WAXING POETIC

Thanks to Jerolyn for reminding us of National Poetry Month.  I feel like waxing poetic.

Jerolyn is a real poet. Her book, Egrets Rise is proof. Her poetry is lilting, gentle and makes one appreciate life.

Besides Jerolyn, Ogden Nash is one of my favorites. He was so good with short verse like:      Candy is dandy. But liquor is quicker.

Now, why can’t I think of some pithy, fun lines like that? When I try I come up with something like:                   

                                                     Seasoned To Taste                                                                              

I thought I was seasoned,

but apparently not—

Someone threw spices

into my pot!

Turn up the heat

of the simmering sun.

The stew of my life

is not quite done.

Sprinkle some joy

and a helping of trouble;

bring to a boil

and let it all bubble.

Life’s what I make it—

a day at a time.

Just stir me with love

and I think I’ll be fine.

****************************************************

                                                     Rewriter                                                                                                                               

                                                             

                                  Dear women of pen, please take note:

                                  There once was a woman who wrote

                           She wrote and she wrote and she rewrote again.

                               (Her dogged ambition, it never did wane.)

                                            She had what it took,

                                          Cast no backward look,

                                     And one day, they published

                                                 HER BOOK!

                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                       with apologies,                     

                                                                                        Pat Zabriskie                                                                                                                        

Pick a Poem – Any Poem

It’s National Poetry Month!

                Wandering around my favorite book store, I found a special display of poetry books, and noticed the newest book out from one of my favorite poets, Billy Collins. I was about to pick up his “Horoscopes for the Dead” and escape to the check out, when I saw another book from poet Mary Oliver - “Swan - Poems and Prose Poems”. I have read and enjoyed her work before, but did not have one of her books in my collection, so I snatched it up and happily paid for my treasures. Happiness is a new book (or two) of poetry.

                I am enthralled with the simple beauty of the poems in Oliver’s book, the quiet quality of the words she chooses to paint her life and the world around her. And as for Mr. Collins’ work, well, he sparks the imagination and makes me smile. And don’t we all need that? Beauty, thoughtful reflections, a bit of amusement in the midst of amazement; it’s a wonderful world of poetry.

                So, dear readers, in celebration of National Poetry Month, I want you to go out and buy yourself a book, pen yourself a poem, or carry a poem in your pocket on April 26^th for national Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day. And to help you out, let me make a few suggestions on where to start. 

·         Go to your local library and browse the poetry section. Pick something up and start reading

·         Go to your local book store and support a starving poet – buy a book

·         Check out poems on the internet at www.poets.org or www.poetryfoundation.org

·         Take part in a Poem-a-Day Challenge - there are several online, or start your own

·         Carry a copy of your favorite poem on April 26^th. Make several copies and pass them along!

·         Write a poem. Make it silly or serious, rhyming or non, but have fun with it.

Most beautiful day

            Pen in hand as haiku waits

Sun smiles on paper

Jerolyn Lockhart

               

The Idea Factory

Writers are always on the lookout for ideas to write about. Here are some ways for you to never run out of ideas. (Honest!) Here’s the list:

1. Classified ads
2. The Calendar
3. The Liturgical Calendar
4. Your characters
5. Notebooks and Lists

Dennis Hensley, well-known, prolific writer, said that he can “usually develop 20 article ideas every day before he finishes breakfast, by systematically analyzing the classified ads in the morning paper.”

Today’s paper had these ads:

“Need six crazy people now! Start at $9.50”

“Rock ‘n Roll. Rock to work. Roll to the bank. Unique travel opportunity for 10 sharp guys and gals.”

Write a fiction story about six crazy people and the jobs they may be asked to do, what happens, make it humorous.

How about the “unique travel opportunity?” Get an interview. Is it a fun job or a scam to kidnap young people for the sex trade? Write an expose, if it is.

A yearly calendar has all the usual holidays, but find one that lists some odd ones. On a pharmacy calendar I found these:  Old Stuff Day, Moon Day, Spooner’s Day, Be Late For Something Day, Sweetest Day, Sourest Day, Dunce day, and National Ding-A-Ling Day. If that doesn’t spark an idea for an article, story or poem, you might be brain dead.

If you write for denominational organizations, see what a church lists as holidays, or holydays. Could you write articles or program material for Special Ministries Day, Cradle Roll Sunday, Family Week, or Pastor Appreciation Day?

If you write a series with regular characters, find out what your characters are up to. The kind of person he or she is should let you imagine further adventures or trials for them.

Notebooks are incubators for ideas. A notebook is a place to:

·       practice writing, make lists,

·       jot down strong verbs and new words; create descriptions, and copy    

     paragraphs of great writing to aspire to

·       play with words, create graphic word pictures of things seen, felt,   

     smelled,  touched, heard

·        gather ideas, names, the way things work, pieces of overheard dialog, part  

      of a dream

·       anything you want

Make lists. 

“Lists are a sort of…clustering of things caught up in the net of our concerns.” (From the Handbook of Short Story Writing. Vol II Writer’s Digest Books)

If you’re still stuck for an idea, make a list of ten related things and one or two totally unrelated.  Now write a one page story using all the words. Maybe it’ll be your first flash fiction piece.

                                          Whatever you do, keep writing.

                                                   Pat Zabriskie

Life Happens (Keep Austin Weird)

                Here I am, back from an unintentional hiatus. Life became hurried and harried with shopping for/feeding a work crew, and in the midst of that my grandsons and daughter-in-law came to visit during their spring break (yeah!). With all the busyness, though, the writer in me gathered up the sights, sounds and emotions for my writing arsenal.

                Life in itself can be material for a writer, even when the normal days seem mundane. Attention to detail in the everyday things can liven up your writing. You may go about as usual, but find that one little thing that really stands out. Take the experience and write it. The writing of it will help awaken the senses and add flavor to your work. You may not think you need it for your current project, but later on it could come in handy.

For example, one day my husband and I went kayak shopping in Austin…during one of the biggest music festivals in the country, SXSW! I wrote the images in my notebook to use later for the book I’m working on, but I’ll share one basic notation.

While driving by Zilker Park, we encountered a sight we never would have imagined; a middle-aged man riding a bicycle and wearing a thong! I did a double-take as he rode by and noticed his tan bike shoes, and nothing else. Now at first I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, so I thought he might be wearing a beige speedo. I looked to my husband, and from the expression on his face I could tell he had seen the same thing. “That’s not even a thong…it’s a G-string!”

Will this be dressed up and used anywhere else? I don’t know, but you see that even in an ordinary life, there’s always something to write about.

Keeping life weird,

Jerolyn Lockhart

Writers Groups

Belonging to a writers group is the best thing any writer can do, especially a "new" writer.  There are many benefits: you get to talk to other people who are doing the same thing you are, you get a taste of every form of writing and you get a free critique of your work.

If you live in a rural area finding a writers group to join may be a bit more challenging.  If you don't know of a group in your area, try putting a note up on the bulletin board at the local grocery store or convenient store.  If you live close to a town that has a library, check with them.

If none of these options are available, try looking on the internet for a good writers group.  It won't be as much fun as actually sitting in a room with fellow writers discussing the latest helpful book about writing but at least you would be connecting with others with the same interest as you.  For some people who are shy about sharing their work, this may be the best way to go.  Also, if you have a disability that keeps you housebound, an internet writers group would be perfect.

A few things to think about when selecting a writers group is that you want a small group where everyone has a chance to share.  You want to get to know the members and know their style of writing and they need to get to know you.  You also want to be in a group that understands the ins and outs of the critiquing process.  A simple "that's pretty good" isn't going to help you polish your article or get you published.  You need to be in a group that meets your needs and a group where you look forward to the next meeting. If you're not in a writers group, try finding one.  It's the best thing you can do for you and your writing.

Karen Sperra

Writer's Savings Time

                                       

Daylight Savings Time recently stole an hour of daylight in the morning. People

have had to adjust their body rhythms.

Writers also have seasonal deadlines to adjust to. Magazines work months ahead

on future issues. If you want to be in the Christmas issue, you might need to turn

in your material in March. Each magazine has its own preferred deadline. Find it

in their guidelines.

Following is a general idea when to think, write and submit seasonal material:

JANUARY:  Father’s Day, graduation, June weddings, Children’s Day

FEBRUARY: Think summer, vacations, travel

MARCH: 4^th of July, Independence Day, Patriotism, Christmas material

APRIL: First day of school, 9/11, Labor Day

MAY: Halloween, Harvest, Fall themes, Columbus Day

JUNE: Thanksgiving, Veterans Day, Elections, Daylight Savings ends

JULY:  Pearl Harbor Day, Hanukkah, Winter begins, Christmas

AUGUST: New Year, Resolutions, snow, floods

SEPTEMBER: Valentine’s Day, Groundhog Day

OCTOBER: St Patrick’s Day, kites, Daylight Savings Time begins

                     Easter (some years)

NOVEMBER: April Fool’s Day, Tax Day, Easter (some years)

DECEMBER: Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, May Day

I find it difficult to write some seasonal material at the wrong time of year.

So, in December when I’ve got the Christmas spirit, I jot down ideas, events,

feelings, etc. When July comes I have a file full of possible articles, stories,

and poems.

Rather than a list, make a dial. Cut out a circle (5 inches). Mark off 12 “pie-shaped

slices.”  Fill in each pie slice with the appropriate info. Make it as colorful as you want.

Stick a tack through the center and hang it up. Simply turn the dial to the month

you’re working on and go to work.

 Pat Zabriskie

Weather Can Set a Tone

by Christine Stamp

Our passion for writing comes from somewhere deep inside each of us.  It comes from a place that is unknown to many. It is a way that we express our feeling, our highs and our lows. The seeds of our writing are planted within our imaginations and there they are nurtured and lovingly cared for until we are ready to bring them forth and with pen and paper give them life. Our passion for writing can also be affected by outside happenings and developments around us such as the weather.

The weather can set the mood of your opening scenes or give punch to the turmoil that the characters are going through. Actual weather can impact not only your story, but it can affect you as a writer. Depending on the weather at the time, it can and does affect your mood.

Cold: we feel the chill, the invigoration, or maybe the pain of being too cold. How does this affect your characters? How does this affect you as a writer?

Put yourself in their shoes, how does it feel to suck air into your lungs that is so cold that it makes your chest burn? What does it feel like to feel that brisk, but refreshing cold of being outside for a snowball fight or the making of a snowman with those that you love?

How would it feel to be so cold that you don’t know if you’ll ever get warm again or even survive? We as writers can go outside on those bitterly cold days or nights and experience how it feels.

Gray and rainy: you know those dreary days that are made for staying in bed and sleeping with the covers pulled up over your head.

When the barometric pressure drops and the skies are overcast with billowing clouds of gray and the air is filled with the threat of rain or snow.  It is on those days that all our heart desires is to sit wrapped up in front of a crackling fire with a hot cup of cocoa, a bowl of popcorn, and a good book.

Or a gray day might affect you in a completely different manner. It might make you sad, miserable, and depressed. What ever its effect on you, put it down on paper and make your characters experience it, it will make them real and give them depth.

Warmth: the warmth of the sun on your face, feel the heat, the sweat that forms in your hair and runs down your face. Feel the burn when you can’t get out of the sun and then give these same feelings to your characters.

Remember the feel of a beautiful spring day, after a long and difficult winter. Recall the smell of the air after a rain shower, or how terrified you were during a severe thunderstorm or the impact of a tornado.

Interact with people and nature.  Build upon those things that you experience. It will make you a better writer, and give depth and dimension to not only your characters, but your writing as well.

Texting

Do you text on your cell phone?  I do but I'm not very good at it.  I have the flip phone that you have to hit the number twice to get an "n" and three times to get the "o."  Sometimes I'm so slow that people text back to see if I even got their message.

The biggest problem I have with texting is all the shortcut words now.  Love is spelled "luv" and I'm not sure what "pls" means.  I'm still working on that one.

Being a writer, words are important and the spelling of those words is even more important.  A publisher will throw your article in the trash if you use "luv" in your manuscript.  Shorthand was always a mystery to me also because those squiggly lines look nothing like the written language I learned.  I still like the feel of a pen and paper in my hand and I can't use abbreviations even when I'm writing my first draft.

Our sons have those fancy phones with the full keyboard on them.  They can text faster with two thumbs than I can type with two thumbs and eight fingers. 

I'm trying very hard to put my correct spelling aside and learn some of the new ways of spelling.  I don't think it's going to be easy.  So until next time, ttyl!

Karen Sperra

Enter A Contest

Contests are regarded by freelance writers in various ways. Some relish the competition. Some use contests as an exercise to improve their writing. Others want the professional critique offered by certain contests. And for some, it’s to win a monetary prize

Contests can help writers gain skills like learning to write to specific guidelines, meet deadlines, handle rejection, or cope with success.

Kristin Hannah, a judge for Family Circle’s Fiction Contest 2011, said, “I began my career entering writing competitions. Each of my entries taught me something, and gave me an opportunity, so they’re very near my heart.”

Kristin has gone on in her career, writing over twenty novels on topics for women, including mothers, wives, sisters and friends. She has an active website and blog and is on Facebook where she enjoys connecting with her readers.

If entry fees are a put off, consider this: Four or five forays into Starbucks will add up to an entry fee. Look at entry fees as an investment to your writing career.

Contests put your name out there. Any prize won is a credit, and first prize gets you affirmation, bragging rights and the notice of editors and publishers.

Here are two contest opportunities for you:

Family Circle Fiction Contest

c/o Family Circle Magazine, 9^th Floor

375 Lexington Ave.

New York, NY 10017

Description: This contest accepts unique, unpublished, short stories which will be judged based on writing ability, topic creativity, originality, and overall excellence. Entries must not have won any prize or award.

Website: www.familycircle.com/family-fun/fiction/

Length:  To 2,500 words

Requirements: Entry fee, $20.

Prize: Grand Prize: $750, 2^nd $250, 3^rd $250

Deadline: September

Visit the website for more guideline info. 

Reader’s Digest Writing Contest

P.O. Box 50005

Prescott, AZ 86301-5005

Description:  This Contest is about “Your Life” and accepts original, unpublished stories that share a life lesson, simple advice, a funny moment, or other story from your life.

Website: www.facebook.com/ReadersDigest

Length: To 150 words

Requirements: There is no entry fee. Submit via the Reader’s Digest Facebook page. Essays may be supported by a photo or a video. Visit the site for complete details.

Prize: Grand prize, $25,000; 10 runners-up will win $2,500. The 11 honorees will also be published on

ReadersDigest.com. The most popular Facebook entry will receive $2,500

Deadline: November 1

What have you got to lose?                                                   Pat Zabriskie