Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Save Your Life Writing Center Open House
On Saturday, September 6, I'll be hosting an open house at the new Save Your Life Writing Center at the Indian Orchard Mills. From 2-3pm, I'm offering a free introductory writing class, Building Character Five Ways (please call (413)346-8793, though, to register, so I have an idea of numbers) From 3-5pm, we'll celabrate with wine and snacks, readings of student work, and a raffle. So put it on your calendar, and prepare to have some fun!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
New Studio, New Classes!
Beginning July 1st, Save Your Life Writing will have a new home -- a lovely studio in the Indian Orchard Artist Mills (www.indianorchardmills.com). There will be comfy chairs, tea and snacks, and plenty of new writing classes and workshops.
Two Continuing Ed classes will resume July 7th and 8th, and Creative Writing 101 will be offered beginning mid-July.
I'll also be starting a series of monthly Saturday workshops, including Story In A Day (in which we'll begin and complete a short story draft), Sending Out Party (I will provide materials and guide you in your search for appropriate markets. By the end of the workshop, you'll have your story ready to post to several publications), and Write Your Art Out (a museum field trip where we will write to prompts inspired by art).
All in all, it's going to be an exciting writing summer, so please join us!
Two Continuing Ed classes will resume July 7th and 8th, and Creative Writing 101 will be offered beginning mid-July.
I'll also be starting a series of monthly Saturday workshops, including Story In A Day (in which we'll begin and complete a short story draft), Sending Out Party (I will provide materials and guide you in your search for appropriate markets. By the end of the workshop, you'll have your story ready to post to several publications), and Write Your Art Out (a museum field trip where we will write to prompts inspired by art).
All in all, it's going to be an exciting writing summer, so please join us!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Walking And Art
Today, while I was walking my dogs through windy fields, the idea for my fifth book blew into my head. The story, the voice, the whole nine yards. I can't recommend walking enough as a spur to creative inspiration. It is when I am walking that about 82.6% of my ideas for books, characters, and class exercises come to me. Plus, I am also reaping the benefits of exercise while I am mulling over the writing. Walking is good for both body and psyche. So go take a hike, already!
Another interesting thing happened today. I was having lunch with a friend and mentioned my class field trip this coming Saturday to write at the Mt. Holyoke College Art Museum. My friend said, "Did you know that there is a Janet Fish exhibit there now?" I certainly did, and that was the primary reason for the field trip. Janet Fish is a spectacular painter of light as well as domestic event. I wanted my students to see and respond to her paintings. It turns out that my friend is also a great admirer of Janet Fish's paintings, and indeed has a huge Janet Fish print on her dining room wall. She liked the idea of the field trip and the exercises, and might accompany us to write.
I've been incorporating the concept of ekphrasis into my classes lately, ekphrasis meaning the response of one form of art to another (think Keats's Ode To A Grecian Urn). I think it's a fabulous jolt to the imagination to put your characters into paintings, or have your characters respond to paintings (or other art forms). That's what we'll be doing Saturday. So in addition to a walk, get thee to an art museum for some inspiration.
Another interesting thing happened today. I was having lunch with a friend and mentioned my class field trip this coming Saturday to write at the Mt. Holyoke College Art Museum. My friend said, "Did you know that there is a Janet Fish exhibit there now?" I certainly did, and that was the primary reason for the field trip. Janet Fish is a spectacular painter of light as well as domestic event. I wanted my students to see and respond to her paintings. It turns out that my friend is also a great admirer of Janet Fish's paintings, and indeed has a huge Janet Fish print on her dining room wall. She liked the idea of the field trip and the exercises, and might accompany us to write.
I've been incorporating the concept of ekphrasis into my classes lately, ekphrasis meaning the response of one form of art to another (think Keats's Ode To A Grecian Urn). I think it's a fabulous jolt to the imagination to put your characters into paintings, or have your characters respond to paintings (or other art forms). That's what we'll be doing Saturday. So in addition to a walk, get thee to an art museum for some inspiration.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
A Change Is As Good As A Rest
One of my novel-writing friends was recently berated by one of her academic-writing friends because said novel-writer is working on more than one project at a time. Now, I always encourage my students to work on more than one project at once, as do most creative writing coaches I know. Is this because fiction writiers are less serious, have shorter attention spans, are in fact prone to Attention Deficit Disorder? I think not. What I do think is that academic writing is a different kind of duck. I've practrised both creative and academic writing pretty extensively (my legal academic writing alone would probably be the length of Stephen King's The Stand were I to dig it out and stack it up). And it's true that academic papers demand a certain single-mindedness. You can't be all over the map, it just isn't productive. Maybe that's why I fled the law and turned to the supposedly kinder and gentler art of fiction. Not that writing fiction doesn't require rigorous dedication. Tell that to a novelist enmeshed in the final draft of a book and you will probably get your arm ripped out of its socket. But the process is so different, with so many more steps than academic writing. It's not just that you do the research, then the writing, then the editing. You don't just discover stuff and write it down. You have to MAKE IT UP out of whole cloth. That involves, for me, lots of walks in the woods, lots of noodling with pen and paper, lots and lots of driving, lots of arguing with myself about what a character might do or not do, lots of cups of tea, lots of tossing and turning rather than sleeping, lots of process, both before and after I begin the actual writing. So no wonder I find it helpful to have more than one project going. Dwelling on one set of characters, over a period of years sometimes, gets as old as living with your great aunt Judith and her many cats might over the same period of time. It's fine to visit, even to stay for days or even weeks. But then you need a break. You need to go to the beach, or to the movies, or to visit Uncle Edwin and his collection of insects pinned to boards. Just for a change. So have two or three writing projects going at once, read three or four books at once. It enlivens your perspective, and makes a change.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Writing On The Beach
Back from the Writer's at the Beach Conference in Delaware, and I have to say, after a few days of processing, that it was generally a quite helpful (and mostly fun) experience. It was great to get away from the usual landscapes and people (and even dogs), meet new people and dogs, go to mostly interesting, sometimes befuddling workshops, and then fall exhausted onto the couch or bed of my own private little suite in the hotel. It made me feel like a real person, a real writer. I did even get some bits of writing done on the beach, so it wasn't completely unproductive for the actual writing. Although I have to say, a week in the same hotel, sans writing conference, might have been even better. But I am plugging this particular conference for a few good reasons. 1) It's a 'benefit' conference, organized by Maribeth Fischer, a writer who lost two young nephews to mitochondrial disease. That in itself is really cool. 2) It's in a fantastic place (Rehoboth Beach). The hotel is right on the water, the town has one of the most amazing bookstores I've ever had the pleasure of dropping a few hundred dollars in (Browseabout Books), the conference was incredibly well-organized and information-packed, and the food was excellent.
Now for the down side, sort of: the substance of the panels and workshops, although fine and good as they go, was not the real focal point for me. I did learn all about pitching one's book, from a Writer's Digest editor, Lauren Mosko, who was quite thorough and a great presenter (although I now know I am hopeless at pitching, and can't really wrap my head around the concept. But that wasn't Ms. Mosko's fault.) What I really learned most from this conference was how to behave (and how not to behave) at conferences. I have to say, most of the presenting authors, agents, and editors walked around with their heads down, not making eye-contact, for fear of being pounced upon, I'm sure. But still. It's a miserable way to have to be in the world. And I don't think it's truly necessary. Some presenters were fabulous, accessible, lovely human beings, and weren't afraid to interact. Louise Crawford, a blogging workshop presenter (check out her blog: Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn) Liam Callanan, a novelist (check out his book: The Cloud Atlas )and Michael Blumenthal, a poet, particularly impressed me. There were more, but those three stood out. I know authors, agents, etc. often have difficult interactions with conference attendees. One poor presenter had her ass grabbed at one event, and was snubbed and insulted at another. So my advice if you go to a conference, first and foremost, be respectful of other attendees and especially presenters. Don't gush at them, corner them, pitch them, tell them the list of actors you would like to see in the movie version of your book. Never be rude. That will make it easier for presenters to be accessible and nice.
So, go to a conference so you can learn things, be alone, network appropriately, and observe. It's well worth it. Just remember your pleases and thank you's. And never, ever, grab anyone's ass.
Now for the down side, sort of: the substance of the panels and workshops, although fine and good as they go, was not the real focal point for me. I did learn all about pitching one's book, from a Writer's Digest editor, Lauren Mosko, who was quite thorough and a great presenter (although I now know I am hopeless at pitching, and can't really wrap my head around the concept. But that wasn't Ms. Mosko's fault.) What I really learned most from this conference was how to behave (and how not to behave) at conferences. I have to say, most of the presenting authors, agents, and editors walked around with their heads down, not making eye-contact, for fear of being pounced upon, I'm sure. But still. It's a miserable way to have to be in the world. And I don't think it's truly necessary. Some presenters were fabulous, accessible, lovely human beings, and weren't afraid to interact. Louise Crawford, a blogging workshop presenter (check out her blog: Only The Blog Knows Brooklyn) Liam Callanan, a novelist (check out his book: The Cloud Atlas )and Michael Blumenthal, a poet, particularly impressed me. There were more, but those three stood out. I know authors, agents, etc. often have difficult interactions with conference attendees. One poor presenter had her ass grabbed at one event, and was snubbed and insulted at another. So my advice if you go to a conference, first and foremost, be respectful of other attendees and especially presenters. Don't gush at them, corner them, pitch them, tell them the list of actors you would like to see in the movie version of your book. Never be rude. That will make it easier for presenters to be accessible and nice.
So, go to a conference so you can learn things, be alone, network appropriately, and observe. It's well worth it. Just remember your pleases and thank you's. And never, ever, grab anyone's ass.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
New Classes, and Conference Time
I'm happy to report I'll be starting a new session of Continuing Ed classes on Monday nights, in addition to my faithful Saturday Continuing Ed class. Everybody's happily working away on novels of various genres. It's an exciting time, new novelists everywhere!
Also, it's the season when writing conferences (at least on the East coast), begin busting out all over. I'm heading to Delaware tomorrow for the Writers at the Beach Conference, and am planning to hit Grub Street's Muse and the Marketplace in Boston at the end of April, as well as the Connecticut Authors and Publishers conference in Hartford in May. You might be thinking, sheesh, when does this woman ever get any writing in, between teaching writing and going to conferences? The answer is, usually in hours, or half hours, or even fifteen minuteses of time between other stuff. Really, I do have scheduled writing time every day, often luxuriating in hours of it, but, like most people, I sometimes end up just fitting it in. That seems to be inevitable, and I'm here to say, that's OK. It works. As I am fond of saying in classes, if you only write a page a day, at the end of a year you'll have 365 pages. That's a book. So, strive for a page a day, and you'll get somewhere.
As to the importance of conferences:they are great places to network with other writers, as well as agents and publishers. You can learn about your craft, and the increasingly important subject of marketing. Pitching your book after it's written arguably requires just as many skills as writing the damn thing in the first place, and they are very different skills. So it behooves us all to learn about them. And conferences are also places just to get recharged and excited about writing again. So if you have an opportunity to go to one (or two or three), just do it!
Also, it's the season when writing conferences (at least on the East coast), begin busting out all over. I'm heading to Delaware tomorrow for the Writers at the Beach Conference, and am planning to hit Grub Street's Muse and the Marketplace in Boston at the end of April, as well as the Connecticut Authors and Publishers conference in Hartford in May. You might be thinking, sheesh, when does this woman ever get any writing in, between teaching writing and going to conferences? The answer is, usually in hours, or half hours, or even fifteen minuteses of time between other stuff. Really, I do have scheduled writing time every day, often luxuriating in hours of it, but, like most people, I sometimes end up just fitting it in. That seems to be inevitable, and I'm here to say, that's OK. It works. As I am fond of saying in classes, if you only write a page a day, at the end of a year you'll have 365 pages. That's a book. So, strive for a page a day, and you'll get somewhere.
As to the importance of conferences:they are great places to network with other writers, as well as agents and publishers. You can learn about your craft, and the increasingly important subject of marketing. Pitching your book after it's written arguably requires just as many skills as writing the damn thing in the first place, and they are very different skills. So it behooves us all to learn about them. And conferences are also places just to get recharged and excited about writing again. So if you have an opportunity to go to one (or two or three), just do it!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Getting Out and About
Went with my students to a meeting of the Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association, prompted by Carleen, who had become a member. We met some interesting people, heard a talk about self-publishing, had a fine time yakking during the drive and at lunch. But mostly, we made contact with other writers. Some interactions were more enlightening than others, but we were in an atmosphere where writing was a part of life, an important one. It's easy for writers to get mired in solitude. So it's important to get out there and see what other people are doing. To discuss your own projects, and get ideas for editing, marketing, where and how to get your writing out there in the world. Go to readings. Join writing groups and professional associations. Take classes. Get out and about, and it can only help your writing.
Monday, February 11, 2008
New Classes
Beginning new classes is always a kick. New faces, new projects, new ways of approaching writing.
I'll be teaching my Creative Writing 101 class tonight,and have been gathering materials today for our exercises. My aim is to get my students excited about writing, and able to maintain that excitement between classes so they actually write outside of class. How? Well, one thing is finding a project that fits. Whether it's a novel about an English teacher moving to Katmandu, a short story about deer hunting, or a memoir about growing up with deaf parents, it has to be inspiring to the individual writer. It has to carry you through, from start to finish. The subject and characters have to be real to you, and you have to be passionate about making them real to others.
Some people come to my classes knowing what they want to write, some have no idea, others change mid-stream. I try to inspire them all with exercises that are fun and can be done at home, in those lonely hours at the desk, or the kitchen table,or the recliner.
It's good to use photos. Flickr is a fine website for interesting photos of people and places to write about. If you don't know the real story the photos tell, it's easier to make up a story for them. Also great to go to tag sales and find objects that call to you and have no connection to your life. Buy the chipped ceramic donkey for 25 cents and write its history.
But probably the best place to gather prompts is your everyday life. Look around, all the time, for interesting characters, for landscapes, for beauty and ugliness. Keep a small notebook with you and make notes. Or use index cards, tucked everywhere. This is your greatest source of inspiration for your writing life. Every minute, stories are happening around you. Train yourself to see them, invent them, tell them.
I'll be teaching my Creative Writing 101 class tonight,and have been gathering materials today for our exercises. My aim is to get my students excited about writing, and able to maintain that excitement between classes so they actually write outside of class. How? Well, one thing is finding a project that fits. Whether it's a novel about an English teacher moving to Katmandu, a short story about deer hunting, or a memoir about growing up with deaf parents, it has to be inspiring to the individual writer. It has to carry you through, from start to finish. The subject and characters have to be real to you, and you have to be passionate about making them real to others.
Some people come to my classes knowing what they want to write, some have no idea, others change mid-stream. I try to inspire them all with exercises that are fun and can be done at home, in those lonely hours at the desk, or the kitchen table,or the recliner.
It's good to use photos. Flickr is a fine website for interesting photos of people and places to write about. If you don't know the real story the photos tell, it's easier to make up a story for them. Also great to go to tag sales and find objects that call to you and have no connection to your life. Buy the chipped ceramic donkey for 25 cents and write its history.
But probably the best place to gather prompts is your everyday life. Look around, all the time, for interesting characters, for landscapes, for beauty and ugliness. Keep a small notebook with you and make notes. Or use index cards, tucked everywhere. This is your greatest source of inspiration for your writing life. Every minute, stories are happening around you. Train yourself to see them, invent them, tell them.
Friday, January 18, 2008
News and a Complaint About Complaining
My latest news is that I am a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. That means my book was chosen out of 5,000 novels to be in the next round. That means the book is (so far) in the top 20%. I'm pretty happy about that. It's the first time Amazon is holding the contest, so there are some glitches to be ironed out, unquestionably. But I think it's a great opportunity to get my work out there. Amazon has posted all the semi-finalist's excerpts and is calling for readers to write reviews. If you are so inclined, please write some (my book, The Unforgotten, is in the General Fiction category, on page 11, if you're interested). The biggest problem with the contest, though, as I see it, is the all too human propensity to complain. Even the chosen ones are posting complaining comments on the website. I think this is not only crass and undignified, but also just plain bad ju-ju. Do they think that by directing so much negative energy toward the contest, they are increasing their chances of winning? Probably not.
So, my writing tip for the day is: be thankful for every scrap of attention and press and exposure your writing gets. Don't complain if it isn't exactly what you expected or desired. Be grateful and happy. Envision making your acceptance speech, or meeting with your wonderful new agent or editor, plan what you will wear to read your work at the Boston Public Library, or your appearance on Ellen DeGeneres's show. Get a little dog that you can bring in a Chanel bag and show off to the audience, like Amy Tan. Whatever gets you revved about the success of your writing. That will always get you further than constant complaining and ingratitude. Even if it doesn't seem to at first, you will be cultivating a positive, gracious persona, which is worth something. Remember, top editors and agents don't want to work with crabby people.
So, my writing tip for the day is: be thankful for every scrap of attention and press and exposure your writing gets. Don't complain if it isn't exactly what you expected or desired. Be grateful and happy. Envision making your acceptance speech, or meeting with your wonderful new agent or editor, plan what you will wear to read your work at the Boston Public Library, or your appearance on Ellen DeGeneres's show. Get a little dog that you can bring in a Chanel bag and show off to the audience, like Amy Tan. Whatever gets you revved about the success of your writing. That will always get you further than constant complaining and ingratitude. Even if it doesn't seem to at first, you will be cultivating a positive, gracious persona, which is worth something. Remember, top editors and agents don't want to work with crabby people.
Monday, January 7, 2008
All Things Bright and Writerly
So, I have all kinds of news. First, I am a NaNoWriMo winner, having writ over 50,000 words of my newest novel in November. I am planning to have a draft by February 2008, and be preparing to send it out by May 1, 2008. Yay!
Also,members of my Save Your Life Writing Continuing Ed class and I will be reading from our works in progress on January 12, 2008, at the Conregational Church of East Longmeadow. A tea tasting and sweets will be in the offing as well, so come on out and beat the January blues. You can check out The Reminder article about the reading (January 7, 2008 edition), or call me for particulars.
We are also planning a trip to the Writers at the Beach conference in Delaware, the second week in March. Altogether, it's a pretty exciting time for me and the other Save Your Life Writers. We're happening. We're productive. We're fun. Join us!
Also,members of my Save Your Life Writing Continuing Ed class and I will be reading from our works in progress on January 12, 2008, at the Conregational Church of East Longmeadow. A tea tasting and sweets will be in the offing as well, so come on out and beat the January blues. You can check out The Reminder article about the reading (January 7, 2008 edition), or call me for particulars.
We are also planning a trip to the Writers at the Beach conference in Delaware, the second week in March. Altogether, it's a pretty exciting time for me and the other Save Your Life Writers. We're happening. We're productive. We're fun. Join us!
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