Plenty To Write About!

     My husband and I just celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary yesterday.  He went to work and I did laundry and housework.  The highlight of the day was having supper with our two sons and our daughter-in-law.  Sitting around and visiting with them made it a perfect day for us.
     Have you ever thought about how many things have happened to you in your lifetime?  Just writing about our getting married could fill a book.  There was the fact that my Dad thought I was too young to get married even though I was 22 at the time.  We eloped because we couldn't afford a big wedding and that was much easier. We traveled from Wiley, Colorado to San Antonio, Texas to stay with an aunt and uncle until we could get blood tests back and get married.  The trip to San Antonio was filled with many adventures that could be written about.
     Then we came home and started our life together.  The first two years were tough with lots of little battles of wills and trying to figure out who was the boss.  We finally decided we both were!
     After 2 1/2 years of marriage, our oldest son was born.  The pregnancy was interesting with my sister moving close to us because they said she could never have children so she wanted to go through the pregnancy and birth with me.  That being said, she ended up having four children of her own!  And then, while I was pregnant  my sister and I rearranged the house and moved a huge player piano by ourselves. 
      Almost three years later, our second son was born.  The stories I could tell just about my pregnancy and birth are many.  As the boys grew, so did the stories.  They were always doing or saying something funny and yes there was always a problem to solve.
     After homeschooling the boys and them getting jobs, we moved to Wiley in my Mom and Dad's house and let the boys have our house in Lamar.  Our youngest son was gathering boxes from Wal-Mart one night and was asked if he was moving.  He said, "No, my brother and I won't leave home so Mom and Dad are!"
Another story!
     Think about your life.  It might have seemed boring to you but I'll bet there are so many stories there that people would love to hear.  Start writing!

Karen Sperra

Remembering

                                                   

Memorial Day has special significance to me because my father served in the Navy during the Second World War. His name was Winfred H. Perkinson. He was a Chief Petty Officer with the Seabees.

He was a handsome man just over six feet tall with shoulders and a sparkling smile. That smile was how he met my mother. She was on a blind date gone bad. She told her friend, “Find me someone with pearly white teeth.” Her friend brought back my dad.  My dad’s smile was one of the favorite things I remember about him. That, and him singing, “Anytime you’re feeling lonely…” He had a smooth crooner-like voice.

He wasn’t perfect, but he taught me something when I was a young teen that affected my life. When I was fifteen, he took me to a large library in Hagerstown, thirty miles from our home in Frederick. I needed additional material for a school assignment.

On the way home, my “lesson in life” began, although dad didn’t say a word. He took me to a fancy restaurant and bar. I had never been to such a fine place, enjoyed the food, and the ambiance. I noted that several people approached the table, greeted my dad as “Perk,” and teased him about taking a young a girl on a date.

After dinner, we got in the car, and on the way home, we stopped at a succession of bars. At each place we sat down and had something to drink. I was having cokes, I don’t know what dad was drinking. I didn’t pay attention. In every place, people greeted him warmly. Everybody seemed to know my dad. As we continued our interrupted trip home, I began to notice that the establishments we entered were less and less nice. In fact, some places were downright seedy. A drunk hailed my dad at one place and asked me to dance. My dad looked at the man and said, “Get lost.” I felt protected. The last place we visited was called a “beer joint.” It was full of sorry looking people drinking too much. Somebody yelled angrily. Another person vomited. We didn’t stay long there.

After that, we went home. It was about 4:30 in the morning.

My dad and I never talked about our all night jaunt, but I never forgot it.

Without saying a word, my dad showed me what night life and drinking really was. It looked great at the first place, sophisticated even. But by stages, it got worse. I didn’t know it then, but my dad was an alcoholic. In his 70s he developed diabetes, lost a leg, and died of complications from the disease.

In my late teens, I tasted liquor, but didn’t like it. My dad’s all-night object lesson showed me that life. I never had to find my fun at bars. I had seen its reality under the protection of my daddy.

I loved that big ol’ bear of a man who crooned, “Anytime.” And I’ll always remember his silent lesson that may have kept me from becoming an alcoholic.

Thanks, Dad.                                                            Pat Perkinson Zabriskie

When NOT To Write

For years I fought with agoraphobia (the fear of leaving your house) and panic attacks.  During that time I signed up for a writer's correspondence course because I could take writing classes without having to leave my house.  After I finished an assignment, I would mail it to my instructor and start working on the next lesson.

One lesson had to do with writing a 500 word biography.  I wrote just a bit about my phobia and the instructor asked me to write more about it.  What I did was write about the funny side and the crazy things I did while trying to get out of my house and among people again.

After reading my story, the instructor asked if I would be willing to write a novel about what I had gone through, things that caused the phobia and any treatment that helped.  I was excited about the project until I got to the part where I had to write about things that could have caused the phobia.

I grew up in a very loving family but they couldn't protect me from the world, although they tried.  Nervous, insecure and the world's biggest crybaby, there were many things that people said and did that contributed to the phobia.  Everyone goes through a lot of tough stuff in their life but most people deal with it in a constructive way.  I didn't.  I let it all get to me and I locked myself in my house and never wanted to leave.

So, did I want to tell the world about the things that people did to me when I was younger?  No, I didn't.  I want my writing to be something that people feel good about.  I want them to read a story I've written and get joy out of it, not regrets.

I didn't write that story and I never will.  I'm sure there are many other people out there in the writing world that have stories they will never put down on paper either.  That's our choice and I feel it's the right one.

Our writers group is getting ready to start our novels and I'm very excited (and nervous) about our project.  The novel I will write is meant to be fun and bring a smile to everyone who reads it.

Karen Sperra

SET YOUR SIGHTS

                              

Focus is one of the most important ingredients for getting work done.

As a freelancer, coming back to work after a year of illness, I was trying to work on anything and everything in a rather scattershot fashion. I mined my files for ideas for articles, bought and studied magazines and a new market book. Sent off a couple pieces to a non-paying market to hone my rusty skills.

Thanks to an energetic writer’s group, I’ve written a blog a week and articles for our weekly newsletter. I pulled one of kid’s book manuscripts from a drawer and entered it in a contest and sent out some fillers.

Then I read in The Writer (May 2012) about numerous 30 day projects. That got me thinking. What would it be like to work on a single project for a month straight?

Our writer’s group decided to take on this challenge using Karen S. Wiesner’s First Draft in 30 Days. We’ll meet in early June to preview the project and how we as a group can help each other sustain and work through a fiction book. Four of us are fiction writers and each has a story idea.

Since my health is not 100%, I decided to do a test run. My husband and I have piles of notes we intended some day to put in book form. It’s the story of our work among the Natives of Quebec where we spent ten years. I decided to make this material my “focus” for thirty days. What I’ve discovered amazes me.

By choosing to focus on a single project, I have produced more material than I believed possible. And as I suspected there have been days when I could not work. But even then, my husband and I talked about our experiences. I gleaned his insights and clarified details I was fuzzy about. I jotted notes. I realized I was ‘interviewing” my husband and myself. So even what I considered “lost days” became profitable because my mind was centered on this project.

Focus has been the key. I’m looking forward to our group project. Even though any of us might have a day or so when we can’t work at the desk or computer, we can “stay in the book.”

My own foray has taught me that a sustained period of work on one project produces a wealth of material. Editing will come later, but there will be plenty of pages to work on.

                                                                         Pat Zabriskie

Personal Stories

     Personal stories are easy to write because it's something that you've experienced first hand.  You either lived it or someone told you about it.  When writing personal stories you want to be careful so you don't hurt relationships with family or friends.  The first thing is to NOT write out of vengeance.  Try to see the story from the other persons point of view.  Don't write with an axe to grind but write from love.
     One thing you can do when writing a story of this kind is to blur the details.  For instance, if you're telling a story about a friend of yours with short, curly blond hair change her hair to long and straight.  Make her a dental assistant instead of a nurse.  Readers don't need to know someone's real name to get the message.
     As you write your first draft, you will use people's real names, real dates, real hair color, etc.  Doing this will keep you from getting confused.  Use every gory detail, then after you get your story the way you want you can go back and change the details.
     If you happen to write something that you can't disguise without ruining the story, show it to the person you are writing about.  Discuss it with them and if they're okay with what you've written, continue on.
     Write about yourself.  Self-deprecating humor works every time.  People can identify with that type of writing.
     One thing to remember is that personal relationships are more important than writing a story so be careful.  Happy writing!

I LOVE DEADLINES

When I have a deadline, I get it done.
At times I work ahead gathering research so I have plenty of material to work with
when I'm down to the wire. Sometimes I wait almost too long, then I have to put in
a marathon session to finish. After which, I go to bed to recuperate.

But, having a deadline means I will produce. I will finish. Is it my best work?
Usually, it is. Something in me loves the challenge. Others might despair or get a block the size of a mountain and cry, "I can't make it!" But I charge in all engines firing. (Now by the end of such a project, I am moving slower and drinking pots of coffee, and wishing I'd started earlier.) But next time I'll do it again. I don't know why my brain works that way, it just does.

Now if I have a really big project--a book--I have to start early. Do the research, gather correlating odds and ends that might fit the story. I'll write scenes and pages I like; devise daily, weekly, monthly deadlines for myself.
The problem with that is I don't always "obey" myself. I need a writing friend who will hold me accountable.

That's why I'm excited about our writing group's June project. We are going to write the first draft of a book in 30 days! We'll be using Karen S.Wiesner's book: First Draft in 30 Days.
Each of us has a fiction book idea. We will be accountable to each other. We
will have deadlines. We are all in some trepidation. Can we do it? Daunting, but four of us who write fiction, have each made the commitment.

Wish us success. Check back here in a month for an update.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone on Sunday!  My Mom is in Heaven and I miss her every day.  We spent a lot of hours walking and talking and solving the world's problems along with our own.  She was there for anyone who needed her.  All my friends called her Mom because she was so special to them.  This is a song I wrote for her one year and played and sang it in church on Mother's Day.  Since she was my Mom, she said it was good!

HER HEART IS MADE OF GOLD

Verse 1:
She's the one who comforts you when things aren't going right.
And when your heart is troubled she prays for you all night.
If you need to talk to her you'll always find her there.
She's with you through the good times and your troubles she will share.

Chorus:
There may be silver in her hair but her heart is made of gold.
And as long as she has love she never will grow old.
And though you sometimes wrong her, her heart will not turn cold.
There may be silver in her hair but her heart is made of gold.

Verse 2:
She knows you'll always love her, you just forget to let it show.
She knows that  you are busy with children of your own.
Just put your arms around her let her know you really care.
Tell her that you love her and you're glad she's always there.

Chorus:
There may be silver in her hair but her heart is made of gold.
And as long as she has love she never will grow old.
And though you sometimes wrong her, her heart will not turn cold.
There may be silver in her hair but her heart is made of gold.


I love you and miss you Mom,
Your daughter, Karen

A Paean To Mom

                                                      

                                   Who got me up, midnight or not

                                   And sat me on that old. cold pot,

                                   And made me pee,

                                   Whether I had to or not?

                                             My Mother!

                                                                                    Anon.

        Yes, our mothers deserve high praise for the years they labored 

on us and for us.

            No doubt many of those Mom moments come to mind, such as:

              Always wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident.

            Don’t cross your eyes, they’ll stay that way.

  Who else would teach her daughter to pee in a public toilet without ever touching the seat?                  

A Mother’s influence is powerful.  The Bible says: As is the mother, so is her daughter.

Children absorb your attitude, your spirit, and repeat your words—usually at the worst possible moment.  Like saying to the minister when he’s a guest for dinner, “Pastor, please drink a lot of water. Mom says your sermons are dry.”

                                                        Oops!

A Mother’s wisdom works.

     For several months, we lived in public housing. The buildings were new and charming, but they housed a rough and tumble bunch of kids. Our five played with them and learned a lot of new vocabulary words.

     One day, the oldest daughter stood at the top of the stairs as I called to her, “Clean up your room before you come down.”

     She stood there quietly for a few seconds and then said, “Shit.”

     I repressed a laugh, then asked, “Did you ever hear that word in this house?”

     She stood stock still and replied, “No.”

     “Then don’t ever say it again.”

                                        She didn’t.

Children also are capable of speaking wise words to their Mother.

     When I was pregnant with daughter #3, I got tired—and cranky. One day, my two little girls were playing happily, and loudly. It irritated me. I walked into their room, sat down and began to cry. I said, “I’m sick and tired of you kids.”

     After a brief pause, the oldest replied in a half-crying voice, “We’re sick and tired of you, too, Mommy.”    

      Boy, that will cure self-pity! I was a much nicer Mommy the rest of the day.

Mother’s Day is a lovely day. If you are one, may you hear this commendation:

       

                       “Her children rise up and call her blessed.” 

                                         Proverbs 31     

                                                                                             Pat Zabriskie

Writing Family Memoirs

     Family stories are so much fun.  Have you ever sat and just listened to your parents talk about the good old days?  What an inspiration the older generation can be to us if we pay attention.
     Dad was raised by his mother and Mom was raised by her dad.  Dad's father was out making a living while Grandma and her ten living kids were farming the homestead.  When Dad turned 11, he went on a cattle drive with a bunch of other boys and men he didn't know.  Can you imagine how homesick he must have been?  He completed the seventh grade and spent the rest of his years before marrying Mom making a living for his mother, brothers and sisters.  He was the oldest so he quit school so the others could continue their education.  That's how things were done.
     Mom's mother died while giving birth to Mom's youngest sister.  Mom was seven at the time.  A couple of aunts and a grandmother stepped in and took all four of the girls and kept them for a while.  Granddad missed them so after a few months he picked his daughters up and took them home.
     Can you imagine the stories my parents told about growing up, getting married and raising eight kids?  Now you know why I enjoyed listening to their stories.
     One year for Christmas I wrote a book for Mom and Dad. It was filled with stories I collected from my brothers and sisters about things we kept secret from Mom and Dad when we were growing up.  When I gave them the book, Mom put it into their suitcase because Dad was scheduled for major surgery the first of January and she said they would read it while Dad was recuperating.
     Dad's blood pressure bottomed out at two one morning and the security guard went to the motel and got Mom and took her to sit with Dad.  That's when Mom read the book to him.  She said he just kept smiling and saying, "Not my kids!  They wouldn't do that." 
     Family stories are a great way to let your children and future generations know how things were done in the good old days.  Talk to those in your family who are of the older generation.  You will hear some great stories to write.

Karen Sperra

READING OUT LOUD

by Pat Zabriskie

How are you at reading aloud? Try it. Whether you write prose or poetry,

read for cadence, rhythm, and sound. Does it flow? If prose, are the sentences

easy to read, or convoluted? Hearing your story or article will help you rewrite if

necessary.

Read someone else’s book. Do you stumble over new words or long sentences?

Learn new words. Reread until you move easily from word to word forming the

entire thought without pausing where you shouldn’t. Does your punctuation alert the reader to pause before a transition or will your words run into each other and force the reader to go over it twice before he gets it?

Become a smooth reader or better still, a dramatic reader. My five-year old

grandchild learned to read early. She made a tape for her Granny on which she

read a storybook. Since the main character was a witch who made spaghetti,

my granddaughter gave her an Italian accent. She switched back and forth from

one accent to another. She paused for emphasis, and shouted when it was called

for. I not only heard the story, I felt it.

If a story or poem needs character voices and excitement—read it that way.

Good practice for becoming familiar with strange names are genealogy lists in the

Bible. Try Nehemiah chapter 7, Matthew chapter 1, and Genesis chapter 5.

When you write dialog, is it realistic? Read it aloud and find out. If it looks proper

on the page, but reads stilted or stiff, change it. Talk your dialog and it will become

much more true to life.

Reading aloud heightens your skills and can often improve scenes.  And remember,

at some point in your career, you may be asked to come to a book club and read a

chapter of your own book aloud.

Be prepared.