You Can’t Go Home Again

Few people talk about the dangers posed to your memory when you return to places you used to live. Depending on how long you’ve been gone, changes are likely to be huge, and the shock of the new may overwrite or change what you recall of the past. At the very least, for better or worse, your past memories will carry the stamp of the new. Sometimes changes may be better than you recall.

That’s how memory works. Each time we replay a memory, we embed a fragment of the present to what we recall from before. This fragment may be comprised of things like feelings evoked by the memory, further evaluation and insight, comparison with current conditions, or all of the above.

Sometimes, particularly if you haven’t been gone long, or you return to a spot in nature, you may find things more or less as you left them and you will feel an exciting sense of reconnection. But you may be disappointed.

I’ve experienced shocking disappointment a few times over the last several years, especially in my hometown of Los Alamos where fire destroyed trees on the mountains forming the backdrop for the town. The business district has been changed almost totally, to the extent of running a street through the middle of the pedestrian area. My high school has been torn down and replaced with a shiny new facility more like a college campus than high school as I remember it. Even the canyon where I spent vast amounts of girlhood time has been pruned, thinned, and otherwise fireproofed. I hardly recognize it.

Right now I’m in Richland, Washington where  my husband and I lived for nineteen years when our children were young. We’re here to visit my father, not revive memories, but still, change is apparent. Yesterday we drove past “our” house, the one we designed and built over forty years ago. That was a  pleasant surprise. It looks even better than it did when we lived there, at least from the outside. I took two granddaughters to play on the bank of the Columbia river their mommy enjoyed. That was sublime.

But the school our kids attended is almost entirely changed. My daughter was shocked, as I was in Los Alamos. The old ferry landing is gone. Egad! That was my place of solace. The river is still there, overflowing with spring run-off. The view is much the same. The basics of the old business district remain intact, though the inhabitants of stores come and go. But it's no longer home.

Part of the difference is people. At 93, although still proudly self-sufficient, my father is really old. My mother is gone. My best friend here died a year ago, and I have not stayed in touch with others. I'm a stranger in town.

When I return to my current Pittsburgh home after a trip like this, my old memories do resurface, only slightly marred by recent developments. But at least for me, physically returning to past locations has never enhanced old memories. I'm better off looking at photos, listening to old music, or talking to people who were there.

However, after all the above, I do journal my thoughts about changes, and may include some of that in a story or two.

Write now: contribute to a conversation on this topic by leaving a comment about your experience in this regard. How has it worked for you to "go home" or return to places from your past? This may include both fondly remembered places and those where you've held traumatic memories.

New Funding Options for Authors

Have you heard about crowdfunding, the new buzz-word for funding publishing projects? People who lack the personal resources to pay for all the up-front services necessary to self-publish or supplement the services of publishers have new options. You don’t have to mortgage your house, deprive your offspring of college educations or go without meds to share your story with the general public.

Kathleen Pooler, today’s guest-post author, has a contract with Pen & Publish, a small publishing company headed by Paul Burt, to publish her forthcoming memoir, Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse. Paul urged Kathy to use Pubslush to generate funds. She tells you below what Pubslush is, why she's using it, and how it works:

SL: Kathy, what is Pubslush and why are you using it?

KP: Pubslush is "a global, crowdsourcing publishing platform for authors to raise funds and gauge the initial audience for new book ideas. For every book sold, Pubslush donates a children’s book to a child in need."

In discussions with my publisher, Paul Burt of Pen & Publish, Inc, we agreed to embark upon a crowdfunding campaign through Pubslush for the primary purposes of reaching new readers and spreading the message of my memoir, Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse. We selected a modest funding goal and mutually decided I would use the money to offset costs associated with book promotion.

SL: So what else are you thinking of doing that costs money?

KP: There are many costs related to publishing and promoting a book. The cost of professional editors can be steep. I had already spent money on writing classes, conferences, workshops and editors before I started my campaign. I will use the funds for promotional materials—printed copies [and postage], bookmarks, postcards—and experimenting with a variety of low cost options like pay-per-click ads.

SL: How can a Pubslush campaign help authors with a limited budget get their book in front of readers?

KP: The campaign provides another opportunity to promote before you publish. You have a reason to get the word out, showcase your book and message while increasing the funds you have available for the project. The level of funding is the decision of the author, Successful campaigns are those that reach close to their goal. The highest amount received has been $16,000. The minimum is $1,000. I have set my goal for $2,500. When you reach your goal, your book is added to the Pubslush website to provide continued exposure.

SL: What's involved?

KP: First you have to have a plan and develop your campaign. The author is expected to be active in social media to start and keep the momentum going. Emailing family and friends ahead of time to ensure robust contributions during the first few days and daily acknowledgement of contributors across social media channels. Having an online presence is a prerequisite to spreading the message.

SL: What can you use Pubslush funds for?

KP: The funds are yours to use as you wish, but your campaign specifies how you plan to use them. Some of the funds go toward fulfilling the rewards you are offering. When you sign up, you have the option of donating 10% of the proceeds to a non-profit organization. Otherwise the money raised goes to the author.

SL: What other ways does a campaign benefit authors?

KP: Let me list the ways:

• Gets you organized and working on promotion before your book is released..
• Helps gauge interest in the book
• Finds readers in advance of publication
• Clarifies target audience
• Spreads books message
• Opens dialogue with readers to allow you to fine tune your message and book.

SL: What are your personal goals for your campaign?

KP:I want to expand my readership and spread my message of hope, resilience and courage to women searching to find their inner strength. The rewards are set up to encourage donating copies to nonprofit organizations working with women facing life’s challenges as well as public libraries.

SL: Kathleen, I know you have that strong social media presence and wish you every success with your PubSlush project. I encourage everyone to this link to your PubSlush project page and learn more about your book as well as seeing how PubSlush works, and hopefully donating to your cause.

Kathleen Pooler is a writer and a retired Family Nurse Practitioner whose memoir, Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse and work-in-progress sequel, Hope Matters: A Memoir are about how the power of hope through her faith in God helped her to transform, heal and transcend life’s obstacles and disappointments:  domestic abuse, divorce, single parenting, loving and letting go of an alcoholic son, cancer and heart failure to live a life of joy and contentment. She believes that hope matters and that we are all strengthened and enlightened when we share our stories.

Visit her on the web:

Blog: Memoir Writer’s Journey blog
Twitter: @kathypooler
LinkedIn
Google+
Goodreads
Facebook: Personal page, Kathy Pooler
Pinterest
Pubslush campaign

Write now: Whether you have a book you need help publishing or not, PubSlush and related services provide a way of helping determine what books will see the light of day. Think of it as an interactive partnership between readers and writers and get involved, if only to look and learn.

Writing Lessons from Photography

Last winter I had the privilege of participating in a Road Scholar nature photography program in Costa Rica. Although I was raised in a family of photographers, I never wanted to make the effort to learn about f-stops, shutter speeds and all that good stuff. That didn’t change with the advent of digital a dozen years ago. I’ve been happy with my point-and-shoot pictures, often augmented by Photoshop enhancement later. So my plan was to tag along, see Costa Rica, meet some new friends, and fly under the radar as far as learning was concerned.

What a surprise when our brilliant photography coach, Mónica Quesada, presented some simple concepts so clearly that she hooked me in. This is easy enough. I might as well try this. Who knows? By the end of the trip, between Monica’s encouragement and supportive group members, I’d made a breakthrough. I was by-passing the auto setting and flipping through various combinations of aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings like I knew what I was doing (and I sort of did), .

As the week progressed, I realized how many similarities there are between photography and writing. For whatever it may be worth, I share them with you here, and invite you to click through my favorite shots in my Costa Rica Flickr collection for further visual illustration.

Focus on the main topic. Keep background information vague for sharp contrast so the main topic stands out. In the photo above, the golden orb spider and her web are crisply focused. If the background was in focus, that web would be lost in the detail. Give plenty of crisp detail about the main topic and character, minimizing detail about less important elements.

Background serves a purpose. That blurry background plays an important role. Indistinct as it is, the swirls of color set off both spider and web. In a story, background information gives your story context and gives readers a sense of connection. You’ll know you need to add more if early readers ask questions like “Who was he?” or “What was your uncle’s name.” “When did you go there?” And so forth.

Compose the shot carefully. That spider is the central focus, but offset just a bit for interest. The lines of the web draw the eye toward the spider, and the white dots add a bit of sub-theme, also leading to the spider.

Include contrast. That sharply focused, somewhat darker spider contrasts clearly with the background, making it stand out. Shadows in the blurry background add depth and pattern. Stories without a bit of darkness seem flat and dull. 

That early thought about being happy with my point-and-shoot camera also relates to writing. For years my sit down and write a story the way I’d write a letter seemed entirely satisfactory to me. And it is. For most purposes. I still urge people to focus on quantity rather than quality if their purpose is documentary writing. In my case, over time, I began learning new ways to organize stories and tweak them. I’m hooked. I hope I’ll always keep learning new techniques, new ways of looking at story and refining it. The end result may be more pleasing to readers and convey my points more crisply, but for me, the pleasure is in the process and craft. I love the challenge.

Photography isn’t the only way to expand creativity and perspective and learn more about writing. Scads of writers also paint. Natalie Goldberg’s newest book, Living Color: Painting, Writing and the Bones of Seeing is all about the relationship between visual expression and writing. Do yourself a favor and try some alternate modes yourself.

Write now: Read at least the “Look Inside” part of Living Color, then find paper and pen (pencil is too tempting to erase) and use her concepts to make a few sketches. Consider how you look at your surroundings differently when you consider drawing them. How does this relate to the way you look and see when you plan to write.