Gienna Writes (on writing)

Gienna Writes

It is early Sunday morning. I have posted two pictures (three if you count my profile pic), a poem, and excerpts from a short story I've been writing for about 30 years. OK, an exaggeration. But only a slight one.

A note on the poem Analogy: I had a really hard time with the narration and point of view. I know it is confusing because of the pronouns. But it didn't work in first or third person. I never write in second person. This is not the 1980s and I'm no Jay McInerney. But in this case it seemed right. If anyone has a suggestion as to how to ease the readability, or if that is even necessary, I'm open to it.

I don't usually write poetry. And when I do, I don't care so much if it is good or it is bad, or if it doesn't follow the "rules." My poems are very personal -- a way to get some emotion or idea out onto the page quickly. Often, they stem from ideas that are too limited for a short story.

"I never write in second person.

This is not the 1980s

and I'm no Jay McInerney."

A note on the excerpts from the short story, Asleep, Awake: I chose these sections because there's something about them that I like. The language, the mood, the images. But the story itself, although it is about loss and grief, is not as sad as these excerpts suggest. There's a lot more to it. It doesn't exactly have a happy ending. But there is a resolution to the conflict between the girl and her mother. I'm not posting the whole thing because I plan to send it out when it is done. I just hope it doesn't take me another 30 years.

OK, and now the photos. I'm currently shooting digital, although in the past I have used vintage Nikons/Nikkormats. I like the early F series. I like the heft of them. The fact that you have to think about the technical side while shooting. But I find the digital freeing. I didn't think I would like the size, but it turns out not to be a factor. I thought I would miss film, but of course with a decent-sized memory card I can shoot something 100 different ways if I want to, and I'm not "wasting" anything but time. And getting to see the results right away is great. Not to mention being able to share them quickly and easily.

I like doing self-portraits that are distorted or partially hidden. Similarly, I like to do closeups or details of ordinary objects, such as the piece of vintage costume jewelry, or a piece of pottery. If you look carefully, you can see the extraordinary in the ordinary and find flaws in beauty. But is that real? I'll let you decide.

So welcome to the first installment of my blog, be you friend or stranger. I plan to post photographs, short stories, poems, and personal essays throughout the week and then comment on the writing process and the writing life once a week. Feel free to add your two cents. I'm inured to criticism, having worked at newspapers with some really mean copy editors for many years. Not all of them, mind you. Most were really nice, and taught me more about writing than I ever learned in school at any grade level.

So far, one person has commented on my posts. In Spanish. It sounds lovely, though. To comment, simply click on the word "comments" under the entry. If there are no comments, you can add one. If there are one or more comments you can read the previous comments and add your own.

Enjoy,
Gienna