{"id":891,"date":"2017-05-07T13:14:28","date_gmt":"2017-05-07T17:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/?p=891"},"modified":"2017-05-07T13:14:28","modified_gmt":"2017-05-07T17:14:28","slug":"alternative-approaches-to-creative-writing-now-titled-how-dare-we-write","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/?p=891","title":{"rendered":"Alternative Approaches to Creative Writing (now titled: How Dare We! Write"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Alternative Approaches to Creative Writing:\u00a0 a writer\u2019s journey\u00a0<\/strong>Or, perhaps Alternative Text for Creative Writers: a university instructor\u2019s curriculum, or perhaps any number of titles I\u2019ve conjured.\u00a0 For several years I\u2019ve been asking the question what colorful writer has written a book about writing.\u00a0 Recently I discovered Black Lightning:\u00a0 poetry-in-Progress, edited by Eileen Tabios, an excellent anthology containing interviews of Asian American writers of poetry and working drafts of their poems.\u00a0 My publisher was willing to, with permission, republish the now out-of-print anthology, but it would have been a tremendous undertaking in terms of practicality; instead, he said \u201cwrite the book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone who knows me knows that anyone that says I can do something knows I am going to say, \u201cBut I can\u2019t.\u201d Self-deprecation.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do I know?\u201d\u00a0 But I clung to the idea. Recently I read Tiger Writing<\/em>, by Gish Jen, but, even though I\u2019m an academic, I felt I had to work too hard to make use of it.\u00a0 I wanted a book about the craft of writing that was accessible, yet dispelled various myths of what it takes to be a creative writer, that could also be used as a classroom text book.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Now that I\u2019ve put it out into the world that I am going to write this book myself (though I hold my breath patiently knowing David Mura is working on a creative writing text that I know will make me weep with joy), a friend said that Jewel Parker Rhodes (Free Within Ourselves: Fiction Lessons For Black Authors<\/em>\u00a0<\/a> and The African American Guide to Writing & Publishing Non Fiction<\/em>)\u00a0<\/a> and Walter Mosley, Black writers, have also written books about writing and their books are now on my wish list!\u00a0\u00a0 But, there\u2019s room for many more creative writing texts, especially by writers of color and any writers who just might have \u201calternative\u201d views about writing.<\/p>\n

\n

I told my publisher \u201cI can\u2019t\u201d until I decided one day that I could, inspired by thoughtful questions participants in the 2015-2016 Loft Mentorship Series asked me about my writing, that despite my initial hesitation and self-talk (what do I know, even about my own writing<\/em>)I was able to answer with astounding confidence and credibility.\u00a0 I told Victor, maybe I do know something.\u00a0 He said, \u201cIt\u2019s about time you acknowledge it. Write the book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Afterword:\u00a0 it\u2019s been three months since my publisher, Victor Volkman, Modern History Press, said, \u201cwrite it.\u201d\u00a0 For three months I\u2019ve been mulling over a book title and chapter titles, and have written nothing.\u00a0 But, as 2015 came to a close, a friend and former student and I discussed the book she\u2019d been re-visioning for a number of years.\u00a0 Our discussion motivated me to write what might be the last chapter, or not, in this book which for now will continue to be aka (also known as).\u00a0 My friend, who actually named one of my earlier books, suggested The Problem with Convenience<\/em>-which I love, and with a more specific subtitle just might work.<\/p>\n

To end this too lengthy introduction, my publisher and I agreed that posting chapters, as I write them, on my much too ignored, blog, http:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com, would be worthwhile.\u00a0 In this regard, know that the chapters are drafts (grammar and punctuation are not necessarily skills honed by me and will take time to perfect).\u00a0 But, eventually, my copyrighted posts will transform into a publishable book.\u00a0 (By the way, I got this idea from a former student who has been blogging every day for several years and her blog posts became chapbooks published by Red Bird Chapbooks-http:\/\/pearl-whyyoulittle.blogspot.com\/. \u00a0I\u2019m a firm believer in giving credit where credit is due, and acknowledge that I learn from my students, and I\u2019m motivated by them.)<\/p>\n

\u00a9Sherry Quan Lee, January 9, 2016<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alternative Approaches to Creative Writing:\u00a0 a writer\u2019s journey\u00a0Or, perhaps Alternative Text for Creative Writers: a university instructor\u2019s curriculum, or perhaps any number of titles I\u2019ve conjured.\u00a0 For several years I\u2019ve been asking the question what colorful writer has written a book about writing.\u00a0 Recently I discovered Black Lightning:\u00a0 poetry-in-Progress, edited …<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/span><\/i><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[155,66,160],"class_list":["post-891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-in-progress-2016","tag-how-dare-we-write","tag-multicultural","tag-writers-who-dare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=891"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":893,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/891\/revisions\/893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.sherryquanlee.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}