브라이언 헤어, 버네사 우즈의 책 제목처럼 "다정한 것이 살아남는다"더니 브런치 작가로 발돋움하여 <나는 철학하는 엄마입니다(2020)>부터 <다정한 철학자의 미술관 이용법(2021)>, <아이라는 숲(2022)>, <동굴 밖으로 나온 필로와 소피(2023)> 등 곁에 두고 보면 좋을 책을 매년 만들어오신 진민님. 2024년 새해를 맞이하여 그녀가 자신의 결을 담은 작품을 꾸준하게 빚어내는 비결을 정리해 보는 시간을 가져보고자 한다.

자신을 소개할 때 '철학을 일상의 말랑말랑한 언어로 풀어내는 일에 관심이 있다'는 진민님답게 워크숍은 글쓰기와 관련된 단어의 어원을 들여다보며 시작했다. 인류의 문명과 함께 오랜 시간이 쌓여 올려진 언어들, 한자와 영어, 한글까지 글/쓰기를 두고 품은 뜻을 되짚어보았다. 글쓰기라는 행위 하나, 그리고 그를 정의하는 단어를 놓고 얼마나 다양한 생각이 파생될 수 있는지 보는 것이 참으로 흥미로웠다. 하단의 일곱 가지 조언에도 나와있듯이 작가님께서는 어원이나 정확한 뜻을 파악하기 위해 사전을 적극 활용하고 평소에도 사전을 가까이 두어 틈틈이 영감을 수집하신다고 한다.

다정한 철학자 언니가 중요한 부분을 콕콕 집어내는 족집게 강의를 듣다 보면 시간이 훌쩍 지나가 버린다. 어떻게 하면 글을 잘 쓰는지에 대한 접근보다는 (선배) 작가로서 이 직업을 유지하기 위해 그녀가 만들어 간 단단한 밑바탕을 볼 수 있어 좋았다. 커다란 주제에서 소소한 단어 선택에 이르기까지 자신의 이야기가 독자에게 올바르게 다가가는지, 다른 사람에게 해가 되지는 않는지 들여다보고 고민하고 그것을 위해 다듬어 내는 것을 마다하지 않는 작가님. 뭐랄까, 철학 전공자답게 그녀가 작가로서 지켜내는 철학이 담긴 조언들이었다.

진지한 이야기에 고개를 끄덕끄덕이며 경청하다가 중간에 훅 치고 들어오는 유머는 작가님의 또 다른 매력이다. 책이든 강의든, 단톡창의 대화나 브런치 댓글이든 (다양한 포맷을 넘나들며 ㅎ) 자신만의 색을 잃지 않는 유머러스함이 취향 저격이다. 나는야 유머 포기 못하는 타입 ㅋ;

위의 조언 이후에는 몇 년 전 진민님이 나에게 나누어주셨던 이메일의 내용, 자신이 작가로서 일상을 어떻게 꾸려가는지에 대한 이야기가 이어졌다. 개인적으로는 내가 크게 도움을 받은 실질적인 정보들인데 몇 가지 추려보면 다음과 같다. 아이들이 자는 시간에 함께 자서 새벽에 일어나 작업하시는 것, 평소에 책을 읽거나 영감을 수집하며 (출처와 함께) 메모 정리를 잘해두는 것, 그리고 글을 써야 하는 순간에는 모아둔 메모들을 훑어며 필요한 부분을 오려 붙여 (비교적 손쉽게) 뼈대를 구성하는 요령, 건강한 글쓰기 생활을 위해 산책과 시필사도 빼먹지 않으신다고 한다.

이슬아 작가님 책 제목 중 하나가 <부지런한 사랑>이 아닌가. 브런치 플랫폼을 이용하는 당신이라면 글쓰기의 힘을 이미 알고 있다. 우리들은 다른 무언가에 관심을 가질 수 있고, 다양한 관점에서 관찰을 할 수도, 심지어 다른 무언가에 되어 깊이 몰입도 할 수 있다! 이렇게 글쓰기란 작가님의 말처럼 '사랑하는 누군가를, 사랑하는 무언가를, 기념하고 기억하고 저장하는 멋진 일'이라는 것을 다시금 가슴에 새겨본다. 그리고 올 한 해 글쓰기를 통해 나의 사랑이 한 뼘이라도 더 커지기를 소망한다.

💌 Tips on Writing from a Kind Philosopher Friend

My connection with Author Jinmin Lee goes all the way back (I was stunned when I counted the years!!) to 2019. We met when C Program, a venture philanthropy fund that explores the third place for teenagers and youths, was recruiting Korean expat moms as foreign correspondents to collect data; I reported from the US and Jinmin covered Germany.

Soon after the project had been launched, Jinmin won the 7th Kakao Brunch Story writing competition where she wrote under the pseudonym, “The Philosopher Mom”. I remember being amazed that someone I knew had been selected as the winner as I had only just started writing at Brunch. As (someone who could hardly even be called) an aspiring writer and a first-year mom of two, I was genuinely curious how she got there. How did she manage the amazing feat of winning the writing contest while being in the same predicament as mine: living abroad, raising two children, and having only 24 hours a day? So I asked the project manager for her email address and sent out a direct SOS to a colleague I had never met in person.

Even though it was an abrupt email, I received a warm-hearted reply from the kind philosopher not long after. In it, she shared in detail her experiences, including what had helped her with her writing and what her writing process was like. As I was thinking, “Woah, this information is too valuable to keep to myself…”, an opportunity presented itself to have these tips reach a large number of people–including myself–through TakeRoot’s “Writing 101” class presented by Jinmin Lee. 

Survival of the Friendliest by Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods suggests that the friendliest are also the most likely to thrive. Not surprisingly, my kind philosopher friend Jinmin has been publishing books to keep close by year after year, from I am a Philosopher Mom (2020), A Friendly Philosopher’s Guide to Using an Art Museum (2021), A Forest Called Child (2022) to Philo and Sophy Outside the Cave (2023). As we begin the year 2024, I would like to take a moment to summarize the tips and tricks she used to consistently create works that capture her unique style.

True to her self-description, "I'm interested in translating philosophy into simple everyday language," the workshop began with a look at the etymology of words related to writing. We looked back on what it means to write, and the meaning conveyed in texts written in languages as old as human civilization, from Chinese characters and English to Korean. It was fascinating to see how many diverse ideas can be born out of a single act of writing, and the words defining that text. As you’ll see in the seven tips below, the author actively uses the dictionary to determine the precise definition or origin of a word, and keeps the dictionary close at hand to gather inspiration whenever it strikes.

Time flies when you listen to the friendly philosopher’s lecture that zeros in on key points. I liked that we got to see a glimpse of the solid foundation she has built to stay in this profession as (someone who has already made it as) a writer, rather than a how-to approach to writing well. An author who is willing to look into and agonize over every detail, from the big themes to trivial word choices, and polish her story so it can properly reach her readers and won’t hurt anyone. What can I say, her advice contained the values she upholds as a writer, just as one would expect from a philosophy major.

Humor is another of her charms. It hits you out of the blue while you’re nodding along to a serious story. I love how her unique sense of humor shines through (across various formats) whether it is her book, lecture, text message, or a comment to a blog post. I'm the type that can't give up on humor haha

The advice above was followed by the content from the email message she shared with me a few years ago, in which she talked about her daily routine as a writer. Here are some of the practical tips that I’ve personally found helpful. She goes to bed when her kids go to bed, then gets up at dawn to work on her writing. She takes well-organized notes (with sources) whenever she reads a book or gathers inspiration. When it is time to write, she goes over the notes she has collected and cuts and pastes the parts she needs to create the outline (relatively easily). She also doesn’t skip walking and poetry transcription to maintain a healthy writing lifestyle.

Isn’t one of the books by Author Seula Lee titled Diligent Love? If you are on the Brunch platform, you already know the power of writing. We can have other interests, make observations from different perspectives, and even become something else and immerse ourselves in it! Once again, I engrave in my heart that writing is, as Jinmin said, “a wonderful way to commemorate, remember, and preserve someone or something you love”. I hope that this year, my love will grow through my writing by at least a few inches.