Support For an Authentic Writing Practice, Profession, & Community
Raps on the Soul of Craft
Write with an eye only toward craft and no soul, and your writing life gradually may become little more than a job. Write for years only "from your heart," and you may never feel adept at handling your medium's tools. A writer's soulful process and adept craft need not be at odds.
The following raps address common topics especially writers of nonfiction (memoir, essay, nature writing, et cetera) face. Writers of any genre, though, may find merit in these words.
They are written as "verbal essays," attempts to say something, albeit inconclusively, regarding these topics. I delivered them originally at Woodstock, New York's The Colony Cafe where I led a six-weeks course in writing creative non-fiction called "Imagining the Truth."
RAP#1: THE DRAFT AS QUEST: FINDING YOUR REAL STORY & SUBJECT
RAP #2: BEING HONEST, BEING AUTHENTIC
RAP #3: THE SACRED VOICE'S MOVEMENT: FROM WHAT HAPPENED TO SO WHAT
RAP #4: THE DRIVE TO RE-MEMBER & TO TELL STORIES
RAP #5: TENDING THE GARDEN: THE FIRE TO PERSEVERE
Copyright 2006 Jeff Davis
No part of this piece may be reproduced without the express consent of the author.
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