That's a Wrap

A couple of things to wrap up the week, first

• check out Dancing With the Gorilla, and read the post about heart attacks in women. My mother mistook her heart attack as indigestion, too. The post is a good reminder of symptoms women may experience during a heart attack.
• Then, mosey on over to A Country Boy Can Surmise. Read the author's take on disastrous destruction of our natural resources, the BP oil leak and mountain top removal.
• Since my writer's retreat, a new author has befriended me via text messaging. She is writing a mystery novel starring protagonist Secret Agent Mac. She is ten years old, and quite an aspiring author. Besides finishing her story, she plans to send a book on tour via The Sketchbook Project. Join me in wishing her the best of luck.
• Did you notice this blogger's new look. I hope you like it. I've had problems getting my gadgets to work (those little things to the right that you can click on). Everything appears to function as it should, now. I apologize, from my techno-challenged heart, if you have any trouble.
• Mail call. I got the crits back from the west coast. I kissed the envelope. Smelled it. Held it up to the light for a peek inside. Slapped it against my left palm several times, took my letter opener out, and did a drum roll in my head. Sliced the sucker open, and.......
• Well, not exactly what I expected. The promise was two (2) critiques of two (2) full pages each. I didn't expect to find a form letter, in 14pt Times New Roman, with barely enough room between categories to write a phrase, let alone a whole sentence. However, I considered the comments valuable and out of a possible 100 my scores were 73 and 89. So, I'm encouraged. Fiction, my current genre, is harder to write than the non-fiction this blogger used to cut writer's teeth.
• I made contact with http://www.writeeyes.com/. This service is unavailable until September, if then. I'm still on the hunt for a critique / editing service. Feel free to toss out recommendations.
• To wind down this post, there's a writer's workshop coming to the South in October. Cecil Murphey, NY Times best selling author is slated as the keynote speaker. Mr. Murphey's bio states he's written over a hundred books. Now, that's impressive!

For this week, that's a wrap. Happy writing, happy weekend.

Writing Retreat

Just got back from a writing retreat. Wow. It was absolutely, possitively, fantabulous! Four days and three nights of writing.

Let me brag about my progress. Sub deadline is September 1, 2010. Word limit is 3,000. I chose to start a short from scratch rather than rewrite an existing. Day 1 = 1,996 words. Day 2 = 1,997 words. Day 3 = editing to less than 3,000 for a manuscript of 2,892 words. Yippee! Story still needs work, but hey. Yippee!

Now, the location. We rented a guest cottage from a nearby college situated on a mountaintop. The view inspiring, the facilities adequate, and places to write abundant. Though temps lingered in the mid 90's, the shade offered up a nice breeze everyday. The lobby for guest housing provided comfortable seating, small fridge, coffee, and microwave.

The library, while not as plush as the lobby, included chair with laptop tables attached to the arms and coffee house tables, for writer's who like to perch a tad higher.

We carted coolers for snacks and cold drinks and Panera Bread Bagels for breakfast, but for lunch we went to this fabulous little cafe. The chef trained in Chicago, Louisiana, and France. Thinking now of his presentation of Shrimp n' Grits, Pork Sliders, and Mac n' Cheese is making my mouth water.

If you've considered a writing retreat, by all means give it a try. There are affordable stays out there and / or close to home. Pull together a handful of writing friends and plan the essentials. It can be a memorable and productive writing experience.

If my group goes again, and I hope it does, I plan to attend. Meanwhile, I'm going to rewrite and sub my story by deadline. Until next time, happy writing.

The Not An Option Option

Wow! The first day of summer is just around the corner. I've been looking over sub-options, since most of the university presses take the summer off.

I sent a sub to a contest with an entry fee of $50. Steep, huh? Well, I'm suppposed to get back two (2) professional critiques / editorials in exchange for my hard earned bucks. Oh, I'm going to let you know whether it was worth it.

In the meantime, I spoke to a writer friend who directed me to http://www.writeyes.com/. This website offers handwritten notes on my story copy and a type written critique on structure, character, and dialog. The price of $3 / page seems reasonable ($30 minimum). Of course, I'll let you know how that works out, too.

Now, back to the submission options. You know about the contests, lit journals, magazines, etc. But, the one option that isn't a real option is when to send. The answer: only when you can't improve your story further.

Submitting top quality work is Rule #1. You need this critique / editing feedback. It's way difficult to know where your writing is missing the mark unless a professional looks at your story.

So, try it. And we'll swap experiences.

Writing Classes -- Pick an Option

I'm so glad to be writing again. Thank you for your emails and well wishes. Now, back in the writing saddle.

This week let's talk about writing classes and the available choices. Local colleges, online courses, and self study are options to fit just about any schedule. To lower the cost of a college course, consider auditing the class, especially if you already have a degree in another field. Often the cost to audit is much lower than the cost of credited classes. Classes will differ from school to school. Try to make an appointment with the instructor, before signing up, if you can.

Online classes can be pricey, too. Make sure you can research the instructors credentials. And find out if there is a refund offered for early outs, in case the course doesn't live up to your expectations.

Writer's Digest offers Writer's Digest University, a new webpage on this day. But check out Gotham Writer's Workshop, too. Don't underestimate the value of professional feedback. If your writing is improving, you'll reap future monetary benefits from the course.

Self-study requires the same commitment as community or online classes, maybe more. The disadvantage is lack of feedback. Look to your writing group for thoughts about whether your writing is getting better as a result of a self study course.

The Teaching Company offers excellent home writing courses to purchase on CD. Before you gasp with an anxiety attack, watch for a potential course to go on sale. From my experience, these are true sales prices and not markdowns of discontinued items. My personal library from The Teaching Company  includes, Building Great Sentences taught by Professor Brooks Landon, and Masterpieces of Short Fiction taught by Professor Michael Krasny.

Books may be the cheapest of all self-study courses. Most libraries offer used books for sale. Look to buy used college textbooks. Do the reading and writing exercises. Or, flip through the pages of On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner. Buy it as a study guide, if you like what you see.

Reading is the best teacher of all, in my humble opinion. As writers, we can glean a wealth of information from a universe bursting with books. The trick is learning to read like a writer. 

Lastly, some authors, like Nicholas Sparks, offer writing tips on their personal websites. Mr. Sparks has a section for teachers and one for writers. Surf your favorite authors, and bookmark these sites as you come across them.

Don't rule out writing classes as a way to improve your craft. If funds are limited, start with the least expensive option or a combination of the above preferences. Feel free to share the pros and cons of your writing class experiences.

Next time...submission options. Any questions?

The Writer's Journey

As a writer, journeys are essential. Lately, I've started a writer's journey of sorts. My travels so far have been in the direction of the epicenter of my inner most being. The place where I live all by myself and am afraid to visit at times.

Three tour guides are directing my adventure. In no particular order, the first is Natalie Goldberg. My copy of "Writing Down the Bones" is the 1986 printing. Goldberg teaches us how to reach into the depths of our soul and expose our unknown self -- to our known self. She leads us gently into areas of our lives, worthy of exploration, void of explanation, and stripped of expectation in search of who we are inside. Using writing practices and encouraging honesty, she creates a stirring to discern and learn about our covert self.

Next, is Julia Cameron author of "The Artist's Way". It's a book of healing, personal development, and artistic discovery. The textbook and / or the accompanying workbook is chock full of exercises and ideas to nurture the artist that lives with us. The course is a how-to and includes encouragements and ideas for losing the baggage that keeps our creative self struggling to move forward. My version is part of a volume that includes The Artist's Way, Walking Through This World, and Finding Water.

The last, but not least, of my tour guides is Andy Couturier, author of "Writing Open the Mind." His exercises are not traditional writing exercises but unique techniques that stretch the imagination and waken the writer with calistenics for the brain.

This will be my first time through Cameron's twelve week process and Couturier's eleven step system. I'll keep you updated about this adventure and in the meantime encourage you to start your own writer's journey. Stimulate your right brain. Let me know how it goes.

Note: Painstaker, author of Writing Panes, has not received compensation in any form for the mention of any author's books listed in this blog. I would like to thank author Darnell Arnoult for her blog that mentioned Julia Cameron's work, which initiated my interest in taking a personal writer's journey.

Cold Mountain - Literature or History

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier is one of my all-time favorite books. Whether as literature or history, this book is a wealth of writing inspiration for all levels of creative writing courses . Writing students can learn from Frazier’s varying degrees of deprivation, attention to detail, and characterizations. I would love to talk to Mr. Frazier about some of the passages in Cold Mountain. If you know him, please direct him to this blog. (Mr. Frazier, if you read this, please comment.)

It may be unfair to point out symbolism in Cold Mountain. Some authors, Hemingway for one, preferred his audience read for enjoyment rather than pick and digest his work like a roasted chicken (my words not Hemingway's).

Still, I’m compelled to share my thoughts about this vivid story. I’ll start with the some chapter titles.

Chapter 1 – the shadow of a crow. Things are not as they appear. Look at these examples.

Inman sails his hat out the schoolroom window, and it settles near the edge of a field "black as the shadow of a crow squatted on the ground."

Pages further, Inman's friends say their goodbyes, when the army sends Inman to a hospital in his home state to die from a neck wound. The neck does not bring death.

From Inman’s perspective, the war is not as it appears, neither is Balis (another wounded soldier), or freedom from the army hospital.

Chapter 2 – the ground beneath her hands. Life is at its lowest for Ada. She's not prepared to cope with mountain life. The daughter of a preacher, she has no domestic skills, no money to get to back to Charleston, SC, and no social life. She even believes the flogging rooster wants to kill her. Ada touches the dry ground, full of chicken feathers and chicken poop.

Chapter 3 – the color of despair. This phrase is from a curse, “To Destroy Life,” taught to Inman by his Cherokee friend, Swimmer. Inman repeats the curse "aiming it out at the world at large, his enemies." He speaks it out for several miles until he thought "the words were just flying back to strike him alone." In the despair of this chapter, Inman finds a glimmer of hope (when do you see it) but can't bring it to fruition in his mind. He sinks low again.

We'll look at other chapters in the future. In the meantime, I'm curious what inspires you as you read a book, any book?

If you haven't read Cold Mountain, consider reading it this year. Mark the passages that teach you creative writing. Learn to read like a writer. Any questions?

Notebooking Part 3 of 3 - Skill Bill

Whether writing is a full time job or not, skill building is an important step towards getting published. Meet Skill Bill. My homework, assignment, writing prompt, note taker.

When I study the craft of writing, I shift into student mode. I underline in my books, write comments in the margins, and work my assignments in Skill Bill.

Page After Page and Chapter After Chapter both by Heather Sellers has writing assignments at the end of each chapter. In Skill Bill, I outlined the chapters of Between the Lines by Jessica Page Morrell.

Andy Couturier teaches great techniques in Writing Open the Mind: Tapping the Subconscious to Free the Writing and the Writer. One of my favorite exercises is in the first chapter.

Important notes, writing mantras, teacher comments are quick to find in Skill Bill. Now, remember I said, no writer knows it all. Good writers are forever learning, better writers are practicing what they learn.

Remember I said, study interviews of other writers. Sent you over to Paris Review. Encouraged you to subscribe and get the four-volume set. Skill Bill holds quotes by Truman Capote, William Falkner, and others. More recent entries include assignments from Dancing With The Gorilla blog.

Learning to construct great sentences, analyzing short stories, reading author interviews, working through writing exercises, are just a few of the ways to improve our writing. Use a notebook to keep everything you learn in one convenient, easy to find, pseudo-reference book created by you for you.

Without a doubt any writer can keep a number of notebooks. Right now, my magic number seems to be three.

• Blog Heaven for scrawling out blogging ideas ahead of time
• Infernal Journal for insights into myself and life
• Skill Bill for note taking, writing exercises, mantras, and etc

If you keep a notebook, consider how it supports your writing. If you're just starting, I hope this short series has encouraged you to try notebooking. Once you start and stick with it, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it.

Any questions?