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Grist for the Muse #33 -- November 2006
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mich-@flashwriting.com
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Nov 08, 2006 15:41 PST
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Grist for the Muse **
Issue # 33 November 2006
In this issue:
* Musings
* Muse Reviews
* Writing Jumpstarts
* Shameless Self Promotion
"Writing is like carrying around an empty bucket. You have to fill it up
with words even if they're crap. You have to be willing to write one bad
draft after other."
- Haven Kimmel
**Still having trouble with Topica and graphics. I'll keep working on it.
Musings
Just finished Haven Kimmel's book She Got Up Off the Couch: And Other Heroic
Acts from Mooreland, Indiana and you have to admire the skill with which she
tells the story from the point-of-view of a pre-teen child. She never strays
from the POV and never sentimentalizes the event as they occur in the
child's eyes, but essentially this is the story of her mother, Delonda, who
tirelessly solved problem after problem to get a college degree in 2 years.
Despite her poverty, her husband's total lack of support of the idea, her
oldest daughter's pregnancy, lack of transportation, and more, Delonda
manages to overcome all and DO SOMETHING about her dissatisfaction with her
life. An inspiring story for persistence for us all.
Now we know where "Zippy" got her tenacity and persistence. If Zippy's mom
can overcome all of these things, you can fill up your bucket with words...
even if they are crap...
--Michael
Shameless Self Promotion
Columbus State Visiting Authors Workshops FREE
These Saturday workshops are held on the lower level of Nestor Hall on
Columbus State's downtown campus on Spring Street. All of these workshops
begin at 2 pm lasts about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Columbus State's main campus is located at 550 E. Spring Street at the
intersection of Spring Street and Cleveland Avenue. Nestor Hall is a large
building on campus and is recognizable by its huge arched passageway.
November 11: Michael Wilson, "Dynamic Character Creation"
December 2: Sandra Gurvis, "Making a Career in Writing"
January 13: Michael Wilson, "The 15-Minute Writer: How to
Achieve Your Writing Dreams in 15 Minutes a Day"
February 10: To Be Announced
March 31: Colette Inez, Topic to be announced
Remember that all of these workshops are FREE!
Classes at Upper Arlington Lifelong Learning
The 15-Minute Writer
TIME: 9:00 AM-5:00 PM, Saturday
DATE: November 18th
LOCATION: Lower Level Conference Room
COST: $45.00(R), $49.50(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>
https://parks.uaoh.net/VSIWEBTRAC.HTML
* Fill out a registration form here:
<http://www.ua-ohio.net/parksrec/lifelong/registration.pdf>
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
Classes at the Decorative Arts Center (the Reese-Peters House) in Lancaster,
Ohio
Character. Conflict and Chaos: The Essentials of Fiction Writing
Audience: Fiction writers of all levels.
Cost: $32 for members and $40 for non-members
Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm
This class teaches you how to create realistic, three-dimensional
characters, establishing interesting situations for them, and unleashing
chaos upon the world you created for dynamic fiction. Some of the topics
explored in the class: creating character sketches, using character
motivation to generate conflict, and keeping your story moving.
Class #1 -- Nov 14th
Class #2 -- Nov 21st
Class #3 -- Dec 5th
Class #4 -- Dec 12th
To register: call (740) 681-1423
Writing Jumpstarts (courtesy of JumpStart Jar)
Quick Topics
* Stand in her way
* These days
* Spellbinding
* To avoid vomiting
* Dig deep
* Snorted
* Crush
* Rivalry
* Late-night
* Not a fan of
* Floppy ears
* Eye exam
* Kick back
Story Starters (Provocative Phrases)
* What will it take...
* You seriously won't believe...
* What'll it be...
* I'm going to do...
* No, I don't think...
* This can't be...
Do you want more prompts? Buy a JumpStart Jar or check out the Grist for the
Muse Blog at http://gristforthemuse.blogspot.com/ every Tuesday for Topic
Tuesdays and every Friday for Provocative Phrase Fridays.
Muse Reviews
The Playful Way to Serious Writing by Roberta Allen; Houghton Mifflin; 2002
(Paperback) 200 pages
Roberta Allen's book is short, (I read it in about an hour.) but has some
good information. Using that quirky style often used by several of writing
prompt books such as Monica Wood's The Pocket Muse, and A Writers Book of
Matches compiled by the staff of Fresh Boiled Peanuts, Allen's title mixes
in photos, an unusual book size and a font designed to look like handwriting
to provide some good information along with exercises designed to crack your
creative side wide-open.
She uses what she calls the "Energy Method" which is similar to Natalie
Goldberg's "Keep your hand moving," or my own "Flash writing" process. It
involves using timed writing sessions and writing fast to avoid your inner
critic and just get something down on the page. I hate books that have you
fill-in-the-blanks in order to round out the content provided by the author.
I see this as a cop-out, but at least Ms. Allen balances these
fill-in-the-blanks with good ideas and examples of her own. She encourages
you to list your fears, the fears you have overcome, realizations, "before
and after" statements, and much more.
In short, The Playful Way to Serious Writing does a great job giving you
some starting points for writing if you are totally lost and have no idea
what to do next. Yet, it isn't as good as some of the other similar books
out on the market. At only 200 pages the book feels more like 50 or 75 pages
after you consider the smaller footprint of the book, the large
handwriting-like font, and the previously mentioned fill-in-the-blank pages.
At a cover price of $14.00, I think that there are many other similar
writing prompt books out on the market that are a better value for your
money. But if you need some fresh ideas or a quick spark, don't hesitate to
borrow this one from the library or simply flip through it in a bookstore.
That should be enough time to get value out of the book.
Rating: ** (Borrow It from the Library)
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
The Fine Print
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SUGGESTIONS or COMMENTS: Please feel free to e-mail me with ideas,
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I do give all comments serious consideration. Send them to
gri-@flashwriting.com
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SUBMISSIONS: Do you have an event you want to promote? Do you want to see
yourself in print? Send me a short article or writing exercise ideas. I
can't pay you anything yet, but maybe someday soon. Please send an e-mail
with date, time, place, cost and contact information to
gri-@flashwriting.com with SUBMISSION in the subject line. Editor reserves
the right to revise submissions.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER: 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
<http://www.flashwriting.com/> www.flashwriting.com.
Copyright 2006 Michael L. Wilson. All rights reserved.
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