Writing Advice

Unlocking Potential: Interview #1

Garth Beyer

I get a lot of people telling me that I inspire them, that they like the way I think and the status-quo-breaking ideas I come up with and test. I admire that. It’s important to note that the motivation I get to inspire other people comes from being inspired myself, from seeing extraordinary potential in people who lose themselves in creativity and from the challenge I give myself to help these artists as much as possible.

With this now in mind, I will be showcasing a small handful of interviews over the next few weeks. These people are artists that I have kept very little touch with, in fact, I may not have talked to them in years until I messaged them recently inquiring if they would participate in an interview. These are noteworthy people, people whom I noticed there to be potential that I would hope to be cracked open all the way. So with that, I am handing you the hammer, the ability to connect, learn from, enjoy, and inspire these people.

Interview: Rose Kendall

The first person who’s interview I will be sharing is Rose Kendall. I met Rose in a Poetry 101 class over two years ago, never really talked in class other than when there were class discussions, and I still remember the passion she poured into her poetry. It’s easy to standout in class by dressing uniquely, being pretty and always participating. It’s not however, easy to standout in poetry. Rose does this and I hope you enjoy the following interview. Feel free to leave a note in the comments section or add Rose on Facebook.

Q: Now, I know your passion is writing. What type of writing do you love most and why?

My favorite type of writing is poetry. I love all types of writing, but poetry speaks the most to me because on one level it is trying to compact so many different emotions and thoughts into one small space, but on another level it can bring so many different ideas and concepts to the table in the subtle meanings of line breaks and punctuation. While I do believe that fiction also has a tendency to be descriptive, poetry is tantalizing because to me personally it propels the imagination like a movie, with the possibility of going in so many different directions.

Q: What gets you through the hard times of writing (depleted inspiration, writers block, time, emotion, etc)?

Listening to good music (I usually pick Sia, Damien Rice, Stateless, Florence + the Machine, and David Gray), closing my eyes, and thinking about what exactly the message is that I want to give off. Then I can usually come up with images that accompany that message. Most times it’s a good start.

Q: If you had to make your own writing prompt, what would it be?

It would be to take a piece of paper, fold it in half, and write on one side a list of nouns that are very common (like clouds, or sun) and on the other side list five adjectives you would never think to use to describe the noun. You will be challenged in so many ways you never thought were possible

Q: What do you want your legacy to be?

I want to be able to share with the world the sadness and anger I feel at the horrifying things that are occurring on a daily basis all over the world. As a society, I feel there are so many topics we are afraid to talk about for various reasons, so we sweep them under the rug (whether conscientiously or not) and choose to avoid them. Yes, they are hard topics, but if we are not made aware of them we will not be able to appropriate the change needed to stop these crimes from happening.

Therefore, I hope to shock my audience enough that they can’t decide if they want to get out of their chair and leave when I’m reading to them, or if they want to stay and consider what is really happening in the world. I would love to be able to travel around the globe and present to large audience my heart and my passion. I also want to continue to become published, and maybe one day be able to publish a whole book of poems.

Q: What determines a successful writing day?

A successful writing day usually is accompanied by a thought or an idea taking form into a poem, but very successful if a whole poem (or more than one) is written.

Q: Take me through a though process of a poem. Do you plan it out? Relate it to your life? Free write?

When I’m writing a poem I generally pick a topic I feel strongly about and concentrate on how I feel as well as why I feel that way. Once I come up with that, generally I will “see” what I want to write in my head. It’s like a movie, and at the risk of sounding like a schizophrenic, I have seen several of my characters chatting with me at the edge of the bed. Maybe less chatting and more just standing there and telepathically telling me their story. Either way once their story is being told it kind of just flows out. Some stories are harder than others, but most times I listen to a lot of calming or inspiring music to try to urge them to tell me. Sometimes when that doesn’t work, lines of poems come to me when I’m trying my hardest to sleep.

Q: What is the most helpful advice you have been given?

Keep a journal of all of the compliments and accomplishments I have made in writing. When I feel like I’m not a good enough writer, or I’m having a dry spell, I read them to remind myself how much I have accomplished. Also, keeping old poetry no matter how bad it is shows to me how far I have come.

Q: What advice would you give to other writers?

Do not worry about what one person thinks about your poetry. There will always be that one person (or a group of people) who are offended by what you write or think it’s no good. Keep working on your goals, and you can accomplish anything. Do not be afraid to have other people give you constructive criticism, it can make you grow in ways you never imagined.

Q: Would you care to share a poem?

After tonight
she’ll never ever again
have to wonder
what it feels like
to try to jump over a barbed wire fence,
catch her foot,
and slam her throat
into the wire
–it’s like climbing to the top
tippy top
of a tree,
* snap *
that first breath
you suck in after collapsing
back first, lungs turning black—
only his weapons are his words
and last night he decided
to see how many it took
before they wrapped around her neck
like his thumbs
squeezing
tightening
thrusting
until she’s one breath away
from dying.

and then he lets go.

She sees herself in the reflection
of the spit he sprays across
her face
the growl that echoes deep in the caves
of his lungs
and she remembers
how beautiful she once was
before the cancer
of the vacuum of his world
started eating away at her face
formed valleys and canyons
that were never there in her youth
even though she’s only 29.

when i first met her
she was perched on
the windowsill of my breaking heart
trying to kick her way
into the bullet-proof glass
surrounding my hope
and complicated things
like how I felt seeing
her teeth sprawled
across the living room floor
after last night’s fight
came too close
to leaving too much proof
so she lies
tells her friends that the dog
pulled her up the stairs and she tripped
(which dog she does not clarify).

but i can feel her,
see her floating nightgown
near the ocean on the edge of my bed
tangerine sunrises
screaming “helpme”
because even though
he’s a vacuum
trying to rid her of herself
of the filth she carries around
in the form of personality
she’s stronger than the marble
statue he wants to turn her into
and her beauty
is a cool breeze in the desert

he does not know how
to appreciate her love.

they always taught him
“be stronger than your fist”
but his fists are like concrete
and his words are like
espestice
eating away
at her lungs
liquid drowning her
under the tide he confuses
with affection.

so i pull her into my bed
twist her hair around my fingers
and show her
what a field of roses
feels like when it’s growing
just beneath your breastbone
and she’s blooming

i know i imagine
what her love would look like
as a photo on my mantle
–my prized wife
because she’s too beautiful
to be a trophy
she deserves to shine
like the sun.

so after tonight
i’m going to take her hand
twist out the fear
gently
and carry her
to the palace
she deserves.

and if he shows up
at my door
looking for her
i’ll blow his fucking head off.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Stay Positive & Poetic In Your Own Way

Garth E. Beyer

Paulo Coelho: How I write. Reader: How Do You Write?

Garth Beyer

Paulo Coelho 2010

Less then a week ago I finished The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It was serendipitous when I checked Tim Ferriss’s blog and saw his post: Paulo Coelho: How I Write

I have since followed Paulo on Facebook and Twitter and am continually inspired and ignited with a worldly creative vibe. I thought, as writer to writer’s, I would re-blog Tim’s post and offer my own advice. In doing so, I hope to set a chain reaction off for other readers and writers that admire Paulo’s writing and style to give their input. I want to read the answers to the questions below from other people because I know that if they are followers of Paulo or Tim, then I know they are destined for some unnatural form of significance. Directly below is the recording of Paulo answering the questions that follow the recording.

If the recording does not show up for you, follow this link

From Tim Ferriss’s blog: I will answer the interview questions.

– When on deadline, what is the first thing you do in the morning? What does your daily schedule look like? Do you take any days off, and what determines if you’ve had a “successful” writing day?

Garth:
Work is what I do months before a deadline and days right before it. Writing for entertainment is what occupies my time in between. In this sense, I am clearly stating that I love to have things accomplished far before a deadline. So the work I do months before the deadline is the collaboration of ideas, organization and understanding of my focus and goals for what I am writing. The work I do the few days before the deadline is when I blow the readers mind. I have always said that I work best under pressure and it still stands true. Stress for me, opens up this sector of imagination in my brain that nothing else will unlock. As for the time in between these fragments, this is when I write creatively for various segments of my overall project. To break it down,

A daily schedule months before the deadline: Waking up and eating a healthy breakfast at the computer as I do research before my writing. Then I go to my “I’d rather be writing” job where I brainstorm and take notes that pop into my mind. As soon as work is finished I am back at the computer working endlessly on planning, set up and having a lot of free writing sessions. I’ll typically exercise at least 6 days a week for a break from staring at the computer monitor and restarting the system.

A daily schedule in between the start and deadline: Waking up and eating healthy breakfast, light music, reading some blog posts and then some fiction. Going to my “I’d rather be writing job” and relaxing, not specifically focusing on the writing task. This is when I start to have more wonderful life experiences that I could incorporate into my writing and I write when the vibe is highest and the flow as unstoppable.

A daily schedule days before the deadline: Wake up and write, eat, write, work, write, eat, write, exercise, write, write, and write. Some of my strongest writing is written very late at night while I am flowing between the dream world and reality. I will have a post out on this particular topic within a few days.

To me, a successful day of writing occurs in two ways. The first is when I have written 5 or more segments, or chapters if you will. The second form of success is when I spend an hour and a half creating one of the greatest segments of the overall project and the rest of the day is left to churn new concepts and experience life to inspire new ideas for future segments.

I have to be half-corn-half-cheese and say that I do not take any days off. I am known for always carrying a book and a notebook around with me everywhere I go. I look for ideas to write about in everything I do.

– How do you capture ideas that might be helpful in your writing? These days, what software and tools do you use for writing?

Garth:

On the go, I use a notepad on my phone.

At any events or meetings, I bring my journal to write in.

When I am at the computer, I have a word document always open to write in, I call it “Infinity Works”.

At work or any other place, I write on sticky notes or whatever it is I can find.

I have tried phone apps, and software help like Evernote but none of them seem to satisfy me. I like to keep it all simple and easily able to manipulate my writing.

– How much of your books do you visualize/outline upfront vs. writing organically piece-by-piece? In other words, how much of the story arc have you decided before you start writing?

Garth:

As stated before, I visualize the organization and types of stories and points I want to incorporate into my work, but the segments themselves, I write organically based off the idea I set for it. The greatest part about writing this way is that it allows you to maintain an open mind for fresh ideas. Imagine writing something that has been completely thought out. How do you expect to create additional originality?

– What are the most common mistakes that you see first-time novelists making? Most common weaknesses?

Garth:

Since I am a first-time novelist, I can only speak for myself. One of the most common mistakes I began making was that I would critique myself over and over in order to write what I know the audience would want to read instead of finding a balance between what it is the audience wants to read and what the audience could read and feel my passion inside each word.

– Do you base your characters on real people? Why or why not? If not, how do you develop those characters?

Garth:

Whether we realize it or not, what we write is based off our experiences. So either our characters are based off of real people directly, or they are based off parts of real people that we have come in contact with in our lives. Personally, I air on the non-fictional side of people because I want people to make connections to my fictional characters and think to themselves how similar the character is to someone they know.

– What are the 2-3 things you personally find most invigorating or helpful when you’re stuck or feel stagnated with writing/ideas? Do you have a team of any type (researchers, etc.) who help you?

Garth:

There are three tactics I take until I stop for the day and wait for the next to continue writing. The first is to have music on. Currently it is “And Then There Were None” that I can listen to and for some reason, it increases my energy, doubles my positive aura and triples my creative thinking process. I think it’s a great idea to find some music that can get you motivated and that will create a barrier by preventing any distracting thoughts to come in. By having music on, your mind is taking up only the music you are listening to and the focus you have on your writing. Without the music you are subject to random thoughts, any noise distractions and you are no longer forced to focus harder on your writing.  The second tactic is exercise, for some this could be confused with cleaning, which may or may not be a good thing. Regardless, there is nothing like burning your physical energy to leave the majority of your mind to focus. After a workout, you are too tired to want to do anything else but sit down, so you might as well write! Tim, I am sure would second that. The third tactic is to read some fiction that relates to the topic you are stuck on. Get an idea of what others think, even if it does not help with your particular writers block, it will create ideas for future segments, thus preventing future stagnation.

Re-Blog This

and post your own answers. Make sure to add credit to the source where you read this below in the “Credit” section with a link. If everything goes as I hope and will continue to push for, we will have twitter interactions in no time discussing the different ways we write that beginners can view and connect with writers that sync the best with them. This is as much about Tim, Paulo, Me, You and the millions of other writers in the world.

Stay Positive and Share For The Other Writers Seeking Advice

Garth E. Beyer

Credit

Credit for the interview and basis of this post goes to Tim Ferriss. After reading one post, you will without a doubt be checking Tim’s website daily waiting for the next.

Thank you to Paulo for sharing his personal expertise and enlightening us with fascinating posts at Paulo Coelho’s Blog