06 février 2008
Write a novel in 15 minutes
I know! Again we are changing subject... But, believe me you cannot progress as a journalist if you do not focus on the writing itself a little. I bought a book last year during my dark, very dark period from a very talented American lady who happens to be teaching at UCI (where I stayed for a few months but, that's another story). Please allow me to introduce her to you....
Barbara Demarco-Barrett is the author of Pen on Fire, published by Harvest Books. The inspirational book about writing, teaches the reader how to complete a writing project by working on it for only 15 minutes everyday. Dedicated mainly to the women, who tend to be the busiest, it is a useful reading for men as well. And it works. Barbara managed to complete her own book by using this technique.
A : I love writing books, especially inspirational ones. I was teaching a private writing class at my house. I had a student who was always inspired when she came to class but then, she would go home and not write. And then again, she would come to class be productive and stopped writing when she was back home. This situation happened various times. She told me once : « If you could come home and live with me, I think I would be able to get my writing done. » Of course, she was joking. And I said :« I have a husband and a baby but I will write a book for you. » It is this flip comment on my part that made me think I should write a book for her and all my other students. A: I wanted Pen on Fire to be the kind of book I like to read about writing. That is really how it began : try to find an idea to keep Robin and the others inspired when they were not in class. All this happened eight years before I actually sold the book. It took several agents and titles before Pen on Fire was published. Originally, I did not have the slant of time, of using little pieces of time to write a book. It was too much like other books about writing. There was really not anything special in it at first. A :The entire process took eight years. You have writing, revision, editing. And at the beginning, I was working on various other projects at the same time, a memoir, pieces about India…. The idea of time came only a year before I sold the project. It did not come out before I learned enough from editor rejection comments. I had to think about what I was doing that was different. It then became clear that what I was doing was teach people how to use the time they had. It was not important to write thousand words or three pages a day. It was the way they used the little bits of time the had left. Q :How did you develop the idea ? A :My students often complained about the lack of time and not the lack of ideas. They felt frustrated about not having a week or even just a complete hour. I started to look at the way I was having my own writing done. At that time, my son was two. I worked on different things for pay then, like Public Relation and non-fiction writing. I could not afford to work full time on a project that may or may not sell. I started watching carefully at how I was using my own time. I was writing when Travis was taking a nap or while I was cooking. I noticed I was rushing to the computer when I had a few minutes and that ended in me writing a paragraph. I could not find a book which addressed the issue of time Q : How did you get the idea of your book Pen on Fire ?
Q :What happened next ?
Q : How long did it take from the writing to the publishing ?
(to be continued)
19 novembre 2007
About homeworks and cooking...
I know another topic unrelated to what is supposed to be the main one but, we will come back to it soon enough. One of my teachers gave us a portrait to write. I chose to write about Garance, being a huge fan of her blog. I have to confess I was a bit worried to ask her if she would dedicate long minutes to a student so she can ask dumb and intrusive questions that would be turned into a piece wiche would never be published? Not only did she yes but she also spent 2 hours with me. You know what I lke the most about this job is that it allows you to meet incredible people all the time. When I say "incredible", I am not refering to the rich and famous, but to those ordinary heroes who could be our neighbours. Everybody has a story to tell was I taught once. This happens to be so true...
Garance as she is known on the Internet complains about the Mistral, the cold wind which blows in the south of France. She is the author of the « Les Cuisines de Garance » (The kitchens of Garance) which attracts almost 500 people daily. The entire title appeared in a dream one night. « I believe in signs » she says… She adds « I am a little bit different » as if she wanted to excuse herself . The result : pieces of her life mixed with some cooking illustrated by beautiful pictures. « I just believe in doing things wholeheartedely » she says. Why Garance ? Because of this special plant which grows in the region where she lives, in Cavaillon, near Avignon. She started the blog one day to keep in touch with her friends staying abroad. Les Cuisines de Garance was also a business she set up in 2003 which specialized in catering, teaching and home-cooked Italian food to be sold on markets. It was shut down in 2005 despite it being successful.
Travels and men have punctuated an unusual journey. It all started at 17 when she decided to move to the USA with an older boyfriend. At 20, some friends suggested she came to Sweden since she enjoyed sailing so much. She remained there for 14 years. She started working in a restaurant as a dishwasher in order to pay for college. She ended up running her own restaurant a few years later. « It was a success » she adds with pride. At 34, she moved back to the south of France with another man.
She was born in 1964 to a father from Gers, a southern region famous for its food, and a Spanish mother, whose ancestors were Sioux. She says she is proud of the black hair and eyes she inherited from them. The forebear’s name meant « Amber stone ». Strangely, Nathalie’s daughter name was Ambra. The child died 48 hours after she was born. She was suffering from a severe lever-deformity. The cause of the death is Diethylstilbestrol (DES). This synthetic hormon was given to women suffering from miscarriages from the 50s to the 70s. « It boils down to giving pure petroleum to babies » she clarifies. The result : a generation of little girls born with severe genital deformities, unfertile women and highly prone to cancers. Ambra’s death was followed by 8 difficult miscarriages… «The dream of being a mother one day was shattered… It is a terrible wound », she says.
The death of a girlfriend suffering from cancer pushed her to react. She launched a national petition in order to have an amendment recognizing the plight of the DES girls, as they call themselves, applied. This text offers to these women the financial support of the Securité Sociale (Social Security) in case of difficult pregnancies requiring a medical leave for instance. « If these women manage to conceive, they, for most of them, have to be bed-ridden for the rest of their pregnancies. Do you know an employer who would accept to pay for that ? » adds Garance. After this move, came days of activism. In 2006, the application decree was delivered. « I was happy » she says simply. There comes a few minutes of silence.
It is about food again. How does she manage to create such simple and yet incredibly tasty recipes ? « I do not really know. Intuition maybe ? I have never learnt to cook in an academic manner. » How did she start cooking ? « I used to spend some time with my grand-father, a pastry chef. However, he would refuse to teach me cooking as he thought it was not a job for a woman. » she laughs. About the pictures ? « I used to take pictures while travelling. I just decided to photography things outside for the light », she underlines. Her blog was spotted by someone from the Editions Milan. It led to a publishing contract. She is currently writing a recipe book for children. And she complains about the Mistral again.
www.lemondegarance.blogspot.com
