No Need to Cry, It's Just Writing (Yannise Intro) (10/10/2020)

No Need to Cry, It's Just Writing | The Weekly Atticus

October 10, 2020

A recap of the week's writing at Atticus Review. Introduction by Yannise Jean.

I’ve been re-watching old episodes of the Great British Bake Off. Whenever I’m looking for something wholesome to watch I always turn to this show or any other show where food and competition are the epicenters. It’s interesting to witness the rollercoaster of emotions on a show where the prize isn’t money, but a title (and more likely, after the events have unfolded, unbridled fame.)

Each week is a test in patience, as amature bakers try to create delicious bakes. Sometimes there is the sting of disappointment when their bakes flop, or burn, or break.

Baking, I’ve come to realize is no different than writing. There is the preparation, the execution and then of course the overall disappointment when what we planned in our head doesn’t translate well on paper (or in the oven). While these baker’s frustrations are captured on screen for millions of people to witness, most writers embark on a solo journey in the writing process. I spend a lot my time trying to make a certain plot point or character fit into a story, and it can be frustrating to figure it all out on your own. Even the bakers on the show lend a helping hand to each other when needed. This isn’t to say that writers don’t seek help when they’ve encountered roadblocks, but we’re protective over our writing, over our ideas. While we relish in having an editor to help compartmentalize our words, we do take a slight offense when certain elements of our writing is rejected. But having another reader always helps.

In the last season of the show, tensions ran high with cakes toppling over and textures being reduced to crumble. While a contestant cries at the image of her fallen cake, Noel, the dark-haired host rubs her shoulders and says: “There’s no need to cry, it’s just cake.” While I watched in the comfort of my own home, I realized I had been crying with her. It was comforting then, to have a tool in which to explore the similar anxieties that I have as a writer. The painstaking hours spent looking at a screen, hoping that the perfect sentence would appear, was no different than mixing different cake flavors for a unique flavor profile. In the end it is just a draft.

While I remain enraptured in the joys and fails of the Great British Bake-Off, it’s reminded me to be kinder to myself as a writer. That the pursuit of perfection, whether that leads to failure or not, is all part of the process.

Thanks for reading. We're glad you're here.

Yannise Jean

Assistant Creative Non-Fiction Editor

THIS WEEK AT ATTICUS REVIEW

FICTIONNOW HIS BODY IS A UNIFORMby Kelly Lindell"Paul may have killed you. He has the same tattoo as you, an infantry number and two crossed rifles on his forearm, the American flag waving under the X."READ ON

POETRYTHE HYDRAby Ashley Crout @ashleycrout"I am always facing down like a sunflowerwith no lifting sun. The women I tend to loveeither keep too close or go farther than gone."READ ON

CREATIVE NONFICTION(RE) BUILDING THE BODY: FOUR PHOTOGRAPHSby Charity GingerichThird prize in our 2020 Flash CNF Contest"You tethered it to the earth, like a kite. Still, I was afraid to get too close with the camera, in case I spoiled the moment."READ ON

MIXED MEDIAWE'VE GOT A PROBLEM WITH GROUNDWATERFilm by Shelby Baldock @TheBaldock and poetry by Noah Lekas @noahclekas"My cartoons have always been about this connection: The doom and the comical. Noah's writing became the perfect playground to explore that..."READ ON

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