Month: September 2018
Digital Bullet Journaling… but for Writers?
So… is anyone else into digital journaling? Ever since I got my Galaxy Tab s3, it’s been my latest obsession. I love notebooks and planners but sadly, I could never stick to them for a variety of understandable ( I swear they are) reasons.
Anyway, I’ve been playing around with some templates that suit a writer’s lifestyle. You know what I mean, word count goals, chapters completed and what not.
I’d like to hear some thoughts. If you do digitally plan or journal, what platform do you use? What device?
– B. Brown
(Photo courtesy of Pinterest. Here’s the link: https://pin.it/5cl27nkdpo5tcx )
What I Learned in Boating School Today is: Literary Theory (Quick Read)
So I just finished up a course in Literary Theory and when I say this was my most difficult course by far, I mean it. No, really, this course had me questioning everything about my writing, my choice of authors, my purpose in life… my soul was wrung for every last drop of conviction it possessed.
But my turmoil wasn’t without reward.
I learned about the four major approaches to literary criticism:
Marxism, which is mainly looks for class struggle and social conflict in a text, and how it reflects history, Deconstruction, which loves to look for the pitfalls of language, laugh and throw it back in our faces in pieces, Feminism, which is exactly what it looks like (and damn, there’s a lot of it in classic texts) and my favorite, Psychoanalytic, formed from Freudian principles and supplemented with the ideas of Lacaniasm.
I don’t want to keep you long, seeing as though there’s a wealth of more entertaining things to read out there, but I want to just stress the importance of these theories really quick. I believe that as a writer, it would behoove you to do a bit of research on these to deepen your understanding of what makes for rich and timeless literature. If you know what the scholars look for, you’ll know what to deliver. The hardest part is figuring out how to deliver it and that’s where these theoretical approaches come in. As you all know, it’s crucial for us to read critically; the principles of these theories will help you do that. I can honestly say that the manuscript I’m currently drafting has gained a few more layers.
If you’d like me to do a mini series, diving deeper into these forms of critiques, let me know in the comments section. We’re all here to learn, grow and share and I’d love to hear your take on these critiques.
-B. Brown
I’ve Returned
and where’ve I been?
easing from under the shade
of my apple tree
whose roots have broken concrete,
whose fruits have fallen
too soon
from the faintest winds,
where have I been?
cowering amongst rotten cores
and tics disguised as seeds
hailing Mary
every time I thought
I heard my mirror speak…
but my reflection wasn’t my own
not that I could even recognize
myself without a tight scarf of smoke
my reflection wasn’t own
I learned that my demons
could shape-shift at will
and they will
where I’ve been
is seeking sanctuary
in the calloused hands of hope
savoring grains of salt
praying that the price I paid
to uproot everything I know
will return to me
seven-fold
and glimmering
with the honest of golds
and truth be told
where I’ve been
now seems eons away
and dozens of crates of mold
I was cheaply sold ago
before I chose to make
that harassing Holy Ghost
my home
home,
here, amongst potential
around the influential
facing a promising venue
of what I could do
what I should do
and will do
I’m here,
found again
never to be lost again…
– B. Brown
[image courtesy of Pinterest]