My mountain,
My Mother.
Weeping with the blood
of my Grandfather's fathers,
Faces, stained black.
My mountain
Wails for justice,
Losing her voice,
Like a dying wick
in a smoldering candle.

Her children,
in the corner,
surviving
on scraps
from the master's table.
Cloaked,
in darkness,
unknowing,
unseen,
While she is raped.

Everything pure.
Everything just.
Everything Sacred.
Reduced to ashes and soot for a dollar.

Labels: Appalachia, Appalachian life, coal, mining, mountaintop removal, poetry

I'm a hillbilly, a woman, and a poet, and I understood early on that nobody was going to listen to anything I had to say anyway, so I might as well just say what I want to.

- Irene McKinney, Poet Laureate, West Virginia

Labels: Appalachian life, famous appalachians, Irene McKinney, poet laureate, poetry, poets, Quote of the day, West Virginia

Our constantly evolving language, that transcontinental pipeline of countless ideas, words, phrases, and comparisons seem to flow in endless supply to those who tap into it for a livelihood. Yet, all aspiring and established writers get our writing pipes clogged up from time to time. The worst thing that can happen to a writer is to find themselves at a complete loss for words. Searching for the cerebral Drāno to clear that mental blockage is a challenging feat that can send one into the darkest underbelly of self-loathing, but once that pipe clears up, it is pure ecstasy just to get those words flowing once again.

There are thousands of websites out there that give you tips like "Set a schedule and stick to it", or "Examine the psychological reasons that you feel like you can't write", blah blah blah. Most of those sites tell you that you have issues. In most cases, that just isn't true. Yes, maybe you're stressed, but that doesn't mean you have "issues" that you need to line out. Sometimes you just can't think of anything to write about. Sometimes you're just "stuck". It doesn't make writer's block this big bad boogeyman or gremlin that sleeps under your desk, screwing up your life, scattering your pens all willy nilly and causing "issues". Yes, sometimes it might feel that way, but I can't handle the seriousness of that advice. It is just so...depressing.

I have found several ways to combat my own bouts of writer's block, some sources coming from other individuals, and most coming from my own trial and error to find what works. The basic tenet that I have learned is that on-topic distractions can make a world of difference. You can distract yourself, but do it constructively with the goal of breaking that block in mind.



Writing for Writing's Sake
Sometimes writing for the writing's sake can be just what one needs to get those ideas and words flowing again. I find that sometimes just plopping down in front of the monitor or on the bed with a notebook and writing about how I am feeling, or what I did when I woke up (in excruciating detail) can help. You would be surprised how much detail you can get into when you're just describing making a pot of coffee. Don't stop. Don't look back to edit, just keep writing. We're not looking for print quality, here.

If you are still at a loss, write about how much you hate writer's block. Go ahead, imagine it is a tangible creature, that little gremlin that is screwing your desk up and causing you to have "issues". Detail all the things you would like to do to the little monster and write until he has suffered an agonizing and blood curdling death. That should do it.


Setting the Tune: or, Rock Out With Your Block Out
Staring at a blank sheet of paper can only make things worse when you're trying to think. You focus more on the lack of words on that sheet than the potential that the sheet has. Break up that monotony and pent up tension with a jam break.

We all have certain songs that trigger an "abnormal" response in our normally stoic selves. You know you have a few. For instance, if you're driving in the car, and a certain song comes on the radio and it makes you feel so great that the next thing you know, you're lip syncing and dancing like a fool. You have become the guy at the stoplight who forgot his car had transparent windows.

The making of a mixtape may be considered an ancient practice from the era of the cassette, but with the availability of cd burners today, there is absolutely no reason against your making a mixDISC of those few songs to rock out to. Break that tension! You're most likely in the privacy of your own home, so nobody is there to judge you, so get your funk on or do your best air guitar rendition, you know it feels good. The point is to get moving, and have a little fun doing it.

When you're done dancing around the house, sit back down. You've been liberated and can start writing again.


Post-Its are a Girl's Best Friend
I'm infamous for my love of the Post-It note. I have a stack in the purse (when I carry one), in the car, and in every room of my home. You don't have to use Post-Its, any notebook will do (smaller sizes work best for portability). But a simple sentence written down about a particular line or idea to jog your memory can work wonders when you are strapped for ideas to write about later on.

You never know when an idea will hit you, and when it does, get it down before you lose it. If you ever want to win the battle against the 'Block, this should do it.



A Quote of the Day Keeps the Clogging Away
I find that sometimes looking for inspiration in the words of others can get your wheels of thought turning.

Bartlett's, BrainyQuote, and ThinkExist are three really good quote sites on the internet.


Take a Ride on the Memory Machine
If you're finding trouble trying to flesh out a character's personality, go back to a real person that reminds you of what you want your character to represent. Write a few paragraphs about that person. What did you like about them? What did you loathe about them? Did they have any habits that annoyed you or amused you? Any characteristics about their appearance that stood out to you? You could have seen this person in passing on the street, or they could be a close acquaintance, it doesn't matter. The point is that once you focus and get a train of thought moving, you find it easier to develop your character.

I have also found that if you're strapped for ideas, looking back into your memory of distinguishing geographic or landscape features can help. Think about that scene from your memory. What could have happened there? Why? Who was involved? Feel free to utilize the 5W+H formula here: (Who, What Where, When, Why, & How) I've had a few interesting vignettes occur from out of nowhere simply by remembering a particular setting from my own life.

Using Google image search can also be helpful when trying to visualize a scene. Writing about some place in Atlanta? Writing about an old farm house? Google it in an image search and use characteristics in the photos that show up as a springboard.


Converse With Your Muse
You know that friend or acquaintance you have that just being around them makes things spring into your head like a preteen on a trampoline? We all have one. Call them up, tell them what you're working on, that you're stuck, and the short conversation alone will help you decompress and free up your mind. Get back to work.


Find What Works for You
Clichéd but true. Find what inspires you and aids your focus. Everything I have told you above works for me, but it may not work for you. Take from them what you will and redefine them into your own style. OR...you can go to another site and try to figure out why you have "issues" and see where it goes from there.

Happy writing,
~Kell

Labels: creative writing, fiction, nonfiction, poetry, writer, writer's block, writing

Years ago, I read Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce by Robert Penn Warren. While looking for today's Famous Appalachian Quote of the Day, I came across the following excerpt from this work. Though the story is completely unrelated, deep down I feel it can apply to the Appalachia we live in today:

My father held my hand, and he died.
Dying, said: ‘Think always of your country.
Your father has never sold your country.

Has never touched white-man money that they
Should say they have bought the land you now stand on.
You must never sell the bones of your fathers-
For selling that, you sell your Heart-Being".

I can't say if it was because I was fairly young and self-absorbed when I read the poem, or that now that I'm older I can be a little more introspective, but those two stanzas stuck a deep chord within me.

Why it rings more true to the way I see my Appalachia now versus the Appalachia I was literally clawing my way out of when I was seventeen can only be ascribed to the responsibility I feel for preserving the legacy of my Appalachian heritage today. I am guilty of being ashamed of my roots for a period in my younger life. I can't take that back, but I can learn from it.

I think as we mature we begin to see the merits of our culture and upbringing, and the value of sharing it with the next generation. Traditions fade with time, simply because they go dormant, unused, unmarried with the cultural chattels passed down to the successive generation.

Each era possesses less and less to identify with it's foundations, and instead of embracing the old ways and redefining them into a new identity, they're rejected and shunned. In order to attain the "modern" ideals of the non-rural lifestyle for the sake of progress, we are "selling the bones of our fathers", and losing our unique identity as Appalachians.

Labels: Appalachia, Appalachian life, culture, identity, poetry, Robert Penn Warren, tradition