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I’ve been thinking a lot about reading lately.  Why is literature important?  Why do we read it?  In the face of all these new media for getting information, why do we read at all?  Can literacy change the world?

As a continuation of September’s DIY MFA project, I would like to dedicate Mondays to all things reading-related.  Some things I’d like to talk about is the purpose that fiction and literature serve in our society.  I also want to discuss the close relationship between reading and writing and why you can’t do one without engaging in the other on some level.  Most importantly, I want to look at how we can learn to think beyond the page.

Story-telling–which is basically reading and writing at the purest level–is a unifying part of the human condition. Think about it, despite cultural or racial differences, people all over the world have engaged in story-telling for the past thousands of years.  That we know of, no other species on the planet engages in story-telling the way people do.  Sure, birds might communicate by flashing their feathers and whales might call to each other.  Chimpanzees might even learn basic sign language, but none of this is the same as story-telling, which humans have been doing since cavemen painted on walls.

I know.  Heavy stuff, right?  Before I sign-off for the day, I’ll leave you with the following:

 Writing is the ultimate form of manipulation.  Reading is the supreme act of defiance.

Agree or disagree?

It’s January and the new semester is starting soon.  That said, iggi and I have decided to bring back DIY MFA, to help you all get your writing resolutions under way!  (New to the blog or not sure what DIY MFA is?  Just check the iggi U tab at the top of the page to learn all about it.)

We’re making a few tiny changes.  There’s still TONS I could say about literature, craft, and creativity, so I will continue posting articles on those topics.  Since community and the workshop are more about going out and actually experiencing these things, there’s only so much I can tell you before you have to jump in and try it for yourself.  I won’t be posting as regularly on these two subjects, but will bring them back when something important or relevant comes up.  Also since my passion is writing Middle Grade and Teen literature, I’ll be doing more posts specifically targeting that genre.

So, what does this mean for DIY MFA?

Monday:  Love of Literature  (i.e. Everything reading-related.)
Tuesday:  Wild Card day 
Wednesday:  Craftivity  (i.e. All about the craft of writing.)
Thursday:  Brain Boot Camp (i.e. Tips about creativity, writing prompts, ideas for exercises.  Basically, everything you need to exercise your writing brain.)
Friday:  This one’s going to be a collaborative project and I plan to unveil it this coming Friday.

What do you have to do to be part of the fun?  Just read the topics you want to follow and comment if you feel like it.  Also, please sign up to be part of the iggi&gabi email list!  You won’t get spam and you’ll be in the loop if DIY MFA news comes up.  In September, I contacted readers on the list to ask for volunteers to guest post or help out with the DIY MFA community.

This month is my big conference month.  For the last two weekends of January I’ll be attending both the Writer’s Digest Conference and the SCBWI Winter Conference in NYC.  Check these links for more info on these two weekends of writerly bliss:

 Writer’s Digest Conference
 January 21-23

SCBWI Winter Conference
January 28-30

I love conferences and I wish I could go to a couple every month of the year but that would break the piggy-bank and seriously cut into writing time.  So instead, I have to make the most of the ones I actually can attend, and that means meeting other awesome writers in person.  (Which is probably my favorite thing in the entire universe!)

But there’s a problem: I’m shy.  Especially when it comes to talking to new people.  I get all excited to meet other writers and then I go to these conferences and I get all nervous.  So I just sit there and stare at my notebook.  Alone.  All alone.  Either that or I go with a friend or two and only talk to them because I’m too shy to branch out.

But not this year.  I’ve decided I will meet new people and talk to other aspiring authors.  That’s where you all come in.  Are you going to one of these conferences?

 If so, let me know in the comments and we can try to meet up!  Or just find me when you get there.  Trust me, you’ll know it when you see me.  I’ll be the girl with her face buried in her notebook secretly praying someone will talk to her.  And since iggi insists on attending these conferences as well, I’ll be toting my ever-so-stylin’ iggi bag with these little guys printed on it:

Hello friends!  Hope you all had a marvelous New Year.  I know it’s been quiet around here.  Sorry to leave you all in the lurch!  I meant to start posting again on Monday but I was struck down by a new year flu (blech) for a few days, but now I’m back to normal and ready to start posting again.

Everyone and their mother is posting about writing resolutions, but I thought I’d do something a little different.  First off, I’m not sure I want to share all my goals and resolutions (mostly because I’m bound to have a #gabifail or two so this way I save myself the humiliation of having to admit it in public.)  But more importantly, I think resolutions aren’t just about setting goals and striving for them, but about a change in attitude and outlook.  Instead I’ve come up with a 2011 plan.

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• First, I’m doing the 100+ reading challenge for 2011 and I’ll be posting the books I read here.
• Second, this year I will finish the edits on my WIP.

0 Comparisons:  I’ll admit it, I can’t help but compare myself to the people around me.  I try not to–I really do–but it’s almost like a reflex and I can’t help it.  The college bulletin arrives in the mail and I always feel super-inferior because I haven’t discovered a cure for cancer, I haven’t finished a triathlon in record time, and I haven’t sold my start-up company for billions of dollars.

But then I started thinking… even if I knew how to do all these things, it’s not like I would actually want to.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m very glad there are people out there coming up with cures for cancer, performing amazing physical feats like a triathlon or building start-up companies that give other people good jobs.  I’m glad these things are happening in the world.

And I’m also glad that I don’t have to be the one to do it.

This year, rather than letting these things get me down, I’ve decided I will not run away from the college bulletin.  I will not pathologically avoid Facebook.  When I see someone accomplish something great, I’ll send happy “Thank You” vibes to that person for doing it because it means I don’t have to.  And that means more time for writing.

1 New Approach to Creativity:  This video is super-inspiring!  It’s a bit on the long side but it’s SOOOOO worth it.  It’s totally changed my attitude toward the idea of genius and creative success.

“The core skill of innovators is error recovery, not failure avoidance.”
         ~ Randy Nelson, Pixar