Kelcey, Really enjoyed everything about this post- so much so that I am forwarding it on to my wife.
I am finishing up my second book of poems and it was, and always has been, the structure of a poem that is most important to me. Without some strong structure a poem is just a very flighty, colorful bird being panicked by high wind (and no plan on where to land). Such fun. Thanks.
I'm 78, but if I had any interest in writing another book, Kelcey, I'd pay closer attention and take graphic notes. By the way, I just finished reading Sherman Alexie's wonderful National Book Award winning _The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian_with graphic art by Ellen Forney, which all together is a great collaboration. There's an interview with Forney at the end which kept me thinking of you and what you've done, are doing. If you haven't seen that book, I recommend it to you. In thinking about what present to get for our grandson's 11th birday, 9 days ago, I had a dream and woke up a week or so before that with the conviction that I could go to my favorite Twice Told Tales used book store and find the perfect book for him. I pretty much walked right up to this one. I was already an Alexie fan, but hadn't read this one. I was sure it was "the book." But I wanted to read it before sending it on and realized it is the book, but 2 or 3 years early. So it's on the to be shared shelf for now. Keep up your good work! You are appreciated.
What a great gift for teenaged E! Glad you enjoyed it too. I love Ellen Forney's work, and she was actually kind enough to write a blurb for The Keeper! ❤️
Fabulous. I didn't think to look at The Keeper, but will appreciate that blurb. She's quite special, and the project with Alexie unique. Interesting to hear from her about the steps in that particular collaboration.
I feel like I just got a master of creative writing—the year-long course—in fifteen minutes. And ok, I have given structure very little thought, even though I wrote and illustrated (but never published) a memoir. Hmmm. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get representation for it? Thank you for all of this clarity, and new checklists to follow!
So glad it was helpful, Peter! If you're interested, I just posted the video lesson/exercise on structure that I did during the first 15-20 minutes of the zoom hangout. It's under the paid subscribers tab.
Excellent - made me so sad I missed that session but also inspired by the ideas. I have purchased the Nash book to get back on the wagon of doing a graphic memoir. Thank you - you are such a great teacher.
Thanks, Joanne! We were sad to miss you too. I just posted the video clip of lesson/exercise I did--you can find it under the paid subscribers tab. I'll share the link to the full recording on the Slack.
I think about structure a lot a lot a lot - so much so that sometimes I have to command myself to “just start writing!” It’s this balance all of the time. I love your visuals!
I love that you think of it too! But yes it's totally a balance. And I can only find my structure by doing the writing. That's what I meant by the iterative process. Sometimes I make lists or diagrams to imagine a structure, but it doesn't appear until the writing has begun!
Thanks, Nova! With due respect to Brenda Miller who coined it, I think “hermit crab” is an apt metaphor but a terrible phrase! So yes, I tend to use “Borrowed Forms,” which can be clarifying to students. When speaking of writing, they understand a borrowed form better than a hermit crab. :)
I finished The Keeper a couple of days ago, and before I saw your newsletter, Kelcey, I was thinking about what made it so compulsively readable. And I thought: "It's the structure." The way you used the history of Title IX and women in soccer to ground your personal story of your soccer team and the relationships that grew out of it drove the story forward. Those two timelines weaving together, and the moments of crisis in each one, plus the way you developed the characters (including your younger self), and then your style as a graphic storyteller all combined to make an unusual and very engrossing story. Also, I learned so much. And then along comes this newsletter and you elucidated all of the points I was making as I thought about The Keeper. Thank you! Blessings from my terraphilic corner of Substack. :)
My word, Susan! This might be one of my favorite comments ever! I am so grateful to have you as a reader and so gratified that you as a fellow writer noted the underlying structure of The Keeper. Thank you for such a generous reading and rich assessment!
I'm with Myq: Are you my structure? Can you do an entire Habit of Art as a play on Are You My Mother? Sometime? Maybe? It would be so fine. Signed: Hogwash.
Thanks for this! It fascinates me how shifting the shape of a story alters what becomes important, and alters how the story connects with readers. So many moving pieces to writing!
Yes! I've been thinking about this so much because my current big project is a graphic version of a story that I wrote as an essay years ago. Not only is there new content to add, the graphic form is transforming the structure. So many moving pieces, indeed!
I absolutely love this! It's so helpful to think of something that can feel as cerebral as structure in those visual, visceral terms. I'm currently writing about sketch comedy structure, and thinking in terms of Ian's five foundations of painting structure ABSOLUTELY applies. What a wonderful thing I'll get to be thinking about today -- thank you!
Dear Kelcey,
I love this! The line "Are you my structure?" really gets me!
Love
Myq
PS Great idea to structure the piece by beginning with Nabokov's nugget "Great ideas are just hogwash"!
Yay, I'm glad you liked that line. You may or may not have picked up that it's an allusion to "Are you my mother?" :)
Glad you appreciated the Nabokov nugget too!
Oh I am right on board with the "Are You My Mother" of it all.
A staple of my childhood! Thanks to my mother!
I thought you might be. It was a staple of my adulthood, thanks to my daughter!
Love the example from the art book. Thanks for the research you put into these posts!
Thanks, Tara! I felt like I understood story structure even better after reading about composition and painting!
Kelcey, Really enjoyed everything about this post- so much so that I am forwarding it on to my wife.
I am finishing up my second book of poems and it was, and always has been, the structure of a poem that is most important to me. Without some strong structure a poem is just a very flighty, colorful bird being panicked by high wind (and no plan on where to land). Such fun. Thanks.
Well that was a perfectly poetic way to put it! Thank you, Wes!
I'm 78, but if I had any interest in writing another book, Kelcey, I'd pay closer attention and take graphic notes. By the way, I just finished reading Sherman Alexie's wonderful National Book Award winning _The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian_with graphic art by Ellen Forney, which all together is a great collaboration. There's an interview with Forney at the end which kept me thinking of you and what you've done, are doing. If you haven't seen that book, I recommend it to you. In thinking about what present to get for our grandson's 11th birday, 9 days ago, I had a dream and woke up a week or so before that with the conviction that I could go to my favorite Twice Told Tales used book store and find the perfect book for him. I pretty much walked right up to this one. I was already an Alexie fan, but hadn't read this one. I was sure it was "the book." But I wanted to read it before sending it on and realized it is the book, but 2 or 3 years early. So it's on the to be shared shelf for now. Keep up your good work! You are appreciated.
What a great gift for teenaged E! Glad you enjoyed it too. I love Ellen Forney's work, and she was actually kind enough to write a blurb for The Keeper! ❤️
Fabulous. I didn't think to look at The Keeper, but will appreciate that blurb. She's quite special, and the project with Alexie unique. Interesting to hear from her about the steps in that particular collaboration.
I feel like I just got a master of creative writing—the year-long course—in fifteen minutes. And ok, I have given structure very little thought, even though I wrote and illustrated (but never published) a memoir. Hmmm. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get representation for it? Thank you for all of this clarity, and new checklists to follow!
So glad it was helpful, Peter! If you're interested, I just posted the video lesson/exercise on structure that I did during the first 15-20 minutes of the zoom hangout. It's under the paid subscribers tab.
Thx, as ever.
Always a pleasure to read your words and see your art!
Many thanks, David! So nice to hear.
Excellent post. Thank you so much! Also, I've asked the library to order Blueprint for a Memoir.
Thanks, Sandra! You'll love the book!
Excellent - made me so sad I missed that session but also inspired by the ideas. I have purchased the Nash book to get back on the wagon of doing a graphic memoir. Thank you - you are such a great teacher.
Thanks, Joanne! We were sad to miss you too. I just posted the video clip of lesson/exercise I did--you can find it under the paid subscribers tab. I'll share the link to the full recording on the Slack.
I think about structure a lot a lot a lot - so much so that sometimes I have to command myself to “just start writing!” It’s this balance all of the time. I love your visuals!
I love that you think of it too! But yes it's totally a balance. And I can only find my structure by doing the writing. That's what I meant by the iterative process. Sometimes I make lists or diagrams to imagine a structure, but it doesn't appear until the writing has begun!
Yes…start moving, start writing and the structure will appear (which suddenly reminded me of Yoda who was very wise :)
Haha, yep!
I loved reading this! I'm super curious about your opinion on the term "hermit crab" essay and wonder if you use "borrowed form" instead?
Thanks, Nova! With due respect to Brenda Miller who coined it, I think “hermit crab” is an apt metaphor but a terrible phrase! So yes, I tend to use “Borrowed Forms,” which can be clarifying to students. When speaking of writing, they understand a borrowed form better than a hermit crab. :)
Bummed I had to miss the Zoom, but delighted by this recap!
Thanks, Jason! Hope you can join us sometime! :)
I finished The Keeper a couple of days ago, and before I saw your newsletter, Kelcey, I was thinking about what made it so compulsively readable. And I thought: "It's the structure." The way you used the history of Title IX and women in soccer to ground your personal story of your soccer team and the relationships that grew out of it drove the story forward. Those two timelines weaving together, and the moments of crisis in each one, plus the way you developed the characters (including your younger self), and then your style as a graphic storyteller all combined to make an unusual and very engrossing story. Also, I learned so much. And then along comes this newsletter and you elucidated all of the points I was making as I thought about The Keeper. Thank you! Blessings from my terraphilic corner of Substack. :)
My word, Susan! This might be one of my favorite comments ever! I am so grateful to have you as a reader and so gratified that you as a fellow writer noted the underlying structure of The Keeper. Thank you for such a generous reading and rich assessment!
I'm with Myq: Are you my structure? Can you do an entire Habit of Art as a play on Are You My Mother? Sometime? Maybe? It would be so fine. Signed: Hogwash.
Haha, that would be delightful! I'm also reminded that Alison Bechdel's second graphic memoir about her mom is ARE YOU MY MOTHER?
Omg. That is true. How did I forget. It is sitting on my shelf beside all her other books. Apologies to all.
I forgot too!
How about a KE habit riff on GO DOG GO?
I'll have to ponder this...
Thanks for this! It fascinates me how shifting the shape of a story alters what becomes important, and alters how the story connects with readers. So many moving pieces to writing!
Yes! I've been thinking about this so much because my current big project is a graphic version of a story that I wrote as an essay years ago. Not only is there new content to add, the graphic form is transforming the structure. So many moving pieces, indeed!
Great post!! I’m excited for our next hang out!! I don’t have to work this time.
Yay, it'll be great to see you!
I love this so much. I have always loved looking toward the visual art world for tips and tricks for writing. This will stick with me for a long time!
Thanks, Rachael! Same here: talking about writing can often feel vague, but visual art often has helpful analogues!
I absolutely love this! It's so helpful to think of something that can feel as cerebral as structure in those visual, visceral terms. I'm currently writing about sketch comedy structure, and thinking in terms of Ian's five foundations of painting structure ABSOLUTELY applies. What a wonderful thing I'll get to be thinking about today -- thank you!
Oh cool! I'll keep an eye out to learn more about sketch comedy structure. Thanks, Marina!