Liturgy of the Mundane Week 6
One of the wise mantras of learning to write well is to write about what you know. It follows from the other top ten thing you will hear if you ask someone to teach you how to write: use concrete details. If one is supposed to use concrete details, one had better write about something familiar. Writing practice should be a place where we are working our writing-well muscles. I know we aren’t sending these out to publishers, but what you practice is what you will do. Imagine that in a Yoda voice.
What does it mean to write with concrete details?
I am sitting in the fellowship hall of my church writing on my computer which is resting on a table that was left out from a luncheon.
The stackable upholstered chair I am sitting on is almost comfortable. It is the last chair on the side of a square arrangement of folding tables disguised under white polyester table cloths. The four tables are shouldered up next to each other in a perpendicular ring. Left in the middle is a space perfect for kids to crawl into, popping up over your pot-luck lunch with the self-satisfaction of being able to get under a table with less trouble than a dislocated hip. (I could go on…)
You get my point? The details: the ancient white table cloths, the upholstered chairs, ground your writing. It gives it place and materiality. You can learn a lot about the state of your soul by noticing what details you decide to pay attention to.
In light of this, let’s write about food this week. A thing we are all familiar with.
Monday: I remember when we ate…
Tuesday: Everything I know about carrots…
Wednesday: You should definitely keep the drinking glasses in…
Thursday: The perfect meal would never have…
Friday: Coffee smells…
Writing Practice Rules:
Grab a pen and paper or dictation device or computer
Write/record the prompt at the top of your page
Set a timer (you can adjust the time to suit your needs…I keep the practices short so they don’t seem overwhelming)
Take a few moments to visualize what the prompt is bringing up
Write or speak or type!! Try not to edit or criticize. Just write.
Write the details of what is coming up. I call this catching what rises.
If you get stuck, make loops with your pen or nonsense syllables with your voice or tap the keyboard
Write the details of what you are seeing until the timer goes off