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 LEARNING FROM THE MASTERS The following is a guest blog post that Joy E. Held created and will give you further information on the Learning From the Master's Workshop.
The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates (470-399 BCE) What can we learn from the journals of published authors such as John Steinbeck, Virginia Woolf, Sue Grafton, and others that can help us as we write our own novels? How do authors utilize their journals to supplement their creativity, professional endeavors, and personal life? “Learning from the Masters: The Journals of Published Authors” workshop looks at the journals of a few published authors, cross-references their private writing to their published work, and explores ways that you can implement the practices to strengthen your writing. In 1951, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Steinbeck “warmed up his writing arm” with a letter to his Viking Press editor Pascal Covici each day before working on the novel East of Eden. Those letters were later published as the Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters. Crime novelist Sue Grafton (“A” is for Alibi) kept a journal for every book she wrote that included ideas, positive self-talk, and more to help her stay on track. Author Anne Lamott has written two memoirs that are formatted like journals. Virginia Woolf’s diaries examined what it was like to be a female author in the world of writing and publishing during the 1930s and 40s. It’s refreshing and renewing to read the journals of published authors and recognize some of our own struggles in the pages of those who forged successful careers before us. We’ll look at the journals of the authors mentioned, explore what we can learn from them, and how we can emulate some of their personal writing habits to support our own lives and work. Each lesson includes:
One element to studying the journals of published authors is to always remember that the works were rarely intended for publication. Therefore, the pages haven’t seen editing, revision, or much scrutiny before being made available to the public eyes. In fact, most people, published authors included, leave instructions for their journals/diaries/notebooks NOT to be published after their deaths, but we know how often it happens anyway. In fact, Virginia Woolf references this in some of her diaries, but it’s stated in the book that her husband decided to release the diaries posthumously with his editing hand judiciously applied in the form of footnotes, a guide to names and initials, and his own statement as to why he thought readers would want to read his wife’s diaries. It can be a bit addicting to read an author’s journals for a couple of reasons. One justification for reading them is that the diaries often provide added texture to understanding what the author was experiencing in real life and real-time even as they were producing literary works of art. Holding up current events written about in an author’s journals side-by-side with a published book can sometimes lead to seeing patterns or recognitions between the writer’s fictional and actual worlds. It is fascinating to see real-life experiences reflected in an author’s fiction or poetry when compared to what was recorded in the journals. The diaries of published authors regularly detail struggles familiar to everyone such as poor finances, health crises, and emotional problems. What’s amazing is how the author produces publishable work while enduring life’s difficulties. One of the main lessons gleaned from reading the journals of published authors and their published books is that of persistence and survival. It is easy to see oneself in the journals of published authors if you also write and publish. What may be challenging to accept is the brutal honesty with which some published authors describe the writing life. While it might seem gauche for Virginia Woolf to write plainly about how jealous she became of her writer friends when they received accolades, it’s an authentic feeling to acknowledge. True, she didn’t want her feelings published, but it’s out there for us to realize that we’re human and subject to normal reactions. In the true sense of expressive writing therapy technique, Woolf commits her jealousy to paper in black and white and then publicly praises the same author that inspired her envy. In this way, she clears her spirit of negativity before engaging with reality. In the way Steinbeck warmed up his writing arm with his opinions on current events, life, raising children, and the price of real estate, Woolf cleared her head and heart of negative emotions and then tackled her own manuscript in progress. “Learning from the Masters: The Journals of Published Authors” is a peek into these particular writers as a way to succeed in your writing by recognizing that life is universally hard, but you can create good books despite wading through the everyday crap. I’m looking forward to exploring these ideas with you during the workshop! All good things, Joy
JOY E. HELD, AAS, BA, MFA is an author, freelance editor, educator, Yoga Alliance Registered yoga and meditation teacher, college English professor, certified Journal to the Self facilitator, and workshop presenter with over 500 articles published in trade magazines, newspapers, and literary journals. Writing as Liz Arnold, she has published two historical romance novels. Her nonfiction book Writer Wellness: A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity (2020) third edition is available from Headline Books, Inc. Joy is a member of the Editorial Freelancer’s Association and the Author's Guild. She holds degrees in education, journalism, and an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. https://www.mybookcoachrocks.com https://facebook.com/joy.e.held https://twitter.com/Joy_E_Held https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-e-held-mfa-4703b187/
REGISTRATION DATES: FEBRUARY 16, 2023 THROUGH MARCH 23, 2023 WORKSHOP DATES: MARCH 26 – APRIL 1, 2023 REGISTRATION FEE: $20 ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:
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