Posted on

Revising a Book-Length Story

Writing Tools

This post is the first in an occasional series of recommendations for writing tools I’ve found useful. This first installment is for writers who are considering book-length storytelling, in prose or verse. It’s a group of tools I learned from writer, editor, and book coach Julie Artz.

As of today, I’m completing a seven-week Intensive Revision online course with her, in a cohort of 12 students. In seven weeks, we learned the tools to revise successfully. Now the hard work of actual revision begins. I am ending the class with confidence, direction, and momentum. (more…)

Posted on

Happiness Revisited

Writing from an AWA Workshop

Labyrinth Heart

v_rybakov/123RF Stock Photo

In this week, seven years ago, I posted an entry called Happiness: Finding the Way. Yesterday, I wrote in an offering from Write Around the World for Amherst Writers & Artists. There are sessions going on until May 31. I was given a writing prompt that caused me to revisit my earlier blog post. The prompt: Imagine walking through a door that leads to your heart. Describe what you experience there. I was given fifteen minutes to respond. Here is what I wrote. (more…)

Posted on

How to Grieve

A Poem from Rope Made of Bandages

copyright: gdolgikh/123rf Stock Photo

 

Several years ago, I read one of my poems, “I’m Still Your Doctor,” at the World AIDS Day memorial service, I was surprised that my voice broke as I spoke. I felt ambushed by my feelings. But that’s the nature of grief, especially for healthcare workers. We tend to stuff grief down instead of processing it, so it sneaks up on us at unexpected and unwanted times.

Once, I started crying as I combed my hair in the morning, getting ready to go to work. Was it resentment at overwork, or lack of sleep? Yes, but also, a patient had just died. Not my first patient to die, nor the last. But the first one I found myself grieving for. I wrote this poem many years later, which appears in my chapbook, Rope Made of Bandages.

(more…)

Posted on

The Creative Process

Particle Collision in LHC (Large Hadron Collider)

 

Creativity can come from the collision of unrelated things. A poem can be a container to hold these collisions. Sometimes, the combination of ideas is rational. When I wrote “Window to the Bay,” I combined dead vegetable matter and a patient’s necrotic toe into the same poem. The rational mind can see that death connects these two ideas. But often, the combination of ideas is surprising or unexpected.

A poem I wrote for another class began as a semi-logical discussion of the side effects of chemotherapy. It morphed into a poem about the stress of being a physician, in sonnet form. I struggled for a long time with this poem. (more…)

Posted on

Reflections on the Challenge

A to Z Challenge 2023

 

A Summary of the Month’s Posts on Micro-Transformations

I read through all of my posts backward, from Z back to A. My thoughts are well represented. I have transformed myself and continue to transform myself by taking small steps. And I’ve defined what I have to offer to help others to do the same, whether through my writing or my facilitation of writing groups. (more…)

Posted on

Z is for Zoom Meetings

A to Z Challenge 2023

 

My schedule is full of Zoom meetings. Each has its own flavor. None is to be dreaded. Three years ago, when I last did the A to Z Challenge, I was just getting used to Zoom. It felt like a poor substitute for in-person meetings.

Many people still feel that way, but I no longer think of Zoom meetings as “less than.” Maybe the dose of contact I need is less than other people’s. I used to prefer energy treatments to massage. (more…)

Posted on

Y is for Your Face

A to Z Challenge 2023

 

The first class I took in the online Narrative Medicine program at Columbia University was called “Close Readings.” It was recommended as the first class because it was designed by the founder of the program, Dr. Rita Charon. We interacted closely with works of art: classic short pieces of literature, a Beatles song, and artworks. We responded with what we learned from the close examination.

One of the assignments was to choose a piece of music to examine. I chose this piece. And this is the response I turned in for that assignment. (more…)

Posted on

X Marks the Spot

A to Z Challenge 2023

 

A famous Christian scripture (Matthew 6:21) says, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” In context, this means one should set aside worldly treasures for spiritual ones. But in a sort of reverse engineering, I have often thought that my treasure lay where my heart was. To find my treasure, I needed to know my heart.

When I made my decision to go to medical school, I did it by reading What Color is Your Parachute? —  a book for career changers and job seekers. I went to my local library in Somerville, NJ, sat at one of the big round blond-wood tables, and worked my way through the exercises in the book. (more…)

Posted on

W is for W.A.W.

A to Z Challenge 2023

 

Write Around the World is an annual fundraiser for Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA). The proceeds fund AWA’s social justice programs. Every May,  trained writing facilitators volunteer to offer workshops. The goal is to reach those who may not be familiar with AWA’s supportive writing method. On Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at 10 a.m. (EDT), I will be co-facilitating a two-hour workshop with Francine Diodati. We will be online via Zoom.

Francine is a poet. She’s also a caregiver, both in her healthcare day job and at home with her special needs child. Our workshop is part of AWA’s Caregiver Project. The AWA has been working to harness the Power of Story in its workshop series, and The Caregiver Project is part of that work. (more…)

Posted on

V Is for Vipassana

A to Z Challenge 2023

 

Vipassana is a Pali word that translates as insight or mindfulness. For almost a year, I have been using an app on my phone and desktop to ground my day with a 10-minute guided vipassana meditation. If it interests you, you can sign up for a 7-day free trial. Or you can contact me and I can invite you to a 30-day free trial.

It’s part of my morning routine, which has changed slightly in the month of April. I have to incorporate my commitment to blog almost daily. I scribble some ideas for the next blog post into my morning pages, then do my 10 minutes of vipassana. Next, I open a Word document to begin drafting. (more…)