Touching. Words can be powerful stimulants, bad or good. I choose the latter.
Pain Is A Great Teacher
I haven’t blogged in one year. WOW! As a long-time blogger, that’s a huge break.
In January I had a devastating fall in my home. I broke my shoulder, damaged the ulnar nerve in my elbow, sustained a concussion, bruises from head to toe, sprained and fractured my wrist, lost all use of my right arm and hand––of course I’m right-handed. Of course! ––and was bedridden for over 3 months. It was a traumatic injury that I am still, and as of writing this on September 1st 2024, going to physical therapy twice a week to regain full use of my hand. It’s painful, but worth it.
During my bedridden days, my husband had to feed me. I HATED being a helpless burden.
Anyways … I couldn’t even hold my phone, imagine that! I was very upset about losing writing time. And though the prospect of working on my full-length novel projects was too overwhelming for my concussed brain, I had to do something. Also, at that point, I could only use my forefinger on my bruised left hand to press a button, or anything else. My right hand was completely useless and in pain. The picture here shows how my arm swelled up and had black bruises from shoulder to fingertips. It looks more like an elephant trunk than a human arm. But human it was, and it was mine.
I was getting a bit depressed (pain meds didn’t help) about not writing, which I also realized was projecting my fear of having just almost died, onto the writing that would never be finished. My fate was linked with my trauma and created a profoundly sad state of mind. And trust me, that’s not a good foundation for healing––but only I could lift my spirits.
Unable to use my right hand––any movement reduced me to agony and tears––I managed to prop my phone on a pillow next to me and turn on my voice technology. I spoke into the phone and texted myself bits and pieces of story ideas and poems, trying to reawaken and spark my groggy brain cells. Though some days I could only work this way for 5-10 minutes without dropping into complete exhaustion, it saved me. I felt a sense of purpose and was able to stay in touch with my writing spirit, which is everything. Feeling a sense of purpose is vital in healing from anything.
During those months I managed to write several poems. I sent them to my e-mail (via text) to edit and format later when I was sure I would be able to type again. Later came five months later in early June. I formatted them and organized a manuscript of poetry, along with professional art, and voila! A small book of poetry was born from my trauma and a desperate desire to heal—heart, body, mind, and soul.
I am now querying that book to publishers. I am pleased to say that one poem has just been published in the Penn Journal of Arts and Sciences Literary journal.
Please give it a read, my poem is titled, Maiden, Mother, Crone https://www.upennjournalarts.org/writing/maiden-mother-crone-c44gn-nwrbj
They also did a lovely interview with me, take a look at my featured profile Mindy Halleck — Penn Journal of Arts and Sciences (upennjournalarts.org)
Another poem titled, Unraveling was published in the Edmonds News, Poet’s Corner: Unraveling – My Edmonds News Though that poem was written before my fall.
What has this taught me about life? Well, pain is one of the greatest teachers we have. We learn a lot about ourselves, our resolve, our desire to heal, and mental as well as physical fortitude. I’ve lived through cancer, and had numerous other things happen to me but this injury has been the most traumatic, soul shaking experience. What it did was focus me in a way I had not been focused since my brothers died two years ago. It reminded me that time is of the essence and if I wanted to get anything done before I too, check out, I’d better get busy.
It also made me focus on my intentions, for example, what do I want to say in my work? I am concentrating on writing about the lives of women—ordinary and extraordinary alike—and the choices they make. I desire to delve into stories and poems that are instructional from my Crone-age perspective and encouraging for younger generations, passing on the wisdom of this old female warrior who has gone before. Pain has taught me to embrace my unique voice on these topics. Afterall, no one else has my lived experience or my voice.
I’m back to life now, gardening (short stints), and back to writing and querying. Oh, and smiling, I am definitely back to smiling.
Don’t wait for pain to be your teacher. What are you writing, why are you writing, and how can you tap into your unique voice?
Fatal Flaw
Aside Posted on
WHAT IS A FATAL FLAW? —- It’s character arc 101.
This flaw is a character’s destructive character trait that is often the cause of their demise.
Great characters are generally wounded, and they don’t want to be hurt again, so they adopt new protective behaviors––drinking (Jesse Stone), tattoos (Lisbeth Salander) or unchecked ambition (Macbeth), whose fatal flaw ultimately led to his downfall.
But their new defensive behaviors are usually dysfunctional, increasing negative consequences and keeping them from attaining the things they desperately want and need.
And speaking of Macbeth, let’s look at the brilliant performance of the actor, Walton Goggins (pictured above) as Boyd Crowder in the hugely popular, Justified series. Boyd is a complex, brilliantly articulate man with a huge fatal flaw. His FF, GREED. Even when he has everything, he says he wants, love, money, and a possible escape plan, that one last big steal is too intoxicating for him to leave behind. He lets the love of his life walk out, believing he will get his hands on the elusive millions of dollars, earn her love back, and life will be wonderful again. Sadly, she realizes that’s not possible, because Boyd is weaker than his flaw.
Boyd, portrayed alongside his nemesis, Marshall Raylan Givens (actor Timothy Olyphant)––a friend from his coal mining days with whom he has a lifelong bond––is the shadow character and Raylan, the light––or at least, lighter than Boyd. When Raylan kills somebody, it’s justified (hence the name) but when Boyd does it it’s a criminal endeavor. Boyd serves as a caution to Raylan that one wrong step and he too, will cross the line and be on the dark side with Boyd. The two men, so similar it’s often hard to see any daylight between them, dance between light and dark. It’s a poignant relationship worthy of its own article.
Anyway, Boyd succumbs to his weakness and is ultimately destroyed by it. It’s a great example of a character’s fatal flaw. As #archetypes go, Boyd is a classic tragic hero, and an Outlaw Archetype as coined by Gloria Kempton in her book, The Outlaw’s Journey.
For a character to reach their arc, they must ultimately see that their emotional protection is essentially a theatrical mask––Boyd never reaches this arc. They must stop sabotaging themselves and make changes if they want to achieve their deepest desires––Boyd is doomed, trapped in a toxic game of self-sabotage. And the only way is to look the fatal flaw in the mirror and renounce it––Boyd believes he is right, righteous even, and that the lucrative albeit violent end will justify the vicious means. When he looks in the mirror, he sees only a righteous man who will do whatever it takes to have what he wants. Boyd, like Macbeth, yields all he is to this flaw and is overwhelmed by his own venomous yearnings.
This is a critical piece of the character arc puzzle authors must know.
Here’s a list of other fatal flaws you can tap into to help create interesting and multi-dimensional characters.
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Thank you for this tribute. Poets all over the country will multiply her cry.
I’m so glad. I certainly was the goal.
The power of women to help each other shines through in this story.
Wow!! What a story – I didn’t know that Portland as it came after I left. Can’t wait to read…
From Maiden to Monster, Female Archetypes
I recently rewatched PENNY DREADFUL, City of Angels
“All mankind needs to be the monster he truly is, is being told he can.” Magda (Natalie Dormer) states in the first episode of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. I’d forgotten how captivating this character (and her portrayal by Dormer) was when I first watched it a few years back (2020). This female character is complex, brilliant, and breathtaking, sometimes quite literally.
Sowing seeds of discord, Magda’s plan to start a race war is to whisper in the ears of men she perceives as weak. Men might be the target of this shapeshifting demon, but she uses the face of Archetypal women to enact her vision. Traditional roles, including mother, secretary, and maid, dominate the 1938 Los Angeles setting, but the heavy dose of feminine archetypes is wielded as a weapon within Magda’s grand design.
At her core she is Isis: The Destroyer: A steadfast woman who never sways from her life’s mission but sees things in black and white; she is a firm believer in “the ends justify the means” as she masterfully slithers from maiden to monster. If you’re writing women, this (first season) is a must see. Magda is nothing like women in the Penny Dreadful novels of old. She’s new and horrifying.
Follow me on my Instagram page @Femarchetype for more on Female Archetypes.
Muse-less on an Abandoned Shore
I recently took a writing journey to learn if I truly wanted to continue writing. During my wandering, I discovered a few things I’d forgotten about myself.
We all struggle with life’s hard lessons of loss, heartache, depression, illness, or for me, grief. These emotional battles can zap your writing spirit and leave you shipwrecked, muse-less on some abandoned shore surrounded by murky waters.
I was in the middle of my current WIP (work in progress) and was laboring over my story’s plot, not sure if I cared about finishing my novel. But more, plagued with whether I had the energy or creativity to go on. I knew I needed help and a change of scenery, a break from my life, and the recent family deaths that impacted me profoundly.
So, I signed up for the Algonkian Monterey Writer’s Retreat. It would be a journey outside my everyday reality, and a deep dive off that marooned ship into my writing life. I told my husband, and my dog, I’d be gone for a few weeks. I told them where the food was, what the daily routines needed to be, and assured them I’d face time. Then off I went, from tiny, rainy Camano Island WA to sunny Monterey CA.
I rented a petite cottage near the beach, hired a car, and met up with the fifteen or so other writers who gathered in Monterey for a multitude of reasons, but mostly to connect with other writerly souls. Finding, and connecting with your tribe is vital.
For the following days we met with premier literary agents and editors, worked on our prose, plots, and pitches. It was an energizing meeting of minds and hearts. I know some of the friendships I made there will last a long time. The writing, and especially plotting and pitching knowledge I gained was a life changer. Knowledge truly is power.
But mostly, the time alone did my spirit wonders. Instead of drowning in those murky waters, I swam. I walked sunny beaches, photographed flora and fauna, traveled to other areas, prayed at the gates of the Carmel Mission Basilica, and not bound by the routines and desires of family and a demanding (though precious) dog, I ate whatever and whenever I wanted. I wrote in the coffee shops, a favorite little Thai Restaurant, and I wrote on the beach, in the life affirming sunshine.
I walked the streets of Carmel where I viewed stimulating art from Parisian artists and bought Rugelach at the posh bakery. The rugelach was a gateway back in time for me, it was my favorite dessert when I was a teen in downtown Portland Oregon––trapped in a life I didn’t want––dreaming of being a writer or an artist. That rugelach in Carmel reminded me how far I’ve come, and how far I still want to go. That seventeen-year-old writer-wannabe is now a published author with so many more books to write.
Standing on the beach in Carmel I felt a bolt of energy. I was renewed, reenergized and ready again to leave my recurring grief behind and get busy living, and for me that means writing. And now, I’m back on schedule writing every day. My spirit was restored.
When you attend a writer’s retreat or conference it’s important to set your expectations up front. Not everyone goes for the same reasons or has the same experiences at a retreat. I believe if you set your intentions, as the eminent philosopher, Mick Jagger famously said, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need.”
Algonkian Writers Retreat in Beautiful Monterey
I’ve tried NUMEROUS times to leave this review on Google, but it won’t show up publicly, though it says it’s being posted publicly, so I’m gonna just leave it right here, along with my frustration with #googlereviews and their lack of response to my request for help.
“I attended the Monterey Algonkian Writers retreat 2 weeks ago. We took over a huge coffee shop, worked, and ate at the local Thai restaurant and others. Walked pristine beaches, visited Cannery Row and the spirit of famous writers who came before, then worked till the wee hours on our manuscripts… ah, the writer’s life.
I’ve been involved with, attended, and taught at numerous writers’ conferences, but this one stands out far ahead of the others if you’re ready for it. The reason is, the prep work, and the one-on-one time with agents (like incredible #PaulaMunier) and editors discussing your work specifically, and not in some abstract way.
Yep, that’s me with Paula at the coffee shop.
Additionally, the assignments that are sent out the weeks preceding the event are a priceless expedition through your own story, guided by the conference founder, the incredibly accomplished Michael Neff. By the time you get to your destination–be it Monterey or New York–you know the lingo, you have attempted a pitch (which they help to perfect) and you have a much deeper understanding of the story you’re trying to tell. For me, pitching and plotting are my weakest writerly attributes, so to have them addressed by professionals was priceless. If you’re ready to really work, explain your work, and expose yourself in a pitch, this is the conference for you. Oh, and making new writing friends from all corners of the country doesn’t hurt either.
I will return to other Algonkian events in the future, you know, after I finish my next novel. Keep writing. Cheers,
Mindy
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