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Grist for the Muse #25 -- October 2005
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Michael Wilson
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Sep 28, 2005 19:13 PDT
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Grist for the Muse #25 - October 2005
The monthly creative writing resource that gets you writing and keeps you
writing.
Every writer is a frustrated actor who recites his lines in the hidden
auditorium of his skull.
- Rod Serling
Musings-Finding the Gaps
I have to admit, I've been very frustrated lately. There is so much that I
want to do, but little inconveniences such as a day-job, sleep, dirty
dishes, and soccer games get in the way. The projects that I want to work
on are always rattling around in the "hidden auditorium of my skull." The
words "I ought to," "I should," "when I have time, I'll," are as numerous as
the projects that I want to work on.
I've had those fantasies again about having super-speed, much like Superman
where little things like a commute, can be whittled down to mere minutes a
week instead of hours. Cleaning out a garage, seconds instead of half of a
beautiful Sunday afternoon. Then, I always say to myself, I'd have the time
I need. But that is the big lie. If I had the speed of Superman, I'd be too
busy preventing buses full of school children from toppling off of a bridge,
or stopping Brainiac from detonating a nuke over Cleveland. Even with
extraordinary speed, I'd still never find enough time to satisfy that actor
in that auditorium.
So I have to live with for these mortal limitations and slog through the
day-jobs, the dog vomit on the carpet, and the fall colds and find those
gaps; the hour where you can sit in the library and write while your
10-year-old girl attends an American Girl craft event, the 20 minutes when
you wake up early and can't fall back asleep, the 45 minutes you have to
wait for an oil change. These are often the only gaps you have, and they
will have to do. Because if you are still waiting for the perfect time to
write that novel, finish your memoir, or get a few weeks off to write that
collection of poems that you've always wanted to create, you will always be
waiting. There are always other, more pressing concerns that nibble away at
the moments we have. So turn those "if only's" into "today I will's" by
finding the gaps and get the job done. Give your actor a little relief by
letting him step into the spotlight and perform, even if only for a few
moments a day.
Don't forget, I'm speaking at the Skyline Writers Conference this weekend
http://www.skylinewriters.com/index.htm at the Jesuit Retreat House in Parma
on October 1st. So if you happen to be in that part of the state and don't
have any other plans, sign-up and say "hi!" You can register at the door at
the day of the event. I'd love to see you there.
--Michael
B&N Fiction Writers Group BLOWOUT! -- I still have some handouts left over
from last month's blowout, so stop by the Fiction Writers group at Barnes &
Noble on Thursday, October 13th and pick up some good writing info for FREE!
Quantities are limited, first come, first serve.
JumpStart Jars Update
The Basic Brainstorming and Brainstorming Boost #1 have been released and
are now available for sale!
The Fabulous Fiction jar has been a bit more problematic. (HEY! You try
making up 2,100 unique fictional elements. characters, situations,
complications, etc. It would take YOU a while to do this too. Hopefully by
the end of this month, I'll have wrapped up work on this and release it as
well.
Grist for the Muse 25th Issue Special
So if you are interested in ordering a Basic Brainstorming or Brainstorming
Boost #1, JumpStart Jar, they cost $14.00 each (plus $5.00 shipping and
handling) or buy both of them for $25.00 or combine a copy of Flash Writing
with a JumpStart Jar for $25.00.
If you want to avoid shipping costs and pick up a jar from me directly at a
writing workshop or event, please e-mail me at ma-@jumpstartjar.com for
ordering details.
Sign up for the Write(Now) Newsletter
Nita Sweeney's wonderful monthly newsletter lists events of interest to
writers in the Central Ohio area, including book signings, writing classes,
writer's groups, writer's conferences, poetry readings, and more. To
subscribe click on this link: http://www.nitasweeney.com/id4.html
Writing Exercises - Courtesy of JumpStart Jar
1. Write about a huge mistake that you (or one of your characters) made
and how you dealt with the consequences of it. Who did it hurt? What kind of
damage did it do? Was it repairable? How did you fix it (if you even tried
to fix it)?
Quick Topics
* Rich get richer
* Squeak
* More pressing concerns
* Waiting to attack
* All grown up
* Cascade
* Band-Aid
* Calm before the storm
* Brown wrapper
* Fool and his money
* Perfect hair
* Boy trouble
Story Starters
* I don't have time.
* Something interesting is.
* Keep her for now.
* I'm in bed thinking.
* You can't feel it.
* On the water.
Shameless Self Promotion
Barnes & Noble at Easton Town Center- Fiction Writer's Group
October 13, 2005 - 7:00 p.m. To 8:00 p.m. - Mezzanine: Fiction Writers
Group: WRITE A NOVEL IN ONE MONTH
November is National Novel Writing Month, and to celebrate it we are going
to prepare to write a novel in one month. Is it possible? Join us to prepare
for writing your novel this November and get some tips on making it happen!
A copy of the book First Draft in 30 Days will be given away to one lucky
attendee.
November 10, 2005 - 7:00 p.m. To 8:00 p.m. - Mezzanine: Fiction Writers
Group: Basics of Critiquing
We will be critiquing an attendee's story during tonight's session! Learn
the basic do's and don'ts of critiquing, and get a feel for what agents and
editors (as well as readers) are looking for in your fiction. A copy of the
book How to Write and Sell Your First Novel by Oscar Collier will be given
away to one lucky attendee.
The Fiction Writers Group is a facilitated writing group that meets at
Barnes & Noble at Easton Town Center on the SECOND Thursday of each month at
7:00pm and is hosted by writer and teacher Michael Wilson. A copy of the
book How to Write and Sell Your First Novel by Oscar Collier will be given
away to one lucky attendee. This event is free of charge!
Class at Upper Arlington Lifelong Learning
WRITING FLASH FICTION
Writing Flash Fiction is an eight-hour workshop where you learn to craft
stories that are under 1,000 words long. This class teaches you how to
generate ideas, write the draft of a story, and polish and shape it for
publication. The goal is to have a flash fiction story ready for publication
by the end of the course. The class features lots of in-class writing using
selected topics generated by the group and is fun, self-contained and
motivating. The class textbook, Flash Writing: How to Write, Revise and
Publish Stories Less Than 1,000 Words Long (ISBN 1589396375), can be
purchased at the class for $14.00.
CLASS #: 444891 A
TIME: 6:30-8:30 PM, Tuesday
DATE: November 1 - 22, 4 sessions
LOCATION: Room 104, UA Senior Center Bldg #1, 1945 Ridgeview Road
COST: $50.00(R), $55.00(NR)
There are three ways to register for classes at UA Lifelong Learning:
* Register online using your MASTERCARD or VISA, click the following
link: https://parks.uaoh.net/VSIWEBTRAC.HTML
* Fill out a registration form here:
http://www.ua-ohio.net/parksrec/lifelong/registration.pdf and mail it to or
drop it off (with a check or money order) at Lifelong Learning & Leisure,
3600 Tremont Road, Upper Arlington, OH 43221
* Call (614) 583-5333 between 9:30am and 3:30pm weekdays to register
using your VISA or MASTERCARD
MUSE REVIEWS
The New Diary by Tristine Rainer; Tarcher, 320 pages. Paperback; 1979;
ISBN: 0874771501
You might be asking yourself: Why on Earth, would Michael be reviewing a
book that was first published over 25 years ago? Answer: Because it is an
incredible book. I first discovered this book my freshman year of college
and it was the first book I ever read that was devoted to journal writing. I
had been keeping a regular, although somewhat boring journal, for about a
year and a half before I bought the The New Diary, and the techniques that
Ms. Rainer introduced to me gave me new ways of looking at my journal and
made me a better writer, and maybe even a bolder writer, who was willing to
take more risks and explore areas of my life that scared me. I revisited
this book again to prepare for my Creative Journaling class that I taught
this month, and it has had that same effect on my writing now. This year
has been one of my lowest output years in the sheer number of pages of
writing practice, and in this month alone I have filled more pages than in
any other month during the past 18 months.
The New Diary reminds you of how easy it is to hide from yourself. How your
mind plays games with you, builds up walls of rationalization, false
memories, and deadened emotion in an attempt to "protect" you. It doesn't
understand that you don't need protection. You need honest clarity to deal
with the issues that you face as part of day-to-day living.
Part writing practice, and part psychoanalysis, The New Diary helps you
learn the techniques necessary to write around your critic and natural
resistances, and then gives you the tools to help you analyze that writing
and help you work though difficult problems and powerful emotions such as
fear and anger. With hundreds of writing topics and about a dozen different
journal-writing techniques, The New Diary has not lost any of its relevance
over the past 25 years. In fact, it even seems more important now than ever
before in this crowded, fast-paced world where we are bombarded by the media
24/7. This book helps you get back to the basics of exploring yourself. your
feelings, your wants, your needs, and encourages you to slow down, think
about them, and write.
Rating: ***** (Well Worth it at Full Retail Price)
About Ratings: ***** -- Well Worth it at Full Retail Price; **** - Buy on
Sale/Discounted; *** - Buy Used; ** - Borrow It from the Library; * -
Waste of a Good Tree
NEXT MONTH:
The Grist is gearing up for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)
complete with a book review of No Plot? No Problem! by NaNoWriMo's founder
Chris Baty. And a presentation surrounding NaNoWriMo at this month's Fiction
Writers Group meeting on Oct 13th at Easton Town Center. For more info on
NaNoWriMo, check out: http://www.nanowrimo.org/
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the right to revise submissions.
ABOUT THE EDITOR: Michael Wilson has been teaching creative writing classes
and facilitating writer's groups for almost a decade and was an
award-winning Contributing Editor for The Writer's Block at Suite101.com. He
has a BA (with Honors) in English from Ohio University, and has been a
featured guest speaker at the Thurber House, the Maumee Valley Writer's
Conference and the Columbus Writer's Conference. He is also the publisher
and editor of Grist for the Muse a free monthly creative writing
e-newsletter. His first book: Flash Writing: How to Write, Revise and
Publish Stories Less Than 1000 Words Long, was published in October 2004.
You can get additional information about him at www.flashwriting.com
<http://www.flashwriting.com/> .
Copyright 2005 Michael L. Wilson. All rights reserved.
Michael L. Wilson, Publisher Grist for the Muse
Grist for the Muse is your FREE monthly creative writing e-newsletter
designed to get you
writing and keep you writing. To sign up, go to the web at this URL:
http://www.topica.com/lists/Grist_for_the_Muse OR send email to
gri-@flashwriting.com
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