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Grist for the Muse #37 -- June/July 2007
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mich-@flashwriting.com
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Jul 06, 2007 20:26 PDT
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Grist for the Muse
Issue # 37 June/July 2007
In this issue:
* Musings
* Writing Jumpstarts
* Shameless Self Promotion
* Muse Reviews
"Writing is no trouble: you just jot down ideas as they occur to you. The
jotting is simplicity itself -- it is the occurring which is difficult."
--Stephen Leacock
Musings
Just when you think I've finally got it altogether, I go and miss a month...
go figure... but I've been busy. Check out the new design for the Grist for
the Muse blog where I once again manage to use Maria Fisher's wonderful
logo: http://gristforthemuse.blogspot.com/.
******
My new Flash Writing column is up over at flashquake.org:
http://www.flashquake.org/editorial/flash-writing.html
******
Accepting Loss
Over vacation I did something that I have never done before. Well I did
several things, I visited the top of the CN Tower, took a "Duck Boat" tour
on the Charles River in Boston, and nearly fried my laptop in a cooler leak
that soaked the floor of our van when the ice melted (my laptop bag was
nearest to the cooler). Fortunately, the inner pocket of the bag seemed to
avoid getting too damp and the laptop was fine. Close call.
But the leather zipper binder that I've been using to hold my latest journal
notebook that I've been keeping for the last 18 months or so (one of those
cardboard-bound marble composition books) that I bought at the Harvard
Bookstore in Cambridge a couple of years ago on a business trip is gone. I
have no idea where it is or where I left it.
Part of me is convinced that there is no way that I'd ever leave it behind
anywhere. Bury it in a pile of papers that need to be filed, yes. Stuff it
under the pillows on top of the couch so Sarge won't gnaw on it, sure.
Accidentally kick it under the bed after tripping over a cat desperate for
human contact after 9 days with only one 10-minute visit from a friend,
absolutely... But leave it in a downtown Toronto hotel room? Not likely.
Leave it on top of the Uplander while stuffing suitcases in the back of it
along with all of the new gift shop treasures, Happy Meal toys, and debris
from all of our stops along our journey from Ohio to Boston, then Boston to
Western Massachusetts and Vermont, on up through New York to Niagara Falls
on to Toronto and back to Ohio... well, maybe... I have left things on the
roof of vehicles before, but mainly those have been limited to Super-sized
orange drink and the occasional occupied children's car seat (just kidding,
DCFS).
But it hasn't appeared in the chaos created by the unpacking and putting
away of stuff, or after we cleaned out the van. I offered the kids 2 shiny
quarters to whoever finds it (this is surprisingly still a big motivator for
them at these ages), and upped the ante with a paddle ball that Microsoft
mailed me this week for some reason (apparently they think that I'm some big
internet freelance writing mogul or something), and still no dice. I called
the last two hotels that we stayed at to see if anyone found it and turned
it in. Nope.
I have never lost a journal or writing notebook before, mainly due to a
deep-seated paranoia about just such a thing happening. Not because I fill
them with all my dark secrets and local scandals that would warp the
space-time continuum, but because I'm always going to wonder if I wrote
something brilliant in there that would lead to a best-selling novel or
life-changing insight.
I've had a hard time getting writing again on the hope that it will
appear... I hate to leave a notebook unfilled, but I think I have to get
over it and start a new notebook
I still have this nagging feeling that it is around here somewhere... even
though we cleaned out the entire van, emptied all the suitcases and shopping
bags of treasures, and begun scouring the less likely places: Under couches,
in toilet tanks, and behind . I've even considered getting Sarge's belly
x-rayed to make sure that he didn't devour it in retaliation for leaving him
at a kennel for duration of the trip, but I think he is just too happy to
see us to hold a grudge... and ecstatic about getting to bark at the
mailman, the gas meter reader lady, the garbage truck guys, and of course
terrorizing the UPS guy and any bicyclist or jogger who happens to offend
him by running on HIS road in front of HIS house... go figure.
I think I need to up the ante again for the kids to 3, no 4 shiny quarters
as the reward for finding it... that should do it.
--Michael
Fabulous Freebie
Those of you who know me know that I love a bargain, and here is one of my
favorite writing gurus, Noah Lukeman, offering a FREE e-book How to Write a
Great Query Letter at: http://lukeman.com/greatquery/Great-Query-May-07.pdf.
So go forth and get a copy. You won't be disappointed.
Shameless Self Promotion
Facilitating the Ongoing Writing Workshop at the Columbus Writers Conference
on Aug 24th and 25th
This year the Columbus Writers Conference is trying something new: Having an
ongoing, facilitated writing workshop going on during slow periods and some
of the other presentations during the conference in the Writers' Lounge.
During this time period I will be leading anyone who wanders in the lounge
in some writing exercises. Each exercise will last between 5 and 10
minutes, and then will allow some time for the participants to share what
they wrote. These exercises will be very diverse. Some of the sessions will
include random word poetry, mind mapping (on huge sheets of paper) using
picture prompts, and more. Check out the Columbus Writers Conference
website for http://www.creativevista.com/Angela_City2.htm for the scheduled
hours as well as details about the other speakers at the conference. As
always, it should be a blast! I hope to see you there.
Advanced Fiction Critiquing Workshop Delayed Until Fall
I've needed to wait a while longer before offering this workshop due to
scheduling conflicts and the need for another student or two for enrollment.
If you are interested in joining this class which will probably start
sometime in late August or early September, please let me know.
Are you ready to get serious about your fiction or narrative non-fiction?
This is a 12-hour program that will meet every other week for 6 weeks. In
this group, we will work on getting your writing ready for publication by
using your works in progress. Some of the areas we will cover will be
preparing your manuscript properly for publication, problems with character,
dialog, conflict, and description. In addition, this class will address
problems identified by the participants.
This is an intimate class with a maximum of 8 participants. The textbook we
will be using for the class is Noah Lukeman's The First Five Pages.
The cost of the workshop is $75. You can pay for the class via PayPal,
sending me a check or money order or paying me on the first night of class.
We will determine a location convenient to the majority of the participants
once everyone has registered. So if you are interested, please let me know
what days work best for you to schedule this class ASAP, and we'll get it
set and on the calendar.
The first week we will establish the guidelines for the workshop, learn how
to perform a good critique and how to learn from it, and schedule the work
presentations. During this meeting we will also identify the specific
problem areas that you want to have addressed.
Beginning the 2nd meeting, I will put together and present information on
the selected problem areas for the first 30 minutes, and the remaining time
will be spent critiquing the participants' work. Each meeting, two to three
writers will present 10 to 15 pages (maximum) to be critiqued at that
meeting. Everyone should get to present at least twice during the 12 hour
workshop.
If you have any questions, or need additional information about the class,
please feel free to contact me. Thanks!
Writing Jumpstarts (courtesy of JumpStart Jar)
JumpStart Jar: The Fantasy & Sci-Fi Edition Coming SOON!
New Characters! New Problems! New Secrets and Settings! New Complications
and Storytelling Styles! Along with new nouns, verbs, adjectives/adverbs,
and provocative phrases. All with a speculative fiction twist. Projected
Release Date: August 15th.
Pre-Order yours now at the special low price of $10.00 (plus $2.50 shipping
and handling). Or save on shipping costs and arrange to get yours at one of
Michael's upcoming classes or presentations.
Quick Topics
* The value of
* Pop-cultural sensation
* Triggers
* Assassin
* Teenagers
* Shed some light
* Planning for "if"
* Booty
* Rope's end
* Skull-and-crossbones
* Spellbinding
* Blow the man down
Story Starters (Provocative Phrases)
* You've never seen it...
* I was just hoping...
* We'll work with you...
* And yet only in the...
* And just like that...
* He kicked through the wall...
Do you want more prompts? Buy a JumpStart Jar or check out the Grist for the
Muse Blog at <http://gristforthemuse.blogspot.com/>
http://gristforthemuse.blogspot.com/ on the occasional Tuesday for Topic
Tuesdays and Friday for Provocative Phrase Fridays.
Muse Reviews
How to Become a Famous Author Before You're Dead; Ariel Gore; Three Rivers
Press; 2007; 265 pages; Trade Paper
I borrowed this book from the library for two reasons: 1) I heard Ariel Gore
on the Writers on Writing podcast http://writersonwriting.blogspot.com/
and she was a fun, engaging speaker. 2) How could you not like the title of
this book?
The title sets the tone for the book which is casual with an anarchist
streak. Her advice, presented in short, packed sections (most of which are
no longer than 3 pages long), crackles with energy. She also supports her
beliefs with quotes, details from the lives of other writers, and interviews
with writers that she admires.
Ms. Gore shoots out of the gate with a roar, advising all writers to write
at all costs, because as her inspiration for writing the book, her friend
Alison Crews (who died of a seizure at age 23), never got the chance to do
so. Here is some of her advice for the student who complains that she cannot
find the time to write:
"If you don't have time to write, stop answering the phone. Change your
e-mail address. Kill your television. If you don't have a baby, have one. If
you have a baby, get a sitter. If you work too much, work more. If you don't
work enough, work less. If there's a problem, exaggerate it... The shock of
the new-shake yourself awake. There is only this moment, this night, this
remembrance rolling toward you from the distant past, this blank page, this
inspiration yielding itself to you. Will you meet it?
You don't need money and a room of your own, you need pen and paper..."
Within the Q&A style interviews with other authors, each of which ends with
a writing assignment for the reader, Ms. Gore doles out a plethora of good
advice. (Sorry, Ariel, the word might be stupid, but it is a fun way to say
"a whole buncha." Pleh-thuh-raa! Plethora. Don'tcha just love how it rolls
off the tongue?) Many of the authors she interviewed encountered a lot of
resistance from the traditional publishing industry and fought through it to
become literary stars.
I think the best part about this book is that it radiates energy like you'd
expect of a lit star. Every page crackles with impatience and raw
willpower. Do it now. Don't wait for tomorrow or someday. Do it now! The
book jumps from chapters with practical writing advice (i.e. Write; Fight
for Your Time; Get Your Heart Smashed, but Just Once or Twice), to the do's
and don'ts of publishing (i.e. Be Nice to Interns; How to Piss Off an
Editor; Be an Anthology Slut) and to, of course, brazen guidelines for self
promotion (i.e. Demolish Arrogance; Grab the Mic; Stand Out on the Corner in
a Gorilla Mask and a Pink Tutu).
How to Be a Famous Writer is as much about the business of writing as it is
about the writing process. Without promotion, you can write works of utter
brilliance that will be read by no one, so Ms. Gore encourages us (typically
extremely introverted) writers to get out there and learn how to tap into
our inner diva/lit star, or as she so cleverly puts it our "superhero alter
ego," and use it to help us produce work and share it with our audience in
however we can.
This book is entertaining, offbeat and filled with inspirational advice.
Check it out!
Rating: **** (Buy on Sale/Discounted)
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
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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER: Michael Wilson has been teaching creative writing
classes and facilitating writer's groups for more than a decade and was an
award-winning Contributing Editor for The Writer's Block at Suite101.com.
Currently, his quarterly column, Flash Writing, is featured at
www.flashquake.org <http://www.flashquake.org/> . 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 2007 Michael L. Wilson. All rights reserved.
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