There’s something magical about writing a first draft in one month. Author Kazuo Ishiguro, one of my favorite authors, put himself on the one month schedule for his first draft of Remains of the Day after battling anxiety and writer’s block that followed his earlier successes. Many revisions later, it won the Booker Prize and became a major motion picture.
About the process, he said, “I wrote free-hand, not caring about the style or if something I wrote in the afternoon contradicted something I’d established in the story that morning. The priority was simply to get the ideas surfacing and growing. Awful sentences, hideous dialogue, scenes that went nowhere – I let them remain and ploughed on.”
I can personally attest to the power of this one month formula. I wrote the first draft of my novel, Where the Light Enters, as part of NaNoWriMo in November. I’m editing it now and to get the bones of the story down in a month was very valuable. I followed this same one month draft pattern for my play, Sing After Stormsand it was produced in New York City less than a year later.
Maybe you have a massive project, a piece of writing or something else, that you’re afraid to begin. Go at it full force, mistakes and all. Roll up your sleeves and get down into the weeds. Creation is messy for everyone. Give yourself a deadline and charge at it with everything you’ve got. It’s the only way anything ever gets done.
If you’re lamenting your age or wish you’d already hit certain milestones (and I’m certainly part of that group!), I’d like you to meet one of my heroes—Harry Bernstein. He famously said, “My 90s were the most productive years of my life.”
At 96, he published his first book, The Invisible Wall, to wide acclaim after it sat on a desk at Random House’s London office for over a year. At 98, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship to pursue his writing. He wrote over 40 books over his life but destroyed almost all of the manuscripts after they were rejected by multiple publishers. He made a living as a Hollywood script reader and as an editor of a construction trade magazine.
I’m impressed by his tenacity and refusal to give up on his craft. He wrote his first published pieces in the wake of his wife’s passing as a form of therapy. They were married for 7 decades. He embraced his creativity to the very end, passing away at 101.
Harry Bernstein didn’t give up and you shouldn’t either, no matter how old you are and no matter how many obstacles you face. I hope I publish my first book before I’m 96, and if I don’t, that’s okay. I’m in good company with Harry. Keep creating.
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein by accident. Lord Byron was visiting Shelley and her husband. There was a terrible storm that kept them all inside the house. To entertain themselves, Byron suggested they all write and then share horror stories. Byron’s and Mr. Shelley’s stories were mere entertainment for the trio. Mary Shelley’s became a classic novel (after much revision on that first draft!)
You never know when you’re creating the greatest work of your life which is why the very act of continuous creation is so important. And why it’s important to remember that from unlikely, and frankly unwanted, experiences, can come wonderful gifts. Mary Shelley didn’t know she was writing a novel destined to be a classic. She just knew she cared about its theme and wove an entertaining story around it. She didn’t leave her thoughts to spin around in her mind. She fearlessly wrote them down and sent them out into the world. We should, too.
This is one of my favorite Christmas poems. It’s such a beautiful reminder of what this season is all about—unity, love, and kindness. Happy Christmas.
Alfie, the Christmas Tree
Did you ever hear the story of the Christmas Tree
who just didn’t want to change the show
He liked living in the woods and playing with squirrels, he liked icicles and snow.
He liked wolves and eagles and grizzly bears
and critters and creatures that crawled.
Why bugs were some of his very best friends, spiders and ants and all.
Now that’s not to say that he ever looked down on the vision of twinkling lights,
or on mirrored bubbles and peppermint canes and a thousand other delights.
And he often had dreams of tiny reindeer
and a jolly old man and a sleigh full of toys and presents and wonderful things,
and the story of Christmas Day.
Oh, Alfie believed in Christmas all right, he was full of Christmas cheer.
All of each and every day and all throughout the year.
To him it was more than a special time much more than a special day,
It was more than a beautiful story. it was a special kind of way.
You see, some folks have never heard a jingle bell ring,
And they’ve never heard of Santa Claus.
They’ve never heard the story of the Son of God. And that made Alfie pause.
Did that mean that they’d never know of peace on earth
or the brotherhood of man?
Or know how to love, or know how to give? If they can’t, no one can.
You see, life is a very special kind of thing, not just for a chosen few.
But for each and every living breathing thing. Not just me and you.
So in your Christmas prayers this year, Alfie asked me if I’d ask you
to say a prayer for the wind, and the water, and the wood,
and those who live there, too.
Dr. E.O. Wilson examining plant gall, Walden Pond, Massachusetts
Whether you’re a scientist or not, young or not-so-young, Dr. E.O. Wilson’s book, Letters to a Young Scientist, is a primer in how to building a meaningful life from a purpose-driven career. I first encountered Dr. Wilson’s work as one of the most esteemed biologists in the world while I was a fundraiser at Conservation International. Dr. Wilson is a member of the board of directors and in many ways was (and probably still is) a supreme guiding light of the organization’s strong science basis. I picked up his slim volume to read how he addresses a young audience in search of meaning. What I found was much more than I expected.
On opportunity “Opportunity is [now] broader, but more demanding.” This was a light bulb line for me. We have more opportunity now than past generations thanks to technology, the democratization of knowledge and learning thanks to the growth of the Internet, and the rapid and extensive sharing of inspirational stories. Dr. Wilson explains why we now struggle more to seize opportunity—with great privilege comes great competition and an even greater need for commitment and determination.
“When you select a domain of knowledge…go where the least action is happening…observe the fray from a distance…consider making your own fray.” This is my favorite bit in the book. We’re so quick to rush to a field that is gaining traction and popularity but if we really want to have an impact, it’s best to go where no one else is going.
“Imagine looking back on your life. What do you want to be known for?” Imagine yourself at the very end of your life. When you’re rocking in a chair and watching the sun set for the very last time, what do you want to remember and what do you want to be remembered for? Work your way back to the present day from there and follow the breadcrumbs that you’ve left to guide the way.
On determination and passion “The more difficult the problem, the greater the likely importance of its solution.” When the going gets tough, we think of giving up. Dr. Wilson encourages the opposite. When the going gets tough, go further.
“Decision and hard work based on enduring passion will never fail you…put passion ahead of training.” Education is only valuable if we are educated in something that lights us up. Figure out what you care about and then obtain the training to make it into a career.
“Waste and frustration often attend the earliest stages.” It’s always easiest to give up early on. That’s the stage where we need the most determination—when something isn’t going well. Doubt is a powerful deterrent and formidable opponent. That second step, the one that we have to take when all of our early hard work feels wasted, is the one that hurts the most. Take it anyway.
Passion and curiosity are skills we all need in abundance, especially given the current state of our world. There’s plenty of engaging work for all of us if we know where to look.
As I move into intense editing mode for my novel, Where the Light Enters, I am also at the very early stages of sketching my second novel. The idea for it surfaced during a Twitter conversation I had a few months ago with Anthony Mason, one of my favorite journalists. He told me about one of his childhood dreams and that dream sparked a character and storyline in my mind. While still very rough, here is the basic premise:
10-year-old Levi Adler lives in a small town and has big dreams of someday hosting his own radio show.Baxter and Flo Adler, Levi’s parents, are morticians and run the family business from their home. Levi uses all his free time practicing his future profession in the backyard treehouse that he’s set up as a recording studio. One evening while hosting his now-imaginary radio show, Levi starts to have real guests call in and they’ve got some important messages for Levi to deliver to his neighbors. With the help of his neighbor and sometimes co-host, Shelby, can he convince his neighbors that these messages are real and realize his dream of being a real radio show host?
When you write a book, you have to create a whole world that is rich with future opportunity. My hope is not only that my first novel, Where the Light Enters, gets published, but that I can also make it into a brand in its own right. Such is the way of today’s publishing landscape, and that’s not a bad thing! I’m planning on a game of some sort based on the story that highlights the value of compassion, empathy, and imagination. There are also many other books within the book that I could write that tap into different facets of the story. Among them:
– There’s plenty of room for a sequel to this book and an associated travel guide of Emerson’s quest
– The book that is the crux of the whole story—a guide to having endless and unlimited creativity
– Sketchbook of fantastical inventions (based on Truman’s character)
– Children’s book entitled The Star Lighter (written by Emerson’s mother, Nora)
– Folklore medicine and healing recipe book (based on Irene’s character)
– History of the 9 muses, and a book that tells the story of each one
– Inspirational essay collection from people all over the world who have been helped by the shoots of The Crooked Willow (based on Samuel’s character and the cafe that is one of the main settings in the book)
And the list goes on…With a lot of hard work and a bit of luck, Emerson Page could be a part of my life for a very long time.
THE END. I just typed these two words on the (very, very, very) rough first draft of my first novel, Where the Light Enters. There will be many rounds of revisions ahead, but I’m excited to have this first pass done. I plan to revel in this feeling through the holidays and then pick it back up in January to begin the long process of rewriting. For now, I’m happy to say the story and the act of writing it changed me for the better. It gave me confidence and faith that with love we can do what we think is impossible. Thank you to so many of you who supported this journey. We’re just getting started!
That’s a wrap! For the first time, I participated in and completed National Novel Writing Month. Yesterday I did what I set out to do and crossed the 50K word mark of my novel, Where the Light Enters before the end of November. I still have a few thousand more to go to make a complete (and incredibly rough) first draft which I’ll finish in the next couple of days. For now, I’m so happy that I reached the most auspicious writing goal I’ve ever set for myself, and a week ahead of schedule to boot! Emerson Page lives and breathes, and I’m so glad to have her in my life.
My college pal, Jen, posted a link to a story about a Barbie book that makes my blood boil. The short of it: Barbie, the computer engineer, can’t build the game she designs and needs her male friends to build it for her. (Don’t even get me started on everything that’s wrong with this message!)
To combat this ridiculous Barbie book, that quite frankly Random House should pull out of production, here are four awesome books that send girls the right message about science and technology—they can create anything they can imagine!
Rosie Revere, Engineer
This book explores the life of a fictional character, Rosie, who is an inventor and maker. She shows us the trial and error process of building, and illustrates all the ways in which engineers make our world a better place.
What Do You Do With an Idea?
This gorgeously illustrated book helps kids realize that their creativity and initiative to turn their ideas into real-world projects can and will change the world. This is the positive push that kids (and the adults who love them) need to boost their confidence and encourage the power of imagination.
Your Fantastic Elastic Brain
There are few areas of science more exciting that the workings of the human brain. This book uses clear language and excellent illustrations to explain the complex workings of our brains to kids, their family members, and teachers.
The outrage over the Barbie book, online and off, is warranted, but let’s not let the conversation end there. The best way to combat ignorance is to kill it with knowledge. We’ve got loads of stories and activities that show girls they can do anything and be anything. Put the books above, and the scores of others like them, under the tree this holiday season for all the girls in your life to bolster their confidence and encourage their imaginations.
Christa Avampato 