I saw the Word for Word production of Amy Tan’s “Immortal Heart” with my mom last night. “Immortal Heart” was Tan’s short story published in the New Yorker that evolved into her 2001 novel, The Bonesetter’s Daughter. The SF Word for Word Performing Arts Company, did a 2 weekend run at the Nevada Theater in Nevada City in conjunction with CATS, Community Asian Theatre of the Sierra.

This was my first experience of a Word for Word production. This means that the script was literally a word-for-word replica of Amy Tan’s short story (i.e. The story was not rewritten as a screenplay.)

One of the lead characters was explaining writing (think turn of the last century rural China.) She said (to the effect of) “in the first writing, the writer is clearing off the surface of the pond. Here there is pond scum, mosquito larvae, and floating junk. Once this is gone, the writer asks what is my intention? and looks for words in her mind that match those in her heart.” Beautiful.

Picture this in the context of writing with brush and ink. Each stroke has meaning and intention. Each stroke has significant consequence since there is no back–space, white-out, or erasers allowed.

What a profound reminder of the importance of clearing out mental clutter! Do I want to proceed in my writing, in planning my next adventure, in moving through my day floating through pond scum??? No! I want to be dipping into the depths of the deep seas…