Reaping Rewards ... or not!

I'm into heavy rewriting and editing on Nineteen Darby Way. I'm rewriting the entire book from present tense to past tense...

Once I actually sit down and begin, I don't want to stop. The problem is that I can't seem to get myself to sit. So I've been trying to come up with something that works...here it is and feel free to try it. My morning belongs to me, but from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. I must, absolutely must, be sitting in the office, at the desk either reading about editing and rewriting, or actually doing it. Today it worked really well ...

and then there's the reward at the end of the week...I'm not sure what it is, but I can have it only if I've logged in 12 hours of actual work. This week I don't get a reward but I'm holding out for something special next week. I'll keep you posted!

Admonitions

September first is tomorrow, a day that for me, feels like the first day of a new year. I stretch my imagination and I swear I can smell change. 9/1 is when I again get serious about life, writing, and following through on goals. It's time to say good bye to the carefree and warm days of summer and begin to welcome structure.

A few years ago I attended a writing conference and sat in on Sheila Bender's workshop. She talked about admonitions and then let us 'popcorn' around the room with ones we remembered from childhood. We laughed as we shared them with each other.

Below are a few of mine. I'll bet you'll recognize some. They make great writing prompts, produce wonderful stories and are fun to boot!

If Susie jumped off a bridge would you jump, too? (my personal favorite)
Get your elbows off the table.
Close your mouth when you chew.
Close the door. We can't afford to heat the outside.
Close the door. We don't live in a barn.
Stand up straight.
Don't slouch.
Don't interrupt.
Don't talk to strangers.
Wait 'til your father comes home.

Have fun. Oh, happy new year :-)

More prompts ....

The poem below, Still I Rise, by Maya Angelou has such power. I thought it would be a great piece to respond to.

Here's the challenge:

1) Read and then write your response to the entire poem.
2) Take one word from any five lines and do a twenty minute write incorporating the five words.
3) Read the poem out loud and write about the reaction you have to hearing the poem as opposed to reading it.

I hope that it would be alright with Ms. Angelou for us to use this amazing piece of poetry to help us become better artists.

I listened to her on XM radio just the other day as I drove home from Safeway--watching the sun do its morning dance and feeling its penetrating warmth through the windshield.


STILL I RISE Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries.

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise?
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

She said what? Oh, no!

I'm taking an online dialogue class through Yosemite Romance Writers. Four weeks for $25. Can't beat it. Learning about beats and tags and all sorts of things! Very fun. Their classes through the end of 2009 are posted on their website at http://www.yosemiteromancewriters.com/

And, for those of you who might not have anything to do on Monday evenings in July I'm facilitating a yoga and writing class at the Danville Yoga Center, right in downtown Danville. (www.danvilleyogacenter.com)

The Center is awesome. When you walk down the meandering path, it's like you've walked into a slow-motion world. Lush greenery, sprawling old trees, chirping birds, and squirrels scampering by, compel you to sit and stay awhile, maybe relax on the bench at the front door, read a bit, journal, or just enjoy the view from the cozy porch.

The yoga classes are wonderful, too. They have beginning, levels 1,2,3, and meditation classes as well. Yoga is sooo good for the body, mind, and spirit.

Prompts

These days, I have a love hate relationship with writing prompts. Sometimes, I get so involved in a story, I don't want to stop. I write, I write, I write. I read it back and I think, this should really go in the trash or this should be on the back page of the New Yorker!

And then there are those days that I hop scotch from one prompt to another, totally unable to focus, unable to find direction down any rabbit hole to create something.

I talked with a friend of mine in San Diego yesterday. After I finished telling her my story she said, "I'm so glad you told me that, you make me feel normal."

So ... do you run into the same thing? Some days you're the next Jodi Picoult or Danielle Steele? Others, you've got the attention of a preschooler, but nearly the skill?

Here's a few prompts....

I almost forgot to tell you ...
I could see a shadow lurking outside the bedroom window and I...
When I turned sixteen I...
Life would be so much simpler if I could ...
They announced the name of the winner and I ...

Use these words in a 20 minute write:

physical, dictionary, action, east, collage
gab, despot, classic, prevent, burgers
include, teller, calendar, reinforce
gill, crouch, arrest, league, internal

Is Summer Vacation Nipping at your Heels???

Can you believe that summer is almost here? It seems to me that summer is one of the more difficult times for writers to write. We're challenged by children being home from school, trying to adhere to a schedule that is now constantly changing, and the commitment to write flies out the window. But it doesn't have to. Here are a few suggestions to help keep you on track:

~Take a journal with you on vacation...make writing fun--write at the beach, in the hotel room, overlooking the ocean, while having a glass of wine in the evening
~Write before the kids get up/after they go to bed/take naps
~Go out for a cup of iced coffee and write
~Looking for a quiet place? Go to the library
~Write when the kids are on a play date
~Got an extra ten minutes? You can get a lot of writing done in ten minutes!
~Instead of browsing the internet, watching T.V., texting, or making that phone call you really don't need to make--write!

One of the things I've learned over the years is that if you wait for you muse to find its way out of its shell, you might wait forever! Go, get to it. Don't let time be the issue. Just grab a pen, paper and yourself--and write!

Here's a few prompts that might help:

I'll never...
I'm so jealous about ...
On the second day ...
It turns out that ...
It was just about ten years ago ...

Get creative, write write write! Have fun :)

Book In a Week Conclusion

I finished my class, Book in a Week last week. The class was amazing.

I set an unrealistic goal of reaching 50,000 words, but life happens and there were a couple of things that I didn't want to give up like spending time with my grand children, taking them to yoga class, going to my own yoga class--those sorts of important things. Speaking of yoga, by the end of the writing week, my left arm felt the pinch of too much computer work and too few breaks. My yoga teacher, Mary Smith, at the Danville Yoga Center worked with me during class, and when I left, and for the first time in a week, I was pain free. Pain free! Yoga is amazing.

Okay, back to the class. I wrote a total of 26,000+ words--a little more than half my goal. I felt I let myself down, but 26,000 words was more than I most probably would have done if I hadn't taken the class.

Here's what I learned about myself as a writer:

~I love to procrastinate. However, if I completed my day's work knowing where I planned on beginning the next day, I found my way to the page much quicker. Otherwise it was to Starbucks for coffee, a load of laundry, a telephone call, answering emails, you know what I mean?

~Once I start writing, I don't like to stop, hence the sore arm. So, I needed to have a stern talk with my stubborn self.

~The best laid plans as they say--I had my plot figured out and by golly my characters wanted little, if anything to do with it.

~When I get out of my own way, my work is much more successful.

~A collage of pictures for the characters in my book was incredibly helpful. When I could see faces, I slipped into their heads easily.

~I am my own worst enemy! I suppose most of us are.

~Pay attention to synchronicity events--it led me where I needed to go!

The class and support from the group, not to mention April, was just as good as having your own personal coach giving a gentle nudge when needed!

April will be holding another class in early June. Here's how to contact her:
aprilkihlstrom@yahoo.com

Book in a Month

My big week starts Monday. Book in a Week. Some of the participants will start this weekend but I didn't know that was an option so I'm starting Monday. I'm hoping to pump out a lot of words. But what if I run out of things to say? Or write 40,000 words and realize that the plot won't work? Or I don't like the main character's annoying habit of sneering at people or that someone else is sickeningly sweet? These things can happen you know?

When I was a kid, the man next door, Mr. Papkey used to call me Windy Cindy--so maybe running out of words is the least of my problems. Of course, he also told me that if I didn't mind my parents and he found out about it, he'd turn my nose upside down ...

When I wrote Nineteen Darby Way, I reached 40,000 words and had to begin all over again...that was a chore, one I won't forget soon, and one I do not want to repeat.

To put things in perspective, if I were to join NaNoWriMo (National November Writing Month which takes place only in November) I'd be expected to pump out a total of 50,000--in thirty days. But a book in a week?

What I do know is that the class is incredible and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a solid jump start to your novel, memoir, nonfiction book. Visit April's web site at www.aprilkihlstrom.com for more information. I believe she's going to be starting another class early summer.

So next week, I won't be blogging. And if I am, please tell me to stop!

Synchronicity

Synchronicity is described in good 'ole Webster's as the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of the unexpected event before it happens)....and more.

You know you're in the flow of synchronicity when:

1) you take a yoga class and the thought flits through your mind that it would be a great place to hold writing workshops

2) the next week at lunch you mention to a friend that you're entertaining the idea of holding writing workshops again, but it's a hassle to find a good location

3) you arrive home from said luncheon that afternoon and there's an email from one of the instructors at the Danville Yoga Center (www.danvilleyogacenter.com) asking if you'd be interested in teaching a writing and yoga month-long workshop

4) you meet the owner a few days later and agree easily that it's the right thing to do

5) you come home from your meeting and decide to listen in on a free teleseminar through the National Association of Memoir Writers (www.namw.org) and it's all about journaling. You don't know who the speaker is, but something she said rang a bell. You turn around and look and the book she's speaking about is perched on your bookshelf, right in front of you--and it's a great foundation for your upcoming class in July!

There's something so powerful when we state our intention/hope/wish out loud and without attachment....

and sit back to watch the breathtaking beauty of its' manifestation rolling in like a California fog~

Amazing world we live in, amazing life, if we choose to let it be, huh?

So, here's two prompts for you:

What I love about synchronicity is ----
The last time a synchronistic event happened, I knew that ----

Have fun!
(above photo taken by my husband Rick)

Here's a picture prompt~

I love this picture. My husband took it during one of our visits to Sedona.

Prompts:

Write about the first thought that came to mind when you looked at this picture.
What sort of conversations could take place on this bench?
What if it were a magic bench?
What if the person who sat on it last dropped something underneath the bench -- and you found it--what would make a good story???
You could begin with: I sat on the bench thinking about...
or The man poured himself onto the bench, his lips blue, his face gray and chalky...

CWC article Tri-Valley Branch

Here's the article I wrote for the Tri-Valley branch of the California Writer's Club this month-a little condensed. Hope you enjoy it.

Before I started this month’s article for the newsletter, I mulled over various topics to write about and settled on how to become a better writer. Just for fun, I googled online writing classes. There are literally 35,000,000 including creative writing, journaling, poetry, boot camps, college classes, well-known writing communities and more. I didn’t google in person classes, workshops, seminars, week long or writing retreats, so you can imagine how many places there are to learn and grow your writing life.

With the plethora of choices, where do you begin? With so many directions it can be a daunting.


Read a lot. A lot. Read authors you’d like to write like, read genres you like to write in, read for fun, read to educate, read to get new ideas, read books about craft, plot, character. Many of these books suggest exercises so that you can put what you’ve read into practice. Remember, library books are free (unless you keep them too long and then it’s a nickel a day!)

Practice. Practice may not get you to perfectionism when it comes to the written word, but you’ll get a lot closer if you put pen to paper every day. Julia Cameron suggests three hand written pages each morning. Carolyn See suggests one thousand words a day. If you do this, Julia Cameron guarantees it will change your life. My own experience is that if you do it in the morning it’s done.

Can’t think of anything to write about? No excuse! Start with a phrase: Right now I am, and take it from there. There are a number of writing books that offer phrases or sentence starters to get your engine started.

Join a critique group or meet informally with friends to read each others’ works. It helps. We learn by sharing, that’s why good facilitated writing groups are so successful. You benefit from the critique of each member’s work.

Look for opportunities to publish your work even if it’s for free. Why? It builds confidence, gets your name out into the writing community, and helps you build a platform. If you choose to ‘specialize’ in a particular topic, find a newsletter that might need help, build up credentials, then start to query magazines.

Join a writing community. You receive this newsletter because you’ve joined the CWC Tri-Valley writing community. There are also associations, for example, that specialize in romance writing, journalism, memoir. Check them out. They might lead you down a path you had no idea could be so much fun.

Writing prompts are everywhere

This morning I got out of bed and did my usual routine of feeding Jake and then getting to the task at hand --

reading the newspaper and writing my morning pages.

I decided that before I poisoned my mind with the news of the day, I'd write my 1000 words. I felt sleepy and wanted to throw an afghan over my legs to warm myself right back to sleep. Instead, I lit a candle and turned the TV to Soundscapes...

soft, full, flute notes floated through me, (peppered with sleeping Golden Retriever Jake's, occasional snore).

And I couldn't think of one thing to write about. Nothing. I looked up at the TV screen hoping for inspiration--and I got it. The instrumental playing was titled something like Desert Peace. I don't exactly remember right now what it was, but it was so simple to take my writing from there. Try it -- write about the desert (or desserts!), peace or a combination of both. If that doesn't work try using these five words in a story:

desert peace blustery ink Kleenex.

Writing prompts are everywhere, we just have to keep our eyes open to find them!

Happy morning pages~

Hinge

Today I began reading a little powerhouse of a poetry book, Hinge, by Kathleen Lynch. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who can make a meaningful poem about bacon and eggs, has my attention.

I heard Kathleen speak recently at the California Writers Club, Tri-Valley branch luncheon and while I am not a poet and don't know much about it, I'm more of a fan these days. I love the economy of words that good poetry offers and the vivid images they offer.

In his book, Poetic Medicine, John Fox says, "Poetic language expresses what plain language cannot, and thus helps us heal in a very unique way." He referred to a poem written by a student and went on to say that sometimes poetry expresses feelings best.

A few years ago I wrote a poem about writers...but before I share that, I thought the picture that my husband took (above) when we were in Sedona would lend itself to a wonderful writing prompt sentence starter, so here goes...


Somewhere between light and dark...
Perhaps the hills were too hard to climb because ...
The rocky path through the red rock gave me plenty of time to think about ...

And here's my poem....

WRITERS
By Cindy Luck

I believe writers
Love colored pens and pencils, prefer
A medium or fine point and
Notice the texture of paper

That writers …
love the smell of
Books and bookstores
Libraries and notebooks
and
leather-bound journals

I believe writers …
Have a burning desire to write
And burning guilt when they don’t --
if they’re not writing on paper
They’re writing in their head

I believe creativity strikes
In the shower
on a bus
Walking the dog
Having great sex—
Often when there’s no pen in sight

That wonderful ideas pop
On vanilla-ribboned sunlit mornings,
Falling into dreamland and
On cocktail napkins folded up
In last year’s winter jackets

I believe we think and write creatively
When we’re prompted by our senses
Smelling garlic, skunks, orange mist, sweaty sex
Touching silk, sandpaper, loose puppy skin,
Wet kisses and babies,
Seeing fireball sunsets, crashing waves, the hand of a lover
Hearing, Pacabel Canon in D, Elvis Costello or
Heartbroken sobs,
Crackling autumn leaves and the swish swish swishing of pink taffeta

I believe that writers must write …
and
When they don’t they deny themselves
and the world
Their gift.

Writing Prompts

One of the things I've learned about writing is that practice really really does help you improve....seriously, it works. For years now I've been doing morning pages as suggested in Julia Cameron's book, The Artist's Way.

So I thought it might be fun to give whomever might read this some prompts. Easy directions, pick one of the sentence starters or ideas below and write for ten to twenty minutes without editing, stopping, rereading, or saying this is crap. It is not only good practice as a writer, but a great discipline! Here you go.

1) I didn't think it could happen to me, but...
2) The other day I overhead him say ....
3) If you look around you'll see ...
4) I'll believe in miracles when ...
5) The annual meeting began and ...
6) I stood there staring ...
7) guest bench date fertilize sorry (use in a 10-20 minute write)
8) What I see when I look in your eyes is ....
9) What I remember most ...
10) If you were here, I'd tell you that...

Have fun! If you want to post them here, I'd love to read!
~the prompt queen

Welcome!

Welcome to my 'other' blog. This blog will be for all my 'writing' things--articles from the California Writers Club newsletter, articles other writers might be interested in, and most probably a speckling of my frustrations in the writing world.

I'm hoping that this blog might be inspirational to others who are facing the monumental task of climbing over the piles of rejection letters and continuing their search to find the perfect agent.

And lastly, there will probably still be stories about my grand children and our dog, Jake, our latest child.

So, sit back enjoy, read, browse, and maybe feel a little inspiration or at the least, camaraderie!
~cindy