Books/Films based on Campbell's Work

Who was Joseph Campbell? What is a myth? What does "Follow Your Bliss" mean? If you are new to the work of Joseph Campbell, this forum is a good place to start.

Moderators: Clemsy, Martin_Weyers, Cindy B.

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

Cindy B. wrote:Just so you know, James, a writer's group such as Nadie's is only concerned with the art and craft of writing and not with personal issues giving rise to the work. :)
Hey Cindy, Yes certainly most of the time I know this to be true; but I took a writing class many years ago and there was a little insensitivity within the process that I found to be unnecessary; perhaps that was my misperception and of course this is not a perfect world.

( But " this " was what raised my concern. ):

From Nadie's first post:
I am in the midst of revising/rewriting it and have been advised of the following:

"I sense that there are two Nadie's. The un-reconstituted one and the more beautiful, self-designed one. The latter being whom you've turned yourself into, in order to fashion a meaningful life.

"While you write, it has to come from the primitive self as much, no, more than from the advanced self. Simply because the advanced self is never interesting. It lacks humanity. By that I mean, the shadowy wetness, messiness and rawness that draws the reader in. In your picture I see a kind and compassionate woman. Someone I would feel drawn to, feel safe with. But when you write, you must set her aside and let the beast come out, the bete noir. Let her come out and, over the course of your memoir, write her from her dark beginnings through to her later transformation."

"You cannot write compellingly about the dark from your perch in the light. I recommend strongly that you use a grounding practice so this process doesn't discombobulate you too much. That said, if you're not seriously stirred up by your writing, you have not yet tapped the emotions before the date when they became transformed in your personal development process."
To which Clemsy replied:
And, Nadie, I would like to add that when composing your own memoir, your own hero's journey, the bottom line is to tell your story. I don't know about "unreconstituted" and "self-designed" selves. We are who we are in the moment we exist, and in the end if one is tell the story of one's life, then one must be a storyteller.

The hero's journey is an archetype, so it will find its way out of you as a storyteller.

( And ):


I hope I can find you a reference. I'm sure someone in the JCF would be aware of what might be out there. I will forward your query and get back to you as soon as may be.

I wish you all the best in this pursuit. As an English teacher I often encourage my students to write the stories they would want their children to know. It sounds like yours are anxious for your story, so I truly hope we can be of assistance.

I realize as you point out that this may all be a matter of how this is construed in relation to the constructive criticism of the craft; however Nadie was concerned about what was recommended and sought advice here. From her request it seemed that she was unsure about what direction she should pursue and the thread continued on from there.

But yes of course I agree under normal circumstances I'm sure that would be the case. :wink:
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

I'd feel much better about about our conversation, James, if we were talking with Nadie rather than about her. ;) All the same, while I did find the feedback a tad awkward as she shared in her first post, the pertinent question is, Did Nadie find it helpful and nonintrusive? If not, my recommendation would be a bit of "writer's groups shopping around."

:)
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

NadieAchak
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Post by NadieAchak »

Thanks Cindy for the warm welcome. Looking forward to posting again - hope to see you and Clemsy jump in:-)

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

:)
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

NadieAchak
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Post by NadieAchak »

Hey Nadie. As to the above my apologies if I was somewhat nebulous. I was not referring to the JCF at all. I just meant concerning your own private thoughts and feelings being open to anyone else's criticisms that's all. It's very easy to be wounded by someone's well intentioned suggestions, much less being open to non well-intention ego's. But it sounds like you know what you are doing and on top of that too; so I won't continue on about that.


Yep :D I'm a tough old bird! In fact, my worst critters are in my writing group, which I love. I want them to be tough, so I can do my best. Best of luck to you James :)

JamesN.
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Post by JamesN. »

NadieAchak wrote:
Hey Nadie. As to the above my apologies if I was somewhat nebulous. I was not referring to the JCF at all. I just meant concerning your own private thoughts and feelings being open to anyone else's criticisms that's all. It's very easy to be wounded by someone's well intentioned suggestions, much less being open to non well-intention ego's. But it sounds like you know what you are doing and on top of that too; so I won't continue on about that.


Yep :D I'm a tough old bird! In fact, my worst critters are in my writing group, which I love. I want them to be tough, so I can do my best. Best of luck to you James :)
And to you as well my friend.

And just so you know;" this " was the kind of thing I was referring to about Cindy being such a good moderator. 8) ( Yep; lucky to have her. ) :wink:

Good luck with the writing. :)
What do I know? - Michael de Montaigne

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

Again, I appreciate your kind words, James. :)
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

Clemsy
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Post by Clemsy »

As for Clemsy and Cindy (our moderator), I appreciate them as well. Clemsy reached out to me years ago and helped me so much with dilemma at the time, as well as Tree Hugger - I don't know if she's still here or not.
Goodness, Nadie! That goes back 11-12 years! Tree Hugger left us sometime in 02-03, I believe.

It is a pleasure to be of service. I haven't received a reply to your query yet, but one hopes this thread has assisted you in some small way. :-)


Cheers,
Clemsy
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

Actually, Clemsy, it was sometime after 2005 when I joined. I recall sending Tree Hugger a PM about discussing Jung, and when she didn't get back to me, I assumed that she'd moved on.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

:)
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

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Post by Clemsy »

Don't think she hung out that long, Cindy. I got curious so I looked in the dusty stacks! Don't think she posted anything after late 03, early 04.
Give me stories before I go mad! ~Andreas

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

Well, that certainly would explain why she never got back to me. :lol:
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

Hey again, Nadie.

Just wondering--have you studied any books by published authors that specifically address writing memoirs? Or their blogs? Last night I couldn't sleep, so I spent some time Googling around the Web to get a sense of what might be available to you, so if by chance you've yet to take this route, you'd find it worth your while, I'm sure. I searched for such things as "basics of writing a memoir, editing and revising a memoir, memoirs structured with the hero's journey cycle, three act story structure and the hero's journey." You likely have ideas of your own that are specific to you and where you are currently in the process, so your own search could be more targeted than mine.

At any rate, if the writer's group happens to be your only resource, self-study along these lines will help you tremendously.

Happy Writing! :)
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

NadieAchak
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Post by NadieAchak »

Hi Cindy,
Just wondering--have you studied any books by published authors that specifically address writing memoirs?
Thanks for surfing the net - I do it constantly. I took many courses with Reader's Digest for about 3 years - the nineties. I have several books on writing in my library by several renowned "how to write memoir" authors. When Kindle came out, I began purchasing how to write memoirs there, so now I have 61 total on it-:) I'm an avid reader - love researching, so I must say I'm a genealogist as well.

What sent me running to JCF is the Hero's Journey. My writing is lacking in expression of feelings about certain events in my childhood. The 2nd and 3rd parts of the book are good to go. Childhood, especially if it was not pleasant, is difficult to write.

My exploration of uncovering me in my childhood sent me into therapeutic writing - reopening buried wounds/ghosts. At my age you would think I'd experienced healing of those first few years of my life, but apparently not. Something occurred there that must surface so my writing can come alive.

I've been reading Memo from the Story Department: Secrets of Structure and Character by David McKenna and Christopher Vogler on Kindle, and it is awesome. I also ordered The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition by Christopher Vogler and Michele Montez. You might be familiar with Volger's work - his website is http://chrisvogler.wordpress.com/ His site is about the 12-stage Hero’s Journey. I actually found Volger in one of the links James posted.

I spent the whole day again at JCF. What a wealth of information - knowledge and wisdom.

[/quote]Goodness, Nadie! That goes back 11-12 years! Tree Hugger left us sometime in 02-03, I believe.

It is a pleasure to be of service. I haven't received a reply to your query yet, but one hopes this thread has assisted you in some small way. Smile

Yes Clemsy, it was probably 11 years ago went I met Tree Hugger. Please don't worry about the query; This thread has helped me tremendously :) I'm just glad I'm back at the site. My books of JC are almost thread bear now. I still watch the interview with Bill Moyers, most likely will have to purchase new ones - hope they're CD now - my favorite. Joseph Campbell was a wonderful man.

Thanks again to y'all, Cindy and Clemsy. This is has been a delightful experience. Hope you have a lovely week. Nadie :)

Need to figure out how to do these quotes :roll:

Cindy B.
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Post by Cindy B. »

Thanks, Nadie, for sharing more about where you are in your writing process. No doubt you'll produce a work to be proud of. :)

Nadie wrote:My exploration of uncovering me in my childhood sent me into therapeutic writing - reopening buried wounds/ghosts. At my age you would think I'd experienced healing of those first few years of my life, but apparently not. Something occurred there that must surface so my writing can come alive.
I have a favor to ask and a word of caution for you--hope you won't mind, Nadie--something that James and I recently talked about, too. During your therapeutic writings and exploring old or newly uncovered memories and associated emotions about your childhood, please stop what you're doing should you happen to touch upon a memory that's particularly fearful or seems potentially overwhelming, because this would indicate that you've likely uncovered a repressed memory linked to a significant childhood trauma that's long been buried as a means of self-protection. If this were to happen, it's essential that you explore such an emotional memory and surrounding circumstances with a mental health professional since none of us can resolve the effects extraordinarily traumatic situations on our own.

Well, then, in the past I've been accused of expressing the "mommy archetype" on the board, and I've just shared an aspect of her with you. :P

Ciao!
If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. --Jung

NadieAchak
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Post by NadieAchak »

Cindy, you are most kind in your advise.-:) I'm aware this is not a site for counseling/therapy, and I would never share my intimate experiences on a public site. My purpose in joining JCF is to learn more about the Hero's Journey - to learn from JC's work. I know you have certain responsibilities as moderator, so rest assured I will not abuse my stay here. As always, I've gathered many insights that have cleared up my question about writing. Thank you for expressing your "mommy archetype" with me. It's nice to know there is someone moderating conversations because sometimes without realizing it, some may overstep boundaries here. Again Cindy, I appreciate your advise, but no worry, okay;-) Nadie
During your therapeutic writings and exploring old or newly uncovered memories and associated emotions about your childhood, please stop what you're doing should you happen to touch upon a memory that's particularly fearful or seems potentially overwhelming, because this would indicate that you've likely uncovered a repressed memory linked to a significant childhood trauma that's long been buried as a means of self-protection. If this were to happen, it's essential that you explore such an emotional memory and surrounding circumstances with a mental health professional since none of us can resolve the effects extraordinarily traumatic situations on our own.

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