4/2/11

Laura of Literary Legs


Laura 
of Literary Legs



B i o g r a p h y :




















A Girl with a Pen Meets More of the Same

I’ve always wanted to write. I’ve wanted to write ever since I discovered my very first, dog-eared anthology of American literature, scored for $2.00, while tagging along on one my mother’s summer yardsaling excursions at the age of twelve. At least that’s the point in time I identify with my first knowing that I wanted to write things, weave stories. Now, I’m one term away from graduating with a B.A. in English Literary Studies, and I haven’t lost any of that fascination with the creative process of producing literature. A fascination, really, with how personal it is. I believe an author lives her fullest when she is writing, and becomes immortal when her works are read and re-read by others. Writing the world is transformative and freeing. 



Because I believe writing is such a personal thing, I’ve sometimes tried to imagine the female authors of great classics, such as Virginia Woolf, writing their masterpieces in quiet solitude.  I imagine Woolf writing “To the Lighthouse,” while sitting in “a room of her own” (sorry, I couldn’t resist), blissfully unaware of the hustle and bustle of the outside world. The writer, as I’ve sometimes imagined her, is a like a nun, cloistered in the sacred writer’s space. It’s all very idyllic, and that solitude can definitely be beneficial at times, but I’ve since come to realize something: a writer becomes a really good writer, becomes better capable of wringing lilies from acorns, when she writes with others, when she enters that hustle and bustle that is the writing community.

When I was taking my creative writing courses as an underclassmen, I was amazed at how, when there was a deadline and I knew my fellow classmates would be critiquing it, I could put out a fifteen page short story like nothin.’ I mean, I just did it.  I didn’t spend time deliberating, fretting, having anxiety attacks about. I just did it. And to my greater surprise, my short stories earned several accolades.  If I had retreated into solitude and shied away from collaborative interaction, I may have remained sitting in that room of my own, for months.  I need structure. I need peer review. I need a support group. Without these things, I sort of just fail to write good stuff. Or even fail to write, period!

That is precisely why blogging has been of tremendous help to me as a writer. I really didn’t see it coming-- I didn’t know that starting my modest little creative writing blog over at Literary Legs would result in my being jerked out of an extended bout of writers’ block. I didn’t know how networking with other writers and bloggers could kick start my own creative impulses! Many of the acquaintances I’ve made with other writers has come through writing forums, as well. I recently joined SheWrites, a women’s writing community. Incidentally, the subheading of the site reads, “A room of her Own Just Got Bigger.” I love that!




I’ve learned that writing doesn’t cease to be personal when you enter into dialogue about your writing. Rather, I think, it gives the time spent writing more significant. If you are a writer, I encourage you to open up that writing space to include the writing community. It’s a learning and growing experience, and your writing will definitely improve!




13 comments:

  1. Laura - inspiring post, as usual! Thank you so much for writing this and sharing it with us all!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this Laura! You describe the writing process in such a beautiful way. Thankful for talented writers like you and Ladaisi!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have found this to be very very true for myself. In college, when I was taking Journalism and Creative Writing, the structure of an assignment and the pressure of a deadline somehow turned my brain on. I haven't written a single story since then, but the ones I did write weren't half bad. My teacher asked to keep a few to share with future students, which gave my heart a thrill.

    Alas, nothing now, no writing whatsoever, except the blog, which is a diary and a badly kept one at that.

    Fabulous post, Laura, you've got me thinking and reminiscing and I want to read your blog :].

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great post Laura! I enjoyed learning about your process. I agree. Blogging feeds my creativity. I love being able to have a break from my WIP and write a poem, or short research essay.

    ReplyDelete
  5. As always, beautiful and inspiring post, Lou! I love reading anything of yours (in fact, the other day I found a poem you wrote and left in my stuff at BSBI!), and you always leave me ready to write ♥

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love it. I joined a writing group recently (in New Zealand) and it really does inspire growth to constantly be connecting about your work....

    I am jealous that you are in Southern Oregon...

    ReplyDelete
  7. each and every word ... so very, very TRUE

    ReplyDelete
  8. "I’ve since come to realize something: a writer becomes a really good writer, becomes better capable of wringing lilies from acorns, when she writes with others, when she enters that hustle and bustle that is the writing community." I couldn't agree more. Thanks for sharing your writing journey with us. Inspiring and beautiful post :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Laura, great post and Ladaisi, thanks for hosting. I will return!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks so much for the lovely comments, ladies! It was an honor to post here at Ladaisi Blog!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I can definitely identify with everything you said. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever attain that coveted immortality, which so few writers are able to achieve to their satisfaction. Fingers crossed for the future!

    On another note, I loved this phrase, "wringing lilies from acorns"...such a beautiful image!

    ReplyDelete
  12. You speak my mind, thanks for these words. I sometimes wonder why I've started a blog, and why I signed up for the A to Z challenge, seeing it as a distraction from my other writing, but this was a terrific reminder that I'm doing this for the structure, the connections and sharing, for the ideas and motivation. My writing habit has kicked up a notch with blogging, I'm realizing. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  13. You are sweetly encouraging Laura dear! I am always inspired by you:-)

    (I always want to know how the reader sees or feels about my writing, so really sharing it is a part of that journey to learn of those connections)

    I love how brave and bold you are by the way!

    ReplyDelete

( hippies always welcome )