Guest Wednesday

Things I Wish I’d Known: Writing is Not As Sedentary An Activity As You Might Think

By J.S. Watts

With Mark Meier’s indulgence and support, I’m writing a blog post series called “Things I Wish I’d Known.” This is the fourth post in the series and I recognise I may need to provide some background and explanation to this post’s rather lengthy title.

I acknowledge that writing can be unhealthily sedentary: I have stiffness across my shoulders as I am typing this. Sure, I occasionally stride across the back fields composing lines or plot developments in my head, but mostly I sit hunched at my desk, or slouched on my settee, over a keyboard or sheet of paper, pulling words out of my head and onto the page. As a result I get a stiff neck, a pain across my shoulders, back ache or, more healthily, an uncontrollable urge to go for a long walk somewhere - anywhere. If I ignore the latter urge, you can guarantee I’m going to experience the former, big time. And yet...

The other week I managed to damage the ball of my right foot (don’t ask, but it involved bare feet and a twisted metal and bristle doormat). For days my foot was swollen and colourfully decorated in shades of purple, blue and red (and then, increasingly, a less than fetching shade of yellow). It felt as if I was constantly walking on a golf ball. I decided to put my injury to good use, remain seated and focus on my writing.

At first things worked out fine. I sat sensibly at my desk with my foot elevated and engulfed in ice packs. In that position I could type, write and think. Then I needed to get up in order to retrieve my printing from the printer. Ouch!

Job stoically done, I sat down again, raised my sore right foot, replaced the current ice pack and carried on writing. It was then I found I had to get up to let the cat out (and yes, he has a cat flap, but he’s a cat), make a cup of coffee, put some more paper in the printer, go to the loo to undrink the coffee I had just drunk, let the cat back in, resolve the paper jam in the printer, let the cat out again, make another much needed cup of coffee, go to the loo again, go downstairs to collect my post, change my warmed ice pack for a cold one, let the cat in, retrieve the next load of printing from the printer, get myself some lunch, let the cat out, go in search of more printer paper, pick up the pen that had fallen from my desk and rolled all the way across the study floor to the other side, go to the loo, change my ice pack, let the cat in and so on...

My foot was still hurting. The bruises were, if anything, brighter and more colourful than ever. If I’d realised just how unsedentary writing can be, maybe I’d have decided to read instead, or nap or simply do something less energetic.

Next month: Christmas is coming...

Introducing Kelly Schoberg

Kelly Schoberg, a member of the LaCrosse Area Writers Group (LAWG), has two poetry books coming out. Meier Writers had a few questions, which she graciously agreed to answer.

Meier Writers: Two books at the same time! How did that happen?

Kelly Schoberg: I was getting prepared to publish “In search of the Color Yellow,” a collection of random poems I wrote over the last two decades. From a ride on a ghost train, running with the wolves, to lassoing a sunset with an old cowboy, this book is eclectic. The cover photo is me walking into the dark unknown, a local abandoned train tunnel in spring time.

When I was almost ready to put the book to print, I looked out the window and it was snowing. An idea came to mind that didn’t leave. I called my publisher, Orange Hat Publishing, and let them know I would need a few more months. I wanted a duology.

I threw on a red dress, told my photographer to pack his camera, and we trudged through the snow back to the tunnel to take some photos of a closed wooden train tunnel covered in snow drifts. I still laugh at how ridiculous I probably looked with an elegant red dress, black boots, plodding through the forest after a snowstorm. I wanted to capture a cover image that was otherworldly.

MW: How did you come up with the idea to write a hybrid of poetry/short story?

KS: I was inspired to write a hybrid of poetry and short-story in which a character, Ms. Scarlet Knight, longs for the color Red and the qualities it symbolizes. The story begins with her entrance into the portal, ends on a train, and revisits her at various points in between.

Poets and writers are strange in the way they become inspired, and what keeps them in the writing world is the passion to finish a story. It was as if Ms. Scarlet Knight entered my thoughts and would not leave until her story was finished.

MW: You have an event tomorrow. What are you plans?

KS: Lost Wine is hosting my opening party on November 20 from 6:00-9:00 p.m. Public are welcome to attend. Limited edition “In Search of the Color Yellow” Moscato and “Waiting for Red” sangria wine/book sets will be available to purchase. Like any new writer, I am excited and anxious to see who comes. I’ll be reading from both books in the duology.

MW: How did the idea for these books come about?

KS: In Search of the Color Yellow, the title poem was one I wrote many, many years ago. I was a young college student. Like most, I was a little lost, unsure of myself, but had a head full of daydreams. I decided to take a walk outside and only notice the color yellow, to see how it changed my perspective. I wrote a poem about everything I noticed, that was yellow. I wrote, “I walked past the man in the suit of black. I didn’t say hi, I never looked back. I too, was invisible to him. He was blind to all colors, except his colors within.” Years later, seeing the world in “yellow” would change my life as it would propel me to write my first book.

In Waiting for Red, it was as if Ms. Scarlet Knight knocked on the walls of my imagination, entered my thoughts, and would not leave until her story was finished.

MW: How are they different?

KS: In Search of the Color Yellow carries a tone of intrigue, intellect, and journey. Waiting for Red is quite different. Although this occurred almost by accident, Waiting for Red is a hybrid between story and poetry with a distinct beginning, a character’s journey, and a quirky climax.

MW: Do you have any other books available?

KS: I was a contributing author to Wagonbridge Publishing’s anthology, Lost and Found: Tales of Things Gone Missing. In Search of the Color Yellow and Waiting for Red are my debut books.

MW: What are you working on now?

KS: I started another hybrid story/poetry book. Details are being withheld for the time being.

MW: Is there a rough timeline for when you expect that to be released?

KS: Right now, I am enjoying the release of my debut series. However, I hope to complete my next book within six months.

MW: How did you get started writing?

KS: I was an expository writing minor in college, which is essentially writing for business and the professions. I have always been a grammar geek and diehard advocate of the oxford comma.

My writing skills did not evolve until I joined La Crosse Area Writer’s Group about five years ago. I realized I had a lot to learn and an outdated skillset. With patience, I attended numerous sessions with fiction writers who helped me advance. Eventually, I branched off and started a poetry group within LAWG that has grown to almost twelve poets per session. I learn and am inspired by my fellow writers.  

MW: Anything you’d like to tell that might be a little surprising?

KS: My poetry is not all that personal. Though there are elements of me, and my desires woven into the books, I really wanted the published works to be universal. I wanted anyone to be able to pick them up and see themselves in the stories or simply just enjoy the escape.

MW: Where can people go to find your books?

KS: Locally, Barnes and Noble and Pearl Street Books will have copies. Check out my website, KLSCHOBERG.COM for links to Barnes and Noble.Com and Amazon.

MW: Thank you, Kelly. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. Good luck on your book release.

KS: Thank you for your support, Mark.

Fun For Friday

What's YOUR handicap? (I don't golf, so I don't know mine.)