I'm following an April Platform Challenge on Robert Lee Brewer's blog "My Name Is Not Bob."
Ok, I know that today is April 11 and I'm running behind in posting, but I didn't want to post what I didn't like. The first challenge was to "define myself". To think about myself in terms of the here and now as I sit in front of my computer rather than setting goals and projecting myself into the future was a difficult task. I think the hardest part of this challenge, however, was to sum up myself in one single sentence. It truly requires a writer to be concise and choose precise verbiage.
To read what I wrote, please click on the "About the Author" tab under the title of this blog.
Drop me a comment and let me know what you think. You can visit my other endeavors.
Showing posts with label creative writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creative writing. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Monday, March 5, 2012
A NEW PHILOSOPHY
Someone told me not long ago that if I had the chance to attend a large writer's convention that I had to go. I have been to theater and speech teacher's conventions, but I didn't realize the impact a writer's convention would have on me and my desire to write.
This past weekend I attended the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Convention in Chicago. I must have sported the proverbial deer in the headline look for the entire weekend: Chicago, the lights, the Michigan Avenue hotels, the writers. When 10,000 writers descend upon a small area (the Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House), there is a distinct energy an aspiring writer can latch onto and feed on.
Although I belong to four uniquely separate writer's organizations and groups, I still feel alone. After all, the writer's life, according to many, is a solitary life. But here among 10,000 like-minded individuals, I felt a silent support.
Trying to juggle workshops that interested me and the book fair, I didn't meet too many people. It almost felt like going to a Six Flags Amusement Park and trying to ride every ride in half a day.
It wasn't until I was leaving Sunday morning that I realized the impact that the experience had had on me. I rode the elevator down with a younger gentleman who had also attended the conference for the first time. He told me that he indeed enjoyed it, but that he was exhausted. I agreed with him. "But," I said, "I soaked up a lot of information. And I'm going home, getting organized, and writing my heart out so I can write as well as the people I listened to in workshops and the people I heard read their material."
If I happened to meet you, thank you for the bit of conversation we had. If you were there, did you enjoy your experience?
This past weekend I attended the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Convention in Chicago. I must have sported the proverbial deer in the headline look for the entire weekend: Chicago, the lights, the Michigan Avenue hotels, the writers. When 10,000 writers descend upon a small area (the Hilton Chicago and the Palmer House), there is a distinct energy an aspiring writer can latch onto and feed on.
Although I belong to four uniquely separate writer's organizations and groups, I still feel alone. After all, the writer's life, according to many, is a solitary life. But here among 10,000 like-minded individuals, I felt a silent support.
Trying to juggle workshops that interested me and the book fair, I didn't meet too many people. It almost felt like going to a Six Flags Amusement Park and trying to ride every ride in half a day.
It wasn't until I was leaving Sunday morning that I realized the impact that the experience had had on me. I rode the elevator down with a younger gentleman who had also attended the conference for the first time. He told me that he indeed enjoyed it, but that he was exhausted. I agreed with him. "But," I said, "I soaked up a lot of information. And I'm going home, getting organized, and writing my heart out so I can write as well as the people I listened to in workshops and the people I heard read their material."
If I happened to meet you, thank you for the bit of conversation we had. If you were there, did you enjoy your experience?
Friday, December 9, 2011
POETRY CHAPBOOKS
After a long and stressful day, I sat down at my desk to grade some papers tonight. Not just any papers. The poetry chapbooks that my creative writing students had worked on.
Throughout the poetry writing unit, I exposed my students to a wide variety of poetic forms. (I used several of the ones found on www.shadowpoetry.org) Some days I dragged them kicking and screaming so to speak into a poetic form, but most of them attempted each of the 15 forms.
In the computer lab, they worked to complete the formal printed version of each poem. They had to reread and fix the problems in the forms, come up with a workable title, and make sure the type of poem was identified. They had to also accompany the poem with a picture. Then they had to create a title for the book, a table of contents, and a forward that explained the view of poetry they had and what the poems meant to them.
When the pages were printed out, we returned to the classroom to punch holes and make covers and use the Japanese binding technique I had learned in a workshop this past summer.
After a day where I felt I had no one listening, I read how students had found a way to express themselves through poetry, had learned about their viewpoint of the world, and had come to appreciate poetry and the poets who create it.
Throughout the poetry writing unit, I exposed my students to a wide variety of poetic forms. (I used several of the ones found on www.shadowpoetry.org) Some days I dragged them kicking and screaming so to speak into a poetic form, but most of them attempted each of the 15 forms.
In the computer lab, they worked to complete the formal printed version of each poem. They had to reread and fix the problems in the forms, come up with a workable title, and make sure the type of poem was identified. They had to also accompany the poem with a picture. Then they had to create a title for the book, a table of contents, and a forward that explained the view of poetry they had and what the poems meant to them.
When the pages were printed out, we returned to the classroom to punch holes and make covers and use the Japanese binding technique I had learned in a workshop this past summer.
After a day where I felt I had no one listening, I read how students had found a way to express themselves through poetry, had learned about their viewpoint of the world, and had come to appreciate poetry and the poets who create it.
Monday, December 5, 2011
I WRITE THEREFORE I AM
A couple of weeks or so ago, I posted information about a website called Ladies Who Critique. So far, I have found several wonderful people there and possibly a critiquing partner. That said, by spreading the word about the site, I was entered into a drawing. I never win anything, but I felt spreading the word was an important thing to do. Last week, I received an email that said my name had been drawn.
Today in the mail, I received my gift, a notepad with cover that read "I write therefore I am."
I have for a long time considered myself a writer, but the idea of writing has seeped into my blood. If I cut myself, I sometimes thing that words and letters would flow from my veins.
On the first day of a series of workshops I just completed, we were given a sheet of paper and told to put our names on them. The overwhelming majority of us put our name in one of the two upper corners. Then, the facilitator told us that that is how we think of ourselves as writers and that by the end of the four sessions, we would look at ourselves differently.
This past Saturday was the last day of the workshops, and I do look at myself differently as a writer.
1. As my notebook says "I write therefore I am."
2. I feel proud of myself as a writer.
3. I am setting time for my writing rather than hoping I get to it. (Hence this blog is being written Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights between 9 and 11 pm central time)
4. I have forged ahead and am working to finish my "worst first draft" of the novel Tomorrow Relies on Yesterday.
5. I am ready to attend a writer's convention and pitch my first novel, and my second, and my third.
How are you ready to say "I am a writer" and "I writer therefore I am."?
Today in the mail, I received my gift, a notepad with cover that read "I write therefore I am."
I have for a long time considered myself a writer, but the idea of writing has seeped into my blood. If I cut myself, I sometimes thing that words and letters would flow from my veins.
On the first day of a series of workshops I just completed, we were given a sheet of paper and told to put our names on them. The overwhelming majority of us put our name in one of the two upper corners. Then, the facilitator told us that that is how we think of ourselves as writers and that by the end of the four sessions, we would look at ourselves differently.
This past Saturday was the last day of the workshops, and I do look at myself differently as a writer.
1. As my notebook says "I write therefore I am."
2. I feel proud of myself as a writer.
3. I am setting time for my writing rather than hoping I get to it. (Hence this blog is being written Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights between 9 and 11 pm central time)
4. I have forged ahead and am working to finish my "worst first draft" of the novel Tomorrow Relies on Yesterday.
5. I am ready to attend a writer's convention and pitch my first novel, and my second, and my third.
How are you ready to say "I am a writer" and "I writer therefore I am."?
Friday, November 18, 2011
NaNo! NaNo!
Ok. Yes, it is the month of NaNoWriMo. Those of you who have tried it know how obsessed you can get with penning 50,000 words in 30 day or how burned out you can get in 30 days.
This year my story kept trying to leap onto the pages, and I had to rein it in because my ethics wouldn't allow me to start early. That wouldn't be fair.
So, how far am I? 13,315 words - just 36,685 words short of that 50,000 goal, but I am shooting to make the number of words by November 30.
My story came from a prompt I gave to my high school creative writing students. I find my prompts on line and in books; although, sometimes they are off the top of my head. This prompt was a story concept: A wishing well appears in a town in the middle of the night. My high school English classes were reading "The Monkey's Paw" at the time, and the two ideas swirled in my brain. What if the wishes came true, but there were consequences unique to the wisher and what if one of the main characters couldn't find something to wish for because she thought she had everything. And then, she sneaks a wish and .....?
I'm working on the worst first rough draft; letting my internal editor hide away behind a closed door in my brain. I locked her in there. I also find she has a name and that she must be married to my seventh grade English teacher (He was a grammar Nazi.) and at the same time married to one of my high school theater directors (His favorite phrase was "Do it again!").
So at this time I bid you adieu to go back and work on my NaNo novel.
This year my story kept trying to leap onto the pages, and I had to rein it in because my ethics wouldn't allow me to start early. That wouldn't be fair.
So, how far am I? 13,315 words - just 36,685 words short of that 50,000 goal, but I am shooting to make the number of words by November 30.
My story came from a prompt I gave to my high school creative writing students. I find my prompts on line and in books; although, sometimes they are off the top of my head. This prompt was a story concept: A wishing well appears in a town in the middle of the night. My high school English classes were reading "The Monkey's Paw" at the time, and the two ideas swirled in my brain. What if the wishes came true, but there were consequences unique to the wisher and what if one of the main characters couldn't find something to wish for because she thought she had everything. And then, she sneaks a wish and .....?
I'm working on the worst first rough draft; letting my internal editor hide away behind a closed door in my brain. I locked her in there. I also find she has a name and that she must be married to my seventh grade English teacher (He was a grammar Nazi.) and at the same time married to one of my high school theater directors (His favorite phrase was "Do it again!").
So at this time I bid you adieu to go back and work on my NaNo novel.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
TODAY? TODAY!
Today, I made the leaves dance. Well, the leaf blower we bought yesterday made the leaves dance. And then? And then I used the vacuum and mulched them all up. I learned something, though. One must remember to re-zip the bag to the mulcher before vacuuming the leaves again. I was caught up in the swirl of mulched leaves before I realized that the vacuum tube was pulling whole leaves up and chopping them up and putting them back on the ground.
Today, I used the over ripe bananas to make banana muffins. Comfort food that made my house smell divine.
Today, I spent time writing on my newest novel. I got wrapped up in listening to the two ladies in my head have a conversation over coffee and muffins.
Today? Today? Today, as the saying goes, is always the first day of the rest of my life.
Today, I used the over ripe bananas to make banana muffins. Comfort food that made my house smell divine.
Today, I spent time writing on my newest novel. I got wrapped up in listening to the two ladies in my head have a conversation over coffee and muffins.
Today? Today? Today, as the saying goes, is always the first day of the rest of my life.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
25 PLUS HOURS AND COUNTING
Yes, it is almost here. What you ask? NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month for those who haven't experienced it yet.
I'm hyped. I was writing on a prompt with my creative writing class about a month ago. It was a prompt that I've done with my classes for two years, but this time I had an awesome idea for a novel for NaNo.
For the first time in the four years I've participated in NaNo, I have the setting drawn in my mind and a sketch of a map drawn. I know my characters and have begun to interview them. I know their troubles and their celebrations. I AM ready.
50,000+ words here I come.
My total goal this year is not to just write the words (for the last two years I had the words on the page, but in such disarray that things didn't make much sense), but to get the revisions made in time to get the manuscript sent out by June.
Heat the coffee, grab the music, get the comfy chair ready, pull the resource books near the computer, grab the note paper and pen/pencil and get ready to write. The race between time and words on the page begins November 1st.
For the first time in the four years I've participated in NaNo, I have the setting drawn in my mind and a sketch of a map drawn. I know my characters and have begun to interview them. I know their troubles and their celebrations. I AM ready.
50,000+ words here I come.
My total goal this year is not to just write the words (for the last two years I had the words on the page, but in such disarray that things didn't make much sense), but to get the revisions made in time to get the manuscript sent out by June.
Heat the coffee, grab the music, get the comfy chair ready, pull the resource books near the computer, grab the note paper and pen/pencil and get ready to write. The race between time and words on the page begins November 1st.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
CARVE OUT WRITING TIME
As I perused the freelance writer boards, I found my summer writer behavior validated. One site's editor wrote that as a writer on any given morning she gets up, turns on her computer, starts the coffee, and sits down to see what new freelance jobs are posted.
Unless I have a morning workshop or hubby has me out fishing, I find that is exactly what I have been doing this summer. Oh, if I could only do that during the school year. As a teacher, my students and the classes I teach become my focus to the detriment of my writing career. I have to figure out how to balance the two this summer without getting out of bed before 5:00 am or going to bed at midnight.
Although most books and websites about writing stress the importance of writing each day, I am one of those who needs to experience both sides of the coin, so to speak.
Two years ago, the district where I teach added creative writing as a semester elective. As a teacher, I stressed to my creative writing students the importance of writing at least 10 minutes each day and preferably at the same time each day. Research also stresses that it is important for teachers to participate in consistent writing practices with their students; hence, I wrote on the same prompt for the same 10 minutes as my students. As I look at my summer so far, this has had by far the clearest effect on my writing. I miss the specific time; I miss the prompts; I miss the focus. As I sit at home, far too many things invade my thoughts: mow the lawn, weed the garden, laundry, dishes.
So, not to sound redundant, it is important for emerging writers to carve out some specific time during the day (not just whenever) to sit down and write. Write something. Write anything. Ramble. Write a letter to a friend. Describe your day. But, whatever you do, WRITE!
Unless I have a morning workshop or hubby has me out fishing, I find that is exactly what I have been doing this summer. Oh, if I could only do that during the school year. As a teacher, my students and the classes I teach become my focus to the detriment of my writing career. I have to figure out how to balance the two this summer without getting out of bed before 5:00 am or going to bed at midnight.
Although most books and websites about writing stress the importance of writing each day, I am one of those who needs to experience both sides of the coin, so to speak.
Two years ago, the district where I teach added creative writing as a semester elective. As a teacher, I stressed to my creative writing students the importance of writing at least 10 minutes each day and preferably at the same time each day. Research also stresses that it is important for teachers to participate in consistent writing practices with their students; hence, I wrote on the same prompt for the same 10 minutes as my students. As I look at my summer so far, this has had by far the clearest effect on my writing. I miss the specific time; I miss the prompts; I miss the focus. As I sit at home, far too many things invade my thoughts: mow the lawn, weed the garden, laundry, dishes.
So, not to sound redundant, it is important for emerging writers to carve out some specific time during the day (not just whenever) to sit down and write. Write something. Write anything. Ramble. Write a letter to a friend. Describe your day. But, whatever you do, WRITE!
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