Weaving Words | Elizabeth Ayres Center for Creative Writing

by Elizabeth Ayres

Which words call to you?

I?m taking a weaving class, and my teacher said something the other day I found illuminating for the writer?s life.

She said that she never plans a project.? Instead, she goes into the store to see which yarns call out, ?Take me home.?? Then she sits with them at home and lets them speak to her as she asks questions of them.? Are you soft and yielding, needing to be made into an airy shawl or scarf?? Are you more rambunctious, wanting to be made into something bolder: a place mat, for instance, or a rug?

I thought of all the times I?ve heard student writers lament about how they can?t come up with a ?plot,? or they?re not ?getting the conflict right? or how they can?t ?develop characters? or come up with ?good dialogue.?? And I remembered how, in my own writing practice, it?s so important to sit there ? to just sit there quietly at my desk until the right word or sentence comes and asks to be used.? The words say, ?Take me home.?? Then, when I have the right words, I can ask them, Are you soft and yielding, needing to be made into a poem?? Are you more rambunctious, wanting to be made into dialogue between two lovers who are fighting?

The words will teach you everything you need to weave them.

Sep 07 2012

Source: http://creativewritingcenter.com/weaving-words/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=weaving-words

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