KaBooM WritersKaBooM Writers

Welcome to the online presence of KaBooM, a writing group that has sustained the creative lives of a diverse group of women for over a decade. We hope that getting to know us will inspire you, too!Welcome to the online presence of KaBooM, a writing group that has sustained the creative lives of a diverse group of women for over a decade. We hope that getting to know us will inspire you, too!

Welcome to the online presence of KaBooM, a writing group that has sustained the creative lives of a diverse group of women for over a decade. We hope that getting to know us will inspire you, too!

The KaBooM Writers Notebook: Our Blog

The Things that Keep Us Going

By Susan, May 31st, 2010 | 1 Comment

This past weekend was the Spalding University MFA in Writing homecoming. It was an event put together by our fabulous Alumni Association, offering inspiration and replenishment for our work as writers.

All writers need that from time to time. We need the chance to learn from the literary old masters, to dwell in the carefully wrought sentences from a depth not often plumbed in a headline world. We need the stimulation of new ideas as well, and the chance to explore unfamiliar forms and media.

We need companionship in the split-brain effort of valuing the art of writing itself, while taking on the necessary tasks to develop a writing career. In the places where our stories meet, new insights sometimes arise. We all need writing friends to come home to.

Those of us gathered there drank once again from the well that challenged and nurtured us during our time as students. And we were reminded that the dowdy virtues of perseverance and dedication are nonetheless common elements in most stories of literary accomplishment. Along the way, the friends who value excellent work, as well as the approach to life that allows us to recognize and appreciate it, make the journey itself worthwhile.

There’s an excellent article by Jane Friedman at Writer Unboxed, entitled “The Only Way to Know if You’ll Be a Successful Writer.” It offers the kind of encouragement along these lines that we all need. Enjoy!

Comments (1) — Categorized under: Creativity,Susan Christerson Brown — Tags: ,

Language and Silence

By Susan, March 29th, 2010 | Click to Comment

For the past couple of days I’ve been thinking about writing in the context of these words from John O’Donohue in his beautiful book, Anam Cara.

Behind Celtic poetry and prayer is the sense that the words have emerged from a deep, reverential silence….

Fundamentally, there is the great silence that meets language; all words come out of silence. Words that have a depth, resonance, healing, and challenge to them are words loaded with ascetic silence. Language that does not recognize its kinship with reality is banal, denotative, and purely discursive. The language of poetry issues from and returns to silence.

Writers are often asked how they make space and time for their writing. Those outer, observable rituals and routines are important for getting the work done, but they correspond to an inner state of mind necessary to do creative work. Making time to write is important, but so is achieving the silence that yields work that is true and resonant. Even when our work is collaborative, it is much like what O’Donohue describes as a genuine conversation, when people explore the unknown together, patient with “the silence from which words emerge.”

Deep inner listening allows us to bring something new to light. We have to dip below the surface of everyday discourse to reach the place where our best work comes from. Authentic characters, evocative images, and insightful observations don’t come off the top of our heads. They rise up from deep within.

Good work comes from a place deeper than anything we can decide to accomplish. Our work, discipline, and effort help give us access to that place, but what we seek lies beyond our means of extracting it. It is a gift, for which we wait in silence.

What helps you to listen?

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Writing from the Senses

By Susan, March 1st, 2010 | 4 Comments

During the recent writing retreat led by KaBooM we focused on entering our writing through the senses, and invited a visit from the muse by setting up sensory stations for participants to enjoy. We offered images and textures, and images that were textures in the form of Mary’s quilted paintings. Bells and rattles and rhythm instruments made a variety of intriguing sounds. Tastes including fresh fruit, dill pickles, chocolate, and lemon marmalade also held a wonderful aroma. Other scents, most in containers covered with plain brown paper, included:

  • A tin of brown shoe polish
  • Tide laundry detergent
  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Murphy’s Oil Soap
  • Joy dishwashing liquid
  • Campho-phenique
  • Desitin diaper rash cream
  • Lavender soap
  • Homer Formby’s Tung Oil
  • Garlic powder
  • Almond extract
  • Oregano
  • Coconut extract
  • Crest toothpaste
  • Colgate toothpaste
  • Cedar
  • Herb vinegar
  • Molasses

Are there associations that arise as you read these lists? Are memories stirred just by thinking about these sensations? It’s a reminder of how deeply imprinted sensory experience is.

One participant spoke of how powerfully a sensory cue brought back slices of life—enough to reshape his writing plan for the day. I too have found that certain scents do more than remind me of another time of life; they actually take me there once again and put me in touch with what I might otherwise have forgotten.

Those memories are multi-layered with all kinds of sensory information. The scent of cold cream can show us a bedroom from long ago, the sound of a school bell may evoke the scratch of a new sweater, a taste of home may place us amidst the voices of people long gone. Our deep remembering is brought to life by recalling the memories of the senses, memories carried in the body as well as the mind. Writing gains power when we put them on the page.

We encouraged everyone to explore and follow where their senses took them. It’s an experience that doesn’t end with the close of the retreat, and we invite you to take part as well.

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Where Preparation Ends and Real Learning Begins

By Susan, February 8th, 2010 | Click to Comment

Members of KaBooM enjoyed a lively session during LexArt’s Arts Showcase Weekend on Saturday. We talked about forming and sustaining a writing group, setting goals, writing grant proposals, and taking on a publishing project. The group of hardy souls who braved a wintry morning asked smart questions and brought great energy to the discussion. We had a wonderful time!

Yet amidst the rich conversation and advice about starting something new, a companion idea pulled up a chair.

No matter how carefully we plan, a new project means acting before we fully know what we’re doing. It’s wise to gather information and plan carefully, but preparing to launch something new is not the same as learning how to do it. That happens only when we take the plunge.

There’s a limit to what we can anticipate. Situations we don’t expect will arise, surprises good and bad will appear, and we can’t iron out all the details before we begin. This isn’t exactly a revelation, but it’s easy to lose sight of when we’re doing all we can to prepare for a new endeavor.

The intention to bring something new into the world entails meeting its unknown challenges, whatever they will be. Perhaps the best advice is to have a support system of insightful people who care about the outcome. A group of friends to help deal with the obstacles keeps us moving down the road.

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Clearing the Mind for Creative Work

By Susan, January 25th, 2010 | 1 Comment

Lately I’ve rediscovered the value of morning pages, a tool that Julia Cameron describes in The Artist’s Way. The idea is to write three pages in a journal upon waking, spilling whatever comes to mind in stream-of-consciousness writing without analyzing, censoring, or questioning whatever finds its way to the page. You just keep writing without pause.

What usually happens for me is that the disarray of daily life comes out, with its untended details and unresolved issues. Beneath those are the more substantial concerns, which show up too. The emotional leavings of recent events filter through, self-doubt makes regular appearances, and there are the perennial issues that appear again and again in different contexts. Everything gets put on the page and released as the pen keeps moving.

As a result, my mind becomes clearer. Without the low-level noise of background thoughts it’s easier to concentrate. In sweeping out the clutter of concerns, creative space opens up. Morning pages don’t count as getting my writing work done, but they help clear the way for accomplishing what I want to do. They don’t even have to be done in the morning to be effective.

Morning pages are one way to empty ourselves in order to make room for creative work. What ways have you found to open the space within for your writing?

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Writerly Resolutions for the New Year

By Susan, December 29th, 2009 | Click to Comment

This week between Christmas and New Year’s is a potent time for figuring out what we’ve learned from the past year and preparing to move forward into the new one. Plans, ideas, challenges–what do we focus on for our creative goals, and how do we set priorities for seeing them through? 

Writers need to be both artists and worker bees. We need vision and inspiration, and we also need good tools and work habits. For help with both, here are a couple of excellent websites:

Lisa Sonora Beam writes about Goal Setting for Creatives, with pictures of her own gorgeous planning journal for inspiration.

On Zen Habits, Leo Babauta has a terrific post about cultivating new habits. He also introduces his new site dedicated to helping with keeping those resolutions for the new year, called 6changes.

May you have a happy, inspired, and productive New Year!

Comments (0) — Categorized under: Creativity,Setting Goals,Susan Christerson Brown —

Creative Listening and the Winter Solstice

By Susan, December 21st, 2009 | Click to Comment

The turn of the winter solstice is upon us—hallelujah! We’re reaching the farthest extreme of how short the days will grow, and how long the nights. The return of the sun begins, even with winter yet to endure.

It’s a season of grand celebration and then hunkering down. Not a bad pairing. I’m glad for the holiday lights that see us through these darkest days, but once they’re put away I welcome the most introspective time of the year.

Holly 1_1

As the world grows quiet, it allows the deep listening needed for creative work. Ideas and images have a chance to surface. The subtle stirrings of the imagination have room to take shape.

To prepare for those fertile days, it helps to consider what we’re listening for. What are we processing from the world around us? What is within us that seeks expression? What are we challenged to interpret? How will we act on what comes to our attention?

For the next few days, try to frame the question you want to ask about where your work is going. Then when things settle down after the holidays, listen for the answer.

One of the questions for me has been, “Where is the energy in my writing life, where is it leading me, and what form do I want to be working in?” Ok, that’s three questions. No matter.

What kinds of questions are you asking?

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A Great Day at the Kentucky Book Fair

By Susan, November 9th, 2009 | 1 Comment

We’re still catching our breath from an exciting weekend! The book fair was fun, with so many readers and writers gathered in one place. Seeing old friends and meeting new ones made the day a real pleasure.

The book had a good day as well! We sold every copy we brought, gathered up all the others we could find at short notice, and sold out of them, too! We met a lot of people whose friends had recommended When the Bough Breaks. Thanks for spreading the word.

Here are some pictures from the big day:

Lynn sewing more books at the Ky. Book Fair

Lynn sewing more books at the Ky. Book Fair

Wyn Morris stops by to chat with Leatha, Pam, and Susan

Wyn Morris stops by to chat with Leatha, Pam, and Susan

Pam, Mary, and Susan at the KaBooM table, Ky. Book Fair 2009

Pam, Mary, and Susan at the KaBooM table, Ky. Book Fair 2009

Comments (1) — Categorized under: Events,Susan Christerson Brown —

NaNoWriMo for the Rest of Us

By Susan, November 2nd, 2009 | Click to Comment

So we’re a day into National Novel Writing Month, NaNoWRiMo, and more power to all of you who are making the words fly. But for those of us who aren’t up to the challenge of drafting a novel by the end of the month, (maybe next year…) here’s another possibility.

water spigot_1

Dawn DeVries Sokol is offering a prompt per day for her version of this month’s excitement: NaNoJouMo, or National Nonstop Journaling Month. She’s a lettering artist who renders a word to serve as the day’s inspiration with style and personality. And if the thought of another writing project sounds more like an energy drain than a spigot for new ideas, this can be a journal for doodles and drawings—lines that convey emotion without using language. Sounds refreshing to me, like taking up a dowsing rod to locate a new well of creativity.

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The National Day on Writing in Lexington

By Susan, October 20th, 2009 | Click to Comment

These pictures were taken as the “Longest Short Story Ever Written in Lexington” event unfolded at Third Street Stuff. Everyone was invited to add a line, or several, to the story begun that morning at the Carnegie Center by Ed McClanahan. The tale grew at various locations in Lexington throughout the day. Listen to the WUKY radio report featuring Gail and Lynn.

Gail with the poster advertising Lexington's writing event

Gail with the poster advertising Lexington's writing event

Pam adds to the story as Jan looks on

Pam adds to the story as Jan looks on

One more writer in the parking lot considers what to add before the writing pad moves on

One more writer in the parking lot considers what to add before the writing pad moves on

The Herald-Leader article by Amy Wilson about the finished product, with photo by Pablo Alcala, are here.

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