I had an 'awakening' this morning; that's always a good moment! I've been worried of late that my posts have to all be brilliant; and that slowed me up. Silly me, everything I write is brilliant! No worries---it's all good.
Wow! What a relief! (Think I could do stand-up comedy?)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
"Welcome Baby Jack"
Welcome, Son of my Son
You gift Sun to my Sun
Bringing Reason to Rhyme
Welcome, Grandson of mine!
Friday, July 1, 2011
Writer's Words - Tear sheets
If you write, you are a writer. If you publish, it behooves you to document. Personally, I keep a current 3-ring book, using those lovely clear plastic sheets to house my tear sheets.
"What is a tear sheet?" one of my students asked recently. First, since you aren't hearing me pronounce 'tear', it's not a drop from the eye cuz you get way too many rejections, it's a 'tear, as in rip.' When you publish any work, a photo, an editorial, an essay, an article, a poem, a story, photocopy your little marvel and place it in the binder of your choice. Select an attractive binder you can use as a brag book...mostly for your ego. However, your 'clip book', which is the proper name for where your tear sheets abide, it is clarifying for your family and friends and is noticeably impressive at interviews.
What if you've publish a longer short story or even a book? Photocopy the cover of the publication, the copyright page and the first page(s) of your manuscript. Make sure you capture a full title for the publication and the date. Recording the date will save you much needless head-scratching a few years from now. You won't forget the title of the publication. Ah, some delicious details are so palattible they are forever unforgettable!
"What is a tear sheet?" one of my students asked recently. First, since you aren't hearing me pronounce 'tear', it's not a drop from the eye cuz you get way too many rejections, it's a 'tear, as in rip.' When you publish any work, a photo, an editorial, an essay, an article, a poem, a story, photocopy your little marvel and place it in the binder of your choice. Select an attractive binder you can use as a brag book...mostly for your ego. However, your 'clip book', which is the proper name for where your tear sheets abide, it is clarifying for your family and friends and is noticeably impressive at interviews.
What if you've publish a longer short story or even a book? Photocopy the cover of the publication, the copyright page and the first page(s) of your manuscript. Make sure you capture a full title for the publication and the date. Recording the date will save you much needless head-scratching a few years from now. You won't forget the title of the publication. Ah, some delicious details are so palattible they are forever unforgettable!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Writing a Novel Outline
I way need to turn over a new leaf and post more post-haste. I'm going outside right this minute to look for a new leaf; I'll turn it over. That ought to take care of my lack of postings. Keep checking in, cuz I've been developing a website to go along with my writing zest, and other tiny orange peelings.
When we talk about outlining for a book-length piece of fiction or non-fiction, we aren't referring to a Roman Numeral outline; at least, I'm not. I encourage my students to prepare a brief chapter-by-chapter outline, each numbered chapter getting 1 -3 sentences describing the main action.
I learned by doing, and this procedure works: before you write down anything, decide who your characters are (protagonist & antagonist); decide what horrible situation to put your protagonist into as your story opens; know how the story ends, resolving all conficts & tying up loose ends; write your book's basic plot into one nice long, exciting sentence (a sort of Thesis Statement designed to hook the reader); write a one-page synopsis of the plot, characters, conflicts and resolution; now, at last, you are ready to write that chapter-by-chapter outline.
Many writers like to take their good characters and jump right into the writing, testing the waters as they go and letting the characters sail off as they will. And, they will. This is fun. But, for a beginning writer, this would be like a beginning sailor setting sail without a GPS, without depth charts and proceeding without paying one bit of attention to channel markers. You will either go aground, crash against the rocks or find yourself wanting to get off the boat.
I see first, even second, time novelists start out on such a free journey only to run themselves into a total wall with no logical, believable way out. They have to start over, often from chapter one. With an outline, even a very sketchy one, the sailing is much smoother.
For the non-fiction writer, the outline is equally important, if not more so. You'll be deciding if your book will be chronological, category driven, topic driven, character driven. Knowing how your book will read, based on what your market tends to like and what is logical for you non-fiction topic, will make outlining as natural as breathing, and just about as essential.
Within the next several months, I'll be offering lessons you can download to guide you with specifics than I can't provide in a blog: outlining will be among those lessons. First, I need to make an outline. In fact, I have so much to do every day that I need an outline of my life, hour by hour, everyday; otherwise, I just tend to get off course, of course.
When we talk about outlining for a book-length piece of fiction or non-fiction, we aren't referring to a Roman Numeral outline; at least, I'm not. I encourage my students to prepare a brief chapter-by-chapter outline, each numbered chapter getting 1 -3 sentences describing the main action.
I learned by doing, and this procedure works: before you write down anything, decide who your characters are (protagonist & antagonist); decide what horrible situation to put your protagonist into as your story opens; know how the story ends, resolving all conficts & tying up loose ends; write your book's basic plot into one nice long, exciting sentence (a sort of Thesis Statement designed to hook the reader); write a one-page synopsis of the plot, characters, conflicts and resolution; now, at last, you are ready to write that chapter-by-chapter outline.
Many writers like to take their good characters and jump right into the writing, testing the waters as they go and letting the characters sail off as they will. And, they will. This is fun. But, for a beginning writer, this would be like a beginning sailor setting sail without a GPS, without depth charts and proceeding without paying one bit of attention to channel markers. You will either go aground, crash against the rocks or find yourself wanting to get off the boat.
I see first, even second, time novelists start out on such a free journey only to run themselves into a total wall with no logical, believable way out. They have to start over, often from chapter one. With an outline, even a very sketchy one, the sailing is much smoother.
For the non-fiction writer, the outline is equally important, if not more so. You'll be deciding if your book will be chronological, category driven, topic driven, character driven. Knowing how your book will read, based on what your market tends to like and what is logical for you non-fiction topic, will make outlining as natural as breathing, and just about as essential.
Within the next several months, I'll be offering lessons you can download to guide you with specifics than I can't provide in a blog: outlining will be among those lessons. First, I need to make an outline. In fact, I have so much to do every day that I need an outline of my life, hour by hour, everyday; otherwise, I just tend to get off course, of course.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Upon being verbose.......
I've been close to a few people who were good conversationalist; then, when they asked me to read their writing, I found words, upon words, upon words, feeding upon wording, growing atop words, being parasitical upon words. I thought, each time, oh, my God! What happened between their brains and the written page? It's not a quantum leap, folks. It's just juxtaposition between thought and print. Not a leap! Don't leap. As you think it, so shall you reap...don't leap!
My point, if you've missed it, is...write exactly as you speak; pretend you are speaking your paragraphs. Don't elaborate. Save that for the pool room...or the spa. Elaboration, exhortation doesn't belong in excellent prose. You're only as good as succinctness shows, God knows!
My point, if you've missed it, is...write exactly as you speak; pretend you are speaking your paragraphs. Don't elaborate. Save that for the pool room...or the spa. Elaboration, exhortation doesn't belong in excellent prose. You're only as good as succinctness shows, God knows!
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