The Write Balance
by Bonni Goldberg
GENRE: Non-fiction, Writing Advice
BLURB:
In The Write Balance, the companion book to the beloved bestseller, Room to Write, Bonni Goldberg demonstrates how to find fulfillment as a writer by embracing three key aspects of writing: 1) Percolation: what takes place before a first draft is written; 2) Revision: the writer's role after the initial draft; and 3) Going Public: the writer's mission once the writing is done. Filled with tools, examples and exercises, Bonni’s guide offers motives, choices, and encouragement for writers to appreciate and to be creative in the phases before and beyond a first draft. Whether you’re new to writing or a pro, become more passionate and balanced in your writing life.
Excerpt:
The public aspect of writing is the third and final practice you must take part in to nourish your Writing Self. You may think of going public as a writer as publishing, but it’s much larger than that. When you make writing, you enter a new relationship to the written word that includes passing it on to others. Going public is doing your part to bring the written word to the rest of the world. The words you offer can be your own or someone else’s. You can give them to a large group of strangers or to a few people you are close to. But to fulfill yourself and your role as a writer, you must complete the writing cycle by being public somehow. We get convoluted messages about going public that are tangled up in perceptions about publishing companies and best-seller lists because we don’t talk enough about the bigger picture. Writers often can’t see past the publish-with-a-big-traditional-publisher-or-perish perspective because the value of other options—sometimes even the options themselves— aren’t clear. Indifferent agents, editors, and publishers aren’t what frustrate your attempts to go public. Your frustration is caused by a set of internal limitations that may include your particular definition of success as a writer, misconceptions about the purpose of going public, a fear of rejection, and misunderstanding your role as a writer. We’ll deal with these frustrations and others throughout this section, beginning here by reviving the idea of “sharing,” an overlooked definition of going public.
Interview with Bonni Goldberg
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Don’t measure your success or progress by other people’s standards.
Listen to yourself creatively. It’s okay to be different, to experiment.
It’s important to learn everything you can about craft so you can use it your own way.
I’m excited to be here, Nancy.
What are the most important magazines for writers to subscribe to?
It depends on the writer’s genre, current goals, interests and temperament. I suggest asking writers and writing teachers you know and admire what they subscribe to. But also ask them why. What is the magazine best at providing?
The dependable industry magazines are Writer’s Digest and The Writer. Two that focus on writer profiles, trends and controversies in writing, and have a more academic perspective are Poets & Writers and The Writer’s Chronicle. There are also magazines focused on a single genre like romance, children’s books, or science-fiction.
Publisher’s Weekly focuses on publishing. You can sign up on their website at no cost access a robust selection of free, topic specific e-newsletters.
What do you owe the real people upon whom you base your characters?
This brings to my mind two quotes by wise authors I admire:
“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” Anne Lamott
“[Y]ou have an absolute right to write about the people you know and love. You do. But the kicker is you have a responsibility to make the characters large enough that you will not have sinned against them.” Dorothy Allison
I believe both are true. If you don’t learn or realize anything new about the real person you base your character on, you’re not done. And if you stop there, you have, as Allison puts it, “sinned against them,” your readers, and yourself.
What is the first book that made you cry?
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White. I read it in elementary school. I don’t remember what grade I was in. It was devastating and wonderful at the same time.
Does writing energize or exhaust you?
Both, depending on what phase of the writing process I’m in. Everyone is different in this, but for me, writing a first draft is the exhausting part. I’m energized by revising. Research can go either way. It depends on what I discover and how long it takes me. Percolating, everything I do from an idea until the first draft, energizes me too. Much earlier in my writing life, the first draft energized me the most. So I’ve made a 180° turn.
Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want?
I think it’s possible to do both. If you’re a genre writer, you’re writing for an audience that wants specific tropes in the story. They’re disappointed or feel cheated if the tropes aren’t there. That makes your fascinating creative challenge to deliver those tropes in an unexpected way or in your own style.
The relationship between writer and reader is a loving collaboration. But it’s an open relationship. Each party is free to come and go.
With my writing books, I begin with the premise that I’m not especially unique. If I struggle with something as a writer, there are others who do too. From my years of experience teaching, I have proof of that. I also know from teaching that there is no one right way to write. What works for one person doesn't work for someone else. My goal is always to present the issues, offer my perspectives and insights about them, and provide multiple points of entry to work on them.
And maybe some of what readers like influences me over time. The Write Balance is the companion book to my best-seller Room to Write. In Room, I purposely didn’t include anything about my writing life or my personal life. I didn’t think it was relevant. In The Write Balance, I bring myself into some examples and anecdotes I share. But never just for the sake of the readers. Still, I was aware it’s something many readers enjoy.
Where did your love of books/storytelling/reading/writing/etc. come from?
Except for writing, my love came from a need for company and an alternative version of my life. Stories were an escape. They were where I found explanations for why things happened. They were the places I could enter and exit at will. My love of writing came more from feeling unheard. At first I needed to hear my own voice and have a means to record what I thought, believed, imagined, discovered and witnessed. I fell in love with words because they’re the most impactful tool in the world.
Well, that was an intense last statement! Thank you for having me and for these questions.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Bonni Goldberg is the author of The Write Balance: How to Embrace Percolation, Revision & Going Public, the companion book to the best-seller Room to Write: Daily Invitations to a Writer’s Life. Bonni is an award-winning poet and writer. She is the creator of the 2 Minute Journals™ series. Both traditionally and indie published, her books include non-fiction for adults and fiction and non-fiction for young readers. Her essays and blog posts can be found in numerous print and online publications.
Bonni teaches creative writing at colleges and leads writing workshops internationally for all ages. She knows everyone is creative, and she supports people to discover and share their authentic, meaningful and imaginative experiences through words.
Whether through her writings or through teaching, her methods and perspectives continue to empower thousands of adults, families, and children.
Bonni is also a Jewish educator. She speaks, writes, and leads workshops on Jewish topics such as Jewish identity, rituals and antisemitism at Jewish women’s events, JCCs, and conferences.
Bonni Goldberg lives in Portland, Oregon with her partner in life, and some creative projects, artist Geo Kendall.
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2 comments:
Sounds like an interesting book.
Hi Avid Reader Community! Thank you for hosting me. I'm ready and excited to answer questions.
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