays (which partly means you can post any day and still add a link) is an invitation to write from where you are. Tell us what is on, in, around (over, under, near, by...) you. Feel free to write any which way... compose a tight poem or just ramble for a few paragraphs. But we should feel a sense of place. Would you like to try? Write something 'in place' and add your link below.
If you could kindly link back here when you post, it will create a central meeting place. :)
This post is also shared with Laura Boggess, for...
Labels: my writing story, On in and Around Mondays
posted by L.L. Barkat at 8:00 AM
29 Comments:
What a lovely and enchanting post -- and yes, your enchanted writing enchants me!
Spin spells,
Sorceress.
Weave words
to magic mine.
Excellent imagery!
Love the photos too.
Thanks for expressing this...I so want to embrace and trust who I am and write from that place. Sometimes it is so hard. Just so hard.
Mary
http://www.marycronkfarrell.net/blog.html
I love this - the trust, the understanding. You have given me important food for thought this morning. Thank you :-)
I love this - the trust, the understanding. You have given me important food for thought this morning. Thank you :-)
PS, I love the photos too, they're amazing!
I get it. Not that I always have. I have struggled at times with the sense of place - my place. It's important for healthy life.
I've also discovered that healthy space is crucial - between people. I appreciate that too.
I found myself in a different, even unexpected place this evening. I wrote about it here: http://wordsbyrobin.wordpress.com/2011/11/26/the-fiction-section/
Thanks for reading.
I read "The Uses of Enchantment" in a graduate seminar on the nature of story.
How old are your daughters?
Your writing enchants me so much that I added your new book to the Christmas wish list my daughter requested. So after Christmas, you will find me curled up under a cozy lap blanket reading Rumors of Water.
My dear, you are enchanting. Didn't you know?
You are exactly that, L.L. - I always find enchantment, a bit of mystery, peace and always beauty when I come by here.
Yes, please. More, ma'am. Thank you.
Oh, yes, yes, yes! I want to be an enchanting writer as well. CS Lewis says that every human being needs myth, it draws one to God. What a gift, to draw one to the Creator!
Glynn, Sara is 14. Maybe this explains her frustration with her distance-learning high school experience this year? :)
You always enchant me :).
It's all about being who God created us to be - and finding the joy in that! A wonderful reminder to embrace who we are:)
I have come to this place myself: of embracing who I am and being content with those who want to read what I write. I know that it is not for everyone, nor do I enjoy the style of many. It is finding contentment with who you are!
You're such a grown-up! And I mean that in a good way--recognizing that what you offer your crazy, tangly, image-rich love will enchant some of us and not others. Count me among the enchanted.
I still need enchantment to bring some mystery to my everyday life of dishes and deadlines. This is a good discussion.
Also, I do agree that any given writer will not write for everyone. That's not to see she is limited to a particular audience; but there will be many who are simply not enchanted by a certain style or genre.
Isn't it the same with relationships? How we're drawn to some people a bit more than we are to others? And not for any obvious reason? Perhaps that, too, is a sense of finding a shared "enchantment," to borrow your word.
oh, I have to think about all of this. ;)
I'm glad, Laura, that God gave you a gift of being a word-smith. I pray that he will enchant you with the mysteries, intricacies, and wonder-ies of himself, and then continue to "give you eyes to see and lips to tell ...of all things bright and beautiful..." [for] "he made them, every one."
Your writing voice...always seems honest. Like-minded in values and just a little edgy.
Plus I haven't had much exposure to a lot of the things you write about.
Thanks for your thoughts, your work.
I have also been thinking about writing as an act of love, how our words and writing flow from that purity of love from within our souls, a gift to those who would take it. I suppose that is a good sign for those of us who put our hearts and souls into writing - just like love, there has to be a trusting that it will be received by others.
Lovely words, by the way. :)
I have 'The Uses of Enchantment', it was a cancelled library book copy and its a good book, albeit wordy and lacking pauses, chapters or places to rest and dare I say it enchantment :(
I do recommend for your daughter if she has not already read it 'Women who run with the wolves' which also looks at the meaning and importance of fairy tales, but is a very easy and engaging and enchanting book to read - love the sound of your book and the beautiful image. I am sure you are on the path to realising that which you aspire to.
I, for one, love your enchanting writing!!
Love.
Love.
I grew up in a church/family environment that didn't believe in myth, mystery or enchantment on any level. I've spent the last few years trying to undo all of that, and I find your writing helps unwind so many of those places that have been bound. It is enchanting, in the very best, God honoring way. Thank you for that.
There is war in writing. Even Auden's "September 1, 1939" comes to mind. It's still a battlefield, where enchantment often lies among the casualties.
But he cuts through the hostility with this line: "All I have is a voice/ To undo the folded lie."
And then comes your voice: "I have love to give."
We die as writers if we don't give with our voice, if we surrender by waving an empty white flag, at the end of the draft..
I agree with you. Enchantment, even if bloody, will always win. It keeps our voice breathing, and it's our best battle plan yet.
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