Keep Perspective in Mind When You Write

I'm not asking you to hang upside down like this cat but the photo did prompt me to think about  perspective in writing. 

When we write, we are looking from our point of view. We're pulling up memories and experiences that help us write whatever it happens to be--fiction, essays, articles, poems and more. Those memories and experiences belong to us as individuals. 

When I write a scene about the downtown shopping area of a large city, I dig deep into my memory bank and relive those many times when my mother and I took the 'el' train to downtown Chicago. I remember the sights, the smells, the sounds--oh yes, the sounds. There were horns honking, trains roaring across tracks above us, whistles blown by policemen, the click of  shoes on pavement, the flapping of pigeons' wings--all of those things are part of my perspective of the downtown of a large city. Moments of Christmas magic return to me when I think about the wonderful animated holiday windows at Marshall Field's. Even now, thinking about them, I can feel my mother's hand holding firmly onto my much smaller one. That, too, is Chicago to me. 

What about a writer who grew up in a small rural community? Can they give the reader the same perspective in a scene in downtown Chicago as I, who lived there, can? A few might but not all. Conversely, I could probably not write nearly as well about a rural scene since I don't have those sounds, smells and more locked into my memory bank. I might make them up but they might not come across as well to the reader. 

Write what you know. How many times have you heard that? I think we can write about things we don't know but we will probably write better about things we do know. Our perspective, or our attitude, will change with the topic. 

Should writers give thought to the way their readers will look at what they've written? Yes, I think we must step back every now and then and try to place our self in the reader's place. Try to figure out how they area going to see what you wrote. Not so easy since we have so many different readers, all individuals. Still, you can do this in a general way. Open the gate and step through the fence from the writer's side to the place where the reader resides. Try to see your own writing through their eyes. 

As an exercise for today, choose a character and take them to a place you know. Describe what they see, hear, feel, smell in this place. If it is familiar to them, let your reader know. If it is a strange new place, specify that, as well. Try writing the scene from two different perspectives. It's not as easy as you think. 

Memoir Needs Facts and Feelings, Too

Isabel Allende

A memoir forces me to stop and remember carefully. It is an exercise in truth. In a memoir, I look at myself, my life, and the people I love the most in the mirror of the blank screen. In a memoir, feelings are more important than facts, and to write honestly, I have to confront my demons. Isabel Allende
 (Quote posted at Brainy Quotes)


Memoir appears to be continuing its popular trend. Recently, I talked about writing and publishing short memoir pieces as well as the book length ones. Whether short or long, one part of the quote stood out for me and rings true for both. 

It was the sentence 'In a memoir, feelings are more important than facts.' Ms. Allende is not saying that facts are not important. you and I both know they are mandatory in memoir. However, to write a memoir people will read, the author's reaction and feelings to whatever occurred are the choice nutmeat in the hard shell of truth. 

Readers want to know what happened but also how the author felt, how he/she handled the situation. Was the author depressed, angry, elated, mournful? We want to know the problem but the problem alone is not what readers seek. Problems beg for solutions. Solutions to our lifetime troubles involve feelings. Our feelings lead us to the solution. Hopefully, it will be a satisfying one. 

Readers are looking for the human side. They want to be able to relate to whatever happened to the memoir author. 

We often mention that memoir can be a step in healing a deep hurt. What does that involve? Feelings. 

All memoirs are not tragedies but a good many are. Even someone who writes a memoir about a blessed, happy life needs to include feelings. In this kind of book or short piece, the feelings will be of a different kind than in those that address a sad life or situation. 

Whether we write fiction, personal essays, or memoir, it's our innermost feelings we must reveal to the reader, but perhaps most of all, to ourself. 

Call For Submissions From Chicken Soup For The Soul

               

I have stories in each of these books. Can I find one more mom story to write?

Every now and then, I check the submissions page at Chicken Soup for the Soul to see if there are any new titles that writers can submit to. It's been longer than I thought since I last checked. I found several new titles and more than one made me sit up and pay attention. 

Notice that the three book covers above are all using the theme of mothers. I'm not sure how many books Chicken Soup has that dwell on moms but they may rival the many Christmas theme books. Mothers appear to hold a special place in the hearts of many. They are often released in time for Mother's Day which, I believe, is the reason we see spring flowers and colors on the three covers above, along with Mother's Day gifts on one. The middle one, My Amazing Mom, was released on March 20, 2018, I have a box of them sitting here in my office. It's been fun giving them to various people in my life. 

Here are the newest titles and deadlines. You can go to the Submit A Story page at the Chicken Soup website to read the details on each one.  There are eight new titles. A bonanza! All deadline dates below are for the year 2018.

1.  Grandparents--deadline August 31st

2.  Life Lessons From My Cat--deadline October 31

3.  Life Lessons From My Dog--deadline November 30

4.  More Messages From Heaven--deadline September 30

5.  Stories About Angels--deadline September 30

6.  Stories About Miracles-- deadline September 30

7.  Stories About My Mom--deadline September 30

8.  The Golden Years--Life After 60--deadline June 30

The miracle, angel, messages from Heaven themes are being used over and over as are the dog and cat books. These themes, along with the ones on mothers and Christmas top the list. 

I urge you to study the Guidelines page carefully before writing your story, or finding one in your files. Don't submit until you have double checked your story against what those guidelines specify. 

Those dates make it seem like you have lots of time. Try to get your story in sooner rather than later. From what I've been told, the earlier stories are given careful consideration and many selected for the short list. Yes, you can still submit a week or a day prior to the deadline but you are lessening your chances. Remember that the submissions number in the thousands--4 or 6,000 for some books--but only 101 make it. 

I'm excited about these new titles. I already have ideas swirling in my head for stories I would like to write, or ones in my file that I might update and/or revise. How about you? 

   

Advice From A Master Storyteller

Quote by Pearl S. Buck

Yesterday, I posted thoughts about one of my favorite authors, Pearl S. Buck. One thing I forgot to mention in that post was that critics did not treat this author kindly. Her readers, however, loved her early books and continued to look for more. Who buys more books--the critics or the readers? Case closed.

Today, let's take a look at a quote by this gifted author. Pearl Buck's quote tells me something about her personality. She wasn't a dreamer, sitting idly waiting for inspiration. She knew that to write you had to get busy and do it. She must have been a practical person in many ways.

If you worked on a line in a factory, what would the supervisor say if you stepped back and waited to be inspired to do your work? How about a football quarterback waiting for inspiration to move the ball to the goal line? We often hear about those in the arts world waiting for inspiration to write, paint, sculpt, or compose music. Perhaps our best work does come when we are fully inspired. 

Even so, there are more times that we must skip that waiting period and 'get down to work.' We need to put bottom in chair and fingers to the keyboard and start typing. So what if the result is not worthy of a prize or publication? We have taken the biggest step--getting down to work. 

Once you begin, your mind clicks in and you probably write increasingly better as you go. Don't forget that we have the great gift of being able to revise and edit right up to the moment we submit. 

We can also 'get down to work' by beginning with a writing exercise. Most are short but they get those creative juices flowing. The best part is that you are writing, not sitting around thinking about writing. 

A lot of would-be writers are dreamers who loll around thinking about writing but somehow never do the actual writing. I'm waiting for inspiration. Reason or excuse? Your call.

If you want to write, the rule is to to actually write. "...get down to work." Good advice from a master storyteller. 

What Writers Can Learn From A Writer of Yesteryear

Pearl S. Buck  1892-1973

The woman pictured above happens to be one of my all-time favorite authors. I discovered her books at my local library when I was a young teen. After reading one, I devoured every other book on the shelves that had her name listed as author. 

My Book Club is reading Pearl Buck's Pulitzer Prize novel, The Good Earth, the second book she wrote. This will be the third time that I have read the book. At each age I have read the book, I look at it from a different perspective. Ms. Buck was a prolific writer, writing over 100 books. I zipped through 47 pages last evening and upon slipping my bookmark inside and closing the book, I started thinking about they way books were written in Ms. Buck's time as compared to today. 

She went to college in Virginia, leaving China where she grew up with her missionary parents, then returned to that Asian country once she graduated. She spent over half her life in China, so it is no wonder that most of her novels are set there. I spent some time today reading a bit about her life. Guess why she started writing? To earn some money. Sound familiar? 

She didn't attend writing instruction classes, she picked up her pen or sat at her manual typewriter pounding the keys and learned as she went. Yes, we did have to 'pound' the keys on a manual. How amazing that she won the Pulitzer Prize with the second novel in 1932. A born storyteller? Perhaps. 

The opening line in The Good Earth is 'It was Wang Lun's marriage day.' How simple and yet it immediately makes the reader want to know who this person is. The name makes us want to know where the person is from. We sit up and pay attention when we learn this person is about to get married. We also want to know if Wang Lun is man or woman. Six words that leave you with questions and so we read on. Ms. Buck knew that the opening line had to hook her reader.

In one biographical sketch, she was quoted as saying that when ready to begin a new book, she had a fresh ream of paper and proceeded to fill the pages. A ream is a great deal of paper. Think how daunting it wold be to face 500 blank pieces of paper and you have given yourself the task of filling them all with words that tell an interesting story. 

She had no Scrivener, no Nano writing challenge in November of each year. She most likely did not belong to a critique group in China. She didn't blog to promote her books. She didn't belong to facebook or twitter or instagram or snapchat. None of those things were there to help her gain readers. Once published, her publisher helped market the books. Today's publisher pushes the writer to do a great deal of the marketing. 

I doubt that she had access to a myriad number of the how-to-write instruction books that writers today have available. She was on her own. Perhaps the phrase learn as you go might be applied to her methods. 

She picked a topic that was of interest to people here in the USA. In the 1930's, people knew little of the people of China and they were curious. Read one and they wanted more.

What this all comes to is that we writers today have so many tools at our finger tips to teach us and help us produce some good writing. We probably don't give enough credit to the writers of old. Some wrote entire books by hand. Would you be willing to do that? 

Despite being pretty much on her own, Pearl Buck did a lot of things right, even by today's standards. Human instinct? Maybe. A natural storyteller? Most likely. An intelligent reader of other books. I'd bet on it.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of The Good Earth. I have a feeling I might check at my library to see how many more books by Pearl Buck are sitting on the shelves.

Pick out a favorite book you read long ago and see what you think of it now. As you read, give thought to the era the writer lived in, how was the writing world different then? 

I Blog, You Blog, She Blogs, He Blogs

I played Bridge yesterday afternoon with a woman whom I have met a handful of times. I knew more about her husband and son, both well-known football people in our state, than I did about her. The one thing I did know was that I had liked her the first time I met her and hoped to get to know her better as time went on. Yesterday, I did get to know her a lot better.

I had brought a copy of the newly released Chicken Sout for the Soul: My Amazing Mom book to give to my partner. That led to questions and answers from the other three. I learned that one of the women had started a blog on women and aging (my ears perked up--my group of folks!). She said that she had dived heard first into it without knowing a whole lot about what she was doing. I had done the same a good number of years ago. Long story short, we agreed to get together so that I could help her learn a few things about blogging. We're meeting the middle of next week at my house. A good incentive to clean up the office! 

Our conversation got me thinking about blogging. Some of the questions that came to mind were:

• Who can blog?
• Should all writers have a blog?
• What does having a blog do for a writer?
• Why should writers bother with adding one more item on their To-Do List?
• What should writers know about blogging before they begin?
• What helps draw readers to a blog? 
• How often do I need to post on my blog?
• Who will be the most successful at blogging?

Who can blog?  Anybody. If you wanted  to start a blog about pulling weeds on your property, that would be fine. There is no need to be a professional, or even hobbyist, writer. You're in charge; you pick the topic and a lot of other things.

Should all writers have a blog? I would encourage anyone who writes to try blogging. We hear the term build your platform in our writing world over and over. A blog is only one step in doing that. It gives you a place to promote your writing. I have done that here by making this blog about my writing world and giving tips and encouragement to writers. It allows me to help others and to promote my own writing.

What does having a blog do for a writer?  As stated above, it helps get your name out among writers and readers. It can help draw readers to your writing, be it books, short stories, essays or poetry. It creates a regular time to write--you know how I am always preaching to write something every day. What better writing exercise than to write a blog post on a regular basis?

Why should writers bother with adding one more item on their To-Do List? It will reap benefits in the long run. You may not see them immediately but over time, you will. When I attend my state authors convention, a lot of people there identify me as 'a writer, a blogger, and a workshop instructor.'  All those things add to my platform. I will also add that I have learned a lot about my own writing methods, attitudes and more because of what I post. 

What should writers know about blogging before they begin? Google keywords like 'learning to blog,' 'how to blog,' and more. So many articles will pop up that you'll be overwhelmed. Don't attempt to read more than a few at first. Pay attention when a suggestion is repeated in several articles. There are people who dive into the deep end of the pool with eyes shut. I did way back at the beginning but I learned to read about what I was doing and to use the information.

What helps draw readers to a blog?  I could write an entire post on this question. Instead, I'll give you a list of words:  conciseness, photos, good writing, appealing topics, social media. These are only a few of many.

How often do I need to post on my blog?  The more the better! The important thing is to be consistent. Post daily, 5 days a week, weekly, monthly or twice a year but have a schedule that readers will know about. Post 3 times in April and then not again til one day in June and you are going to lose a lot of readers. Figure out a schedule that works for you, but make it regular. I chose 5 days a week because I am more likely to retain my readers and it also pushed me to write something on an almost-daily basis.

Who will be the most successful at blogging? The person who puts the most into their blog is most likely to gain the most readers. She/he who stays to one theme (like writing) will usually be more successful. I occasionally veer off the path but try to have something to do with writing in every post. 

These are all short answers to questions for those who either do blog or have aspirations to do so. It occurs to me that I could write a full post on each one of the questions. Someday, I may do that. Meanwhile, give blogging some thought but do a little research and reading first. One of the big negatives I see is that myriad bloggers lose interest and quit. Those who persevere will be alright. Oh look--one of my keywords for writers works for bloggers, too. Persevere!

Writers Are Sometimes Their Own Obstacle

Wise words in our poster today. How many of us, myself included, have waited and waited to get a new writing project underway? See all those stars in the photo--each one might represent a writer who had an idea for a writing project--big or small--but never acted on it. 

We're wont to say that time is our enemy, that we let life get in the way, that circumstances weren't quite right for plunging into the new project. Excuses! I know many of you have used them. I have been guilty of spouting some of those words myself. 

I think what really holds us back comes down to the fact that we become our own obstacle. We have the idea but before we can write paragraph one, fear and doubt creep into the back of our mind. Thoughts like Can I do justice to this idea? Am I a good enough writer to tackle this monumental idea? What if I spend weeks, months, years on it and no one wants to publish the book? What if....?  Why does...? Round and round the thoughts go like the carnival carousel. Somehow, it seems easier to sit on that gaily painted carousel horse and keep going in circles rather than jump off and get to writing. 

I have a dear writer friend who has started many fine stories and books but she doesn't seem to reach the end. She quits and moves on to start something new. Why? I have asked myself that question several times. Is she afraid to finish because then she needs to market the project and there's a certain amount of fear involved? Does she prefer beginnings to endings? Something holds her back. She's a good writer with fine ideas and I've tried to encourage her but perhaps we all need to come to the solution on our own. 

Face the fact that the longer we wait, the older we get, the less time there is to finish and start the publishing process. Push fear aside and take steady steps to tackle those great ideas. Give yourself a pep talk if you must. Hey, there is nothing wrong with doing that. I've done it more than once. It's alright to remind yourself of your strengths and push the doubts aside. 

I have a folder in my files with stories, poems, novels and more that are partially finished. Occasionally, I look at them. One of the reasons I slide them right back in the folder is that I've hit a snag and I don't know how to tackle it. Which is easier? To put the project out of sight or to brainstorm with yourself (and maybe others) to get past the trouble spot? You and I know which is easiest but why not try the one that will be more productive? 

You might also have another folder labeled "Story Ideas" that goes through much the same process as those that are unfinished. Waiting buys you nothing. Don't be your own obstacle. Meet those unfinished projects/ideas head-on. Write the first draft. Then, revise and edit. Keep moving. The rolling stone gathers no moss. That's an old proverb that could apply to waiting too long to work on a story idea. Besides that, waiting does only make you older!

Poetry--Pretty Words and More

A visual image by Carl Sandburg

 I'm not able to bypass Word Poetry Day 2018. OK, I hear groans from those who think they don't like poetry. Stop groaning and keep reading. I've heard naysayers utter things like Ahhh, poetry is a bunch of pretty words that mean nothing.

The first part of that statement is true but I take exception to the rest. 'Pretty words' is a succinct description but, most often, those words do mean something. The poet may find more meaning in his/her words than the reader. After all, the poet has lived the situation, seen the beauty, or experienced the soul-wrenching event. A good poet can make his/her reader find the same meaning. 

My friend, Ronda Miller, made me 'feel' her poem Moonstain (title poem in book of same title) so well that I sat with book in hand, stunned and saddened for this child's deep hurt when she finds a stillborn calf not long after the death of her own mother.She runs back to the farmhouse under the light of the blood moon where she cries. Pretty words? Yes, lovely phrases throughout but her poem did mean something and so do many others.

As readers, we need to give poetry a chance. As writers, we should try our hand at writing some. We all wrote those cutesy little poems when we were kids. You know the ones--they began with the lines

       Roses are red,

       Violets are blue,

Then we added two more lines trying to rhyme with the word 'blue'  Some were nice, some were funny, some were ridiculing. These little poems were often our introduction to writing poetry. We also copied other poems in the autograph books young girls passed around the classroom in grade school. One I remember clearly is

        "2-lips in the garden;

         2-lips in the park.

         But the 2-lips I like best, 

        are the 2-lips in the dark!" 

As we grew older, teachers made us memorize poems and that began to turn a good many students away from poetry. Others were drawn to it. It seems there was no middle ground. You enjoyed poems or you didn't. For some, it was a matter of never being able to understand the metaphors or the underlying sentiments of the poet. 

If you were one of those students, do yourself a favor and give reading poetry a try once again. Not one poem but several, or a book of collected poems. I'm not saying a miracle will occur and you are going to suddenly fall in love with poetry but you might begin to enjoy it more than you did years ago. 

One mistake readers make when reading poetry is that they read through once and then think What the heck was that all about? Never read a poem just once. Read it several times. You'll find more in it with each reading. Did you ever see a movie twice or a third time and saw many more little things in it than you did the first time? Same thing. The more we read, the more we see. 

If you're a prose writer, you owe it to yourself to give writing poetry a try. Your first efforts may be laughable. You might even think it 'stinks' but so was the first piece of prose you ever wrote, most likely. We learn as we go, whether it is writing poetry or prose. I've never had any formal training in writing poetry but I do enjoy writing a poem occasionally. Some have been pretty awful but a few others have had merit, have been published, have won a contest. I guarantee that, if I can do it, so can you.

On this World Poetry Day 2018, take a few minutes to look up a book of poetry on your shelf, or one online and read a few poems. Enjoy the 'pretty words' and then try writing a few of your own. 

Spring Inspires Writers

Since today is the first day of 'spring, 2018, I am sharing some lovely spring photos and quotes that will hopefully inspire you to write something. After the drabness of winter, the delicate beauty and uplifting colors should make us want to sing, dance and, yes, to write. A beautiful spring day is good for the soul.

Spring offers writers opportunities to use similes, metaphors, write heartfelt poems, and memorable descriptive phrases. As an exercise today, go through these photos and freewrite after each one. What will the words, the colors, the beauty of the flowers and more bring to mind? You won't know until you give it a try. 

Why bother to do this exercise? One could end up as a paragraph in a work in progress. Another might be the first draft of a poem. 

You see the beauty in each of these photos, but don't forget to add the soft sounds of spring, the scents and the touch of that dandelion under you chin to see if you like butter. (A childhood memory for me. How about you?) Don't forget the emotional possibilities, too.

Memory Moments Are Monumental

When we look back on the years of our lives, the special moments seem to stand out more than the big events. It's those clear moments that we should write about. The snippets of time that stayed with us reveal much about us, the kind of person we are, the parts of life that are important to us. 

I could write about my college graduation with facts and figures, the beastly hot day etc. No big deal. But if I write a personal essay about the way my dad's chest puffed out more than usual and the glow in his eyes let me know how proud he was of me as I left the stage with my degree in hand. He, who had only gone as far as having 4 months of high school now had a daughter who was a college grad. That's a moment I'll never forget. I imagine he kept it in a safe spot in his memory bank, too, pulling it out now and then to relive the moment.

I could write about the life event of a first grandchild being born but I would prefer writing about one emotional moment when I picked up my less-than-one-day-old granddaughter, looked into her blue eyes and experienced the most overwhelming emotion in my life. My thought at that split second was This is the child of my child. It was just a flash but has stayed with me. An entire personal essay could be written about that tiny slice of time.

When those special 'memory moments' come back to you, do more than smile and enjoy them. Pounce on them! You can base a story, a poem, a memoir piece or an essay on each one. Show your readers the lesson you learned in that moment. Help them feel the emotion you felt. Trigger moments of your readers' memories with your own story. 

Don't neglect the big things in life but please pay very close attention to the little memory moments that define who you are. When one of those moments pops up in your mind, don't just enjoy it. Jot a few notes for a possible piece to write, then go back later and bring the moment to life. 

Reading Books--Happiness

Writers are also readers. Readers aren't necessarily writers. We who are both  feel like we've caught the gold ring as we ride by on the carousel horse. Reading a book is one of the greatest treasures on earth. We can do it as often as we like even if we must steal moments from other parts of our lives. 

Reading is relaxing, peaceful, calms the soul and is sheer delight at times. For today's post, I am sharing several posters that speak to readers. Look at them, save the ones you like, and then go find a book to read. 

A Great Big Piece of The Writing Puzzle

"Your opening should surprise. It should contain the best sentences of your piece, the ones with the most energy and the ones that take the reader right into your world." 

The quote is from Jessica Smock who is an editor at herstories, a site for women in mid-life that write personal essays. She listed numerous things of importance when submitting your work for publication. Then, she stated emphatically that there was one more important than all the others. What is it? The opening hook.

Nearly every book on writing will tell you that you must pull in your reader immediately or you might lose them. True? Yes, I think so. Years ago, people assumed that an English author was going to march you around the mulberry bush a hundred times before getting into the meat of the story. Same with English movies. I don't think that is the usual case any longer. English writers have also learned the importance of hooking their readers/viewers. 

What do some writers do instead of grabbing the reader's attention immediately? They open  with background information or an introduction which eventually leads to the actual topic. They might use paragraphs and paragraphs. In today's world, time is our enemy and no one is going to spend that precious time reading something that is boring. Opening with a bunch of facts and figures or a this is what I am going to write about farther down the page is kind of a 'who cares?' thing. When we say to grab the reader, we mean 'grab them and then hold on.' 

Jessica reads myriad essays submitted for the website. You are going to have to grab her attention (or any other editor) before your piece even has a chance to hook your eventual reader. She's like the barking dog at the gate--placate it with a choice morsel and it will welcome you. 

The poster we have today gives you suggestions for a good opening. We want to have an opening that makes the reader sit up and pay attention whether we are writing fiction, personal essays or ever a poem. Let's take a look at these 5.

1. Ask a question: That can pique curiosity, especially if the reader does not know the answer already.
2. State an interesting fact:  Note the WOW afterward. That tells us that the fact should be very interesting, something to make us open our eyes wider and read on.
3. Imagine...: Pull the reader in by putting him/her into a situation or place immediately. Make them think about what it would be like and they're likely to read on.
4. Use action or onomatopoeia:  If you open with a man being chased through dark alleys, the reader immediately wants to know why he is being chased and who is doing the chasing. They will definitely keep reading. The onomatopoeia suggestion doesn't do much for me but you can use words that sound like what they are--cuckoo, meow, honk for instance. That alone will not grab and hold the reader, however. I'd go with the action first.
5. Use a quote or dialogue:  A quote by a well-known name will be a draw/ You might even use the quote and a question.  Do you know what blind and deaf Helen Keller thought about life? She said......

Do all the things that are important before submitting your work to an editor but pay special attention to your opening. 

About The Blank Page

The Blank Page

No quote on writing today, just a blank page in a book. How would you, as a writer, describe this empty piece of paper at what appears to be the beginning of a book? The blank page can also appear as a sea of nothing in whatever computer program you use to write. It can also be a clean piece of paper with nothing on it. 

There are two keywords I would use to describe the above. Inspiring and Terrifying.  Can they be both? Certainly.

Eager writing students and freelance writers often view that blank page as inspiring. They might think several things:

• There it is waiting for me to fill it with words that will draw readers.
• It's brand new, waiting for no one but me.
• Putting the first words on a blank page is as delightful as being the first one to put footsteps in new-fallen snow.
• With a blank page, I can write anything I want to. It's all mine.
• The blank page opens like a lady's fan giving me space to write myriad things.
• I can hardly wait to begin!
• Which of the many ideas swirling in my mind shall I put on this page?

That blank page can also be terrifying. If you're a student with an assignment, you might panic. Your thoughts could be:

• Good Heavens! What am I going to write about?
• Where do I begin? 
• That page looks like an ocean and I have to fill it word by word. Oh no!
• I can't think. What will I say? 
• How will I fill this page?
• Can I do the assignment on time?
• Will what I write be drivel or worthwhile?

A freelance writer might have altogether different reactions with thoughts like this:

• I love beginnings so this page is perfect for me.
• I've got a deadline; how will I have the right number of works by then?
• What if Writer's Block attacks? The page might remain blank.
• What if I fill the page with nothing but stupid things?
• Am I a good enough writer to put something worthy on this page?
• Will an editor want to publish what I put on this page?
• Will readers give good reviews to my offerings

We can look at this blank page as either inspirational or terrifying. We can also consider it a challenge. How would you consider the blank page? 

Surface Writing Or Soulful Writing?

My apologies for not getting a new post up on Monday. We spent the entire day traveling home from my brother's funeral services in North Carolina. It's a time to be with family where we love and support one another at a sad, and sometimes unexpected, loss. 

I had written Friday about getting those family stories written, not just told. On Saturday evening and all day Sunday, I heard one family story after another. Laughter accompanied some and others brought tears. Of course, there was no time to write them this week-end but that must be done in the coming days. 

The poster above seemed particularly appropriate since I started writing a poem mentally on one of our flights yesterday. I was too tired to read, an unusual occurrence for me, so I closed my eyes to rest. Words began to float through my mind, words about my brother whose life we had just celebrated the previous day. Before I knew it, a verse of a poem had put itself together. Four lines that came phrase by phrase. I grabbed a slim piece of paper in my purse and wrote them down. One verse that came from my soul. One verse that cries for a beginning and an ending which will come in time. When finally done, I am certain I will share it and that it did come from my soul.

Give some thought to the quote above. We all like to put pretty words together, words we hope will please our readers. If you share a part of your soul when you write, the words will be more than pretty. They will be memorable, gratifying, uplifting, possibly beautiful. 

There is surface writing and soulful writing. Which one do you think will be the better kind of writing? When we write on the surface, we are trying to get a job done. We pull words from the air and from our mind to achieve our goal in a particular project. There's nothing wrong with that. Many a professional writer writes surfacely, especially when facing a deadline. 

It's the projects where we write by pulling the words from heart and soul that will often be remembered by readers. For me, there is no doubt that soulful writing is going to be our best. 

If you have a few minutes, take a look at some of the things you have written, ones published or not yet published. Can you label them with surface or soulful? Can you tell why those labels are on each one? Does it make you want to be a soulful writer the majority of the time? It's something to keep in mind as you begin each new piece.

I am hopeful that the rest of the poem I plan to write can be as soulful as the one verse that has emerged so far. 

Family Stories Are More Important Than We Realize

The picture above is of me and two of my three younger brothers, taken in 1947. The third one didn't come along until 7 years later. At the time of this photo, I was 8, Howard on the left was 4 and Paul, in the middle, was under a year. Howard was brunette and Paul and I had auburn hair. I remember that my dress was aqua blue.

Paul, aged 71, passed away in his sleep Wednesday night. He had faced multiple health problems from infancy to the very end. Even so, his death was a shock to all his family and friends. We will gather as a family to celebrate his life this week-end in North Carolina, far from the Chicago suburb where we all grew up. As we all married and made several moves, we spread pretty much from coast to coast.

Even so, we have kept in touch through the several means of doing so we now have. Somehow, on phone calls, texts and emails, the miles disappear. When we have the rare opportunity to spend time together at a wedding, or as now, a funeral, the "Remember when...." stories emerge one after another.

Several years ago, I made a book of Family Stories for each of my three brothers. I had thought about it for a long time but had not taken the time to accomplish the project. I'm sure many of you have had the good intentions and not quite made it happen. Please do it sooner rather than later.

It's now that those family stories will have even more meaning for Paul's family. Those oft-told family stories paint a picture of each family member. His grandchild and future great-grandchildren will be able to hold on to those stories. They'll understand what his life was like growing up in a large family that lived in a small apartment. They'll learn about Paul's parents and grandparents and his siblings. His granddaughter has known him all her life and has had the great privilege of living only minutes away from him and her grandmother. Having the Family Stories book will allow her future children to know who their great-grandfather was, learn about  his roots and more.

Regular readers here know that I am constantly urging people, both writers and non-writers, to get those family stories written and assembled somewhere. It's a partial history of family. When babies are born, mothers often receive, or purchase, a Baby Book to record memories, dates of injections, diseases and special events in the child's life. They reach a certain age and mom stops keeping that record. Those family stories can carry it on to the ends of life.

Don't retell only the funny, heart-warming things that happened in the family. Add the tragedies, the times when anger took center stage, or when you weren't very proud of a family member. The good and the bad swirl together to create the whole family story.

Write one story at a time, not a great many at once. Make up the book and keep adding a story each time you write one. They add up faster than you think. Do it for yourself and for your living family and for future family members, too. Do it soon.

Memories of my brother, Paul, are running through my mind like a video. It's dawned on me that I still have a lot more family stories to write. He wanted the Cubs to win one World Series before he left this earth. He got that wish and, oh, how happy it made him. There's a story about Paul, when he was a kid, and my dad knocking heads over the Cubs and the Chicago White Sox. Paul liked the Cubs but he cheered on the Sox just to make Dad mad and then....well, a story to be written.

Pros and Cons of Entering Writing Contests

Writers are often urged to enter contests. Somebody has to win so why not you? Take a chance along with a thousand or more other writers. What are the odds you'll win? Should you try? Or not? 

There are things to consider when you enter your work in a writing contest. Here are just a few:

• If  I enter my story in the contest that will not announce winners for 6 months, then I cannot submit it for publication. Do I want to tie up my work for that long?
• How do I know the type of writers that enter this contest? Can I actuall compete with them?
• Is there a fee to enter?
• How much is the fee? Is it exorbitant? 
• If I enter 5 contests and pay an entry fee for each but win nothing, where am I? 
• Do I know if the contest is legit?
• Have I checked for validity of the group behind the contest?
• Does the contest pay winners? Or just publish the winning entries?
• If they only publish, not pay, winners, why am I paying a fee to enter?
• How high a fee should I  be willing to pay? 
• How many contests per year should I enter? The free ones? The ones with entry fees?
• Should I enter smaller contests first and progress to the bigger ones? 
• Should I skip the small potatoes contests and aim for the big one with the big prizes? 

/There are also good reasons to enter your work in a contest. Consider these:

• If I place, it's a good thing to be able to tell an editor later when I submit the same story for publication
• It's good practice for submitting to editors later
• You might actually win first, second, third or an Honorable Mention
•  Enter the no fee contests and you have lost nothing, but they usually have lower amounts for prizes. 
• You can't win if you don't enter
• Winning a writing contest looks mighty nice in your bio
• It's fun to take a chance and see how your work stands up to others (We sometimes forget that writing should have some fun in it)

As for no-fee or fee to enter, that is something each person needs to determine. I have entered both types of contests, have placed in some, and got nothing in many. If you do enter your work in a contest, be sure to read the guidelines and know for sure that your piece fits. Best of luck to all who give it a whirl.

A Stormy Writing Exercise

 We've all been through various storms. There are thunderstorms, snowstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes and wind storms. They give us a golden opportunity write with vivid visual images and to use sensory details to the fullest. 

We also have metaphorical storms throughout our lives. Today, as an exercise, write about one of those storms that you 'weathered' through. 

• Include sensory details.
• Show your feelings rather than telling what they were.
• Use active verbs
• Start with a good hook

An exercise like this can often lead to an essay, story, or poem that is worth submitting for publication. We never know what treasure will be found in the recesses of our minds. 

Use the picture above to trigger your memories of your own personal storm. 

Q & A With Kathleen Pooler, Memoir Writer Part 2

Here's Kathy with more answers to my questions. Below Part 2 of the interview, look for her bio and several links. Do take some time to click and visit her. I've been so pleased to  have Kathy as my Guest.

Nancy:  Did you find yourself reliving the abusive marriage times in your life as you wrote? If so, how did you handle it?

Kathy:  My first memoir was not the story I wanted or intended to write. I started out writing about being the mother of an alcoholic son. But when I sent my manuscript to a developmental editor, she strongly recommended that I had two memoirs, one about the emotional abuse and the other about my son. I then had to face all my vulnerabilities and flaws—why and how I got into two emotionally abusive marriages-- which was very difficult. There were many times when I had to put the manuscript aside, sometimes for months at a time. But the story kept nagging at me and I eventually finished it. And I will add that seeing it through helped me to heal from the guilt and shame I had carried around all those years. It also helped me to forgive those in my life whom I felt had hurt me. Most important, it helped me to forgive myself.

Nancy:  Did you ever want to quit writing the book? If so, what made you continue?

Kathy:  Indeed, there were times when I wondered if it was worth exposing such intimate details about my family life. I was especially concerned about the response of my first ex-husband, the father of my children. I consulted an attorney and prayed about it. One day a few months before it was published, I sat in church and had an overwhelming feeling come over me. I felt compassion for the young woman in my story (me). With that feeling came a renewed passion for telling my story to give others hope.

Nancy:  What are you working on now?

Kathy:  I am currently in the final editing phase of my second memoir, Daring to Hope: A Mother’s Journey to Healing From Cancer and Her Son’s Alcohol Addiction. I started writing vignettes about this story in 1999. So it’s been in the works for nineteen years.

 Nancy:  How soon do you expect the new book to be published?

Kathy:  By next year at this time, I hope to have it published. Maybe sooner. It all depends on how the revision process goes. When I’m done with this phase of my revision, I will print it out and have a red pen in hand to mark the areas that still need work. I’m in no hurry but I will feel good when it’s done.

Nancy:  What advice do you have to others who might like to write a memoir?

Kathy:  Read a lot of memoirs.

Study the art and craft of memoir writing. There are so many free resources online: The National Association of Memoir Writers (NAMW), The Memoir Network with Denis Ledoux, International Women’s Writer’s Guild (IWWG)

Facebook groups: Memories to Memoir with Cami Ostman, IWWG member group, NAMW, Gutsy Indie Publishers

Follow blogs: The Write Practice, Women’s Writing Circle with Susan Weidener, Writing Through Life with Amber Lea Starfire, Marion Roach, Memories and Memoir with Linda Joy Myer to name a few.

If you can, get to a writer’s conference. IWWG and Writer’s Digest Annual Conferences are my favorites.

And finally, if you want be a writer, you have to write and keep writing until it’s right. And don’t forget to be kind and gentle with yourself. Memoir writing is a daunting, often painful process but well worth it in terms of the healing and transformation that occurs within you.

Good Luck!

Bio:  Bio: Kathleen Pooler is an author and a retired Family Nurse Practitioner whose memoir, Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away From Emotional Abuse, published on July 28, 2014 and work-in-progress sequel, The Edge of Hope (working title) are about how the power of hope through her faith in God helped her to transform, heal and transcend life’s obstacles and disappointments:  domestic abuse, divorce, single parenting, loving and letting go of an alcoholic son, cancer and heart failure to live a life of joy and contentment. She believes that hope matters and that we are all strengthened and enlightened when we share our stories.

She lives with her husband Wayne in eastern New York.

         She blogs weekly at her Memoir Writer’s Journey blog: http://krpooler.com

Twitter @kathypooler

https://twitter.com/KathyPooler

LinkedIn: Kathleen Pooler: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/kathleen-pooler/16/a95/20a

Google+:Kathleen Pooler: https://plus.google.com/109860737182349547026/posts

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/4812560-kathleen-pooler

Facebook:

Personal page,

Kathy Pooler : https://www.facebook.com/kathleen.pooler

Author page:

Kathleen Pooler/Memoir Writer’s Journey: https://www.facebook.com/memoirwritersjourney

Pinterest  (http://www.pinterest.com/krpooler/)

            One of her stories “The Stone on the Shore” is published in the anthology: “The Woman I’ve Become: 37 Women Share Their Journeys From Toxic Relationships to Self-Empowerment” by Pat LaPointe, 2012.

            Another story: “Choices and Chances” is published in the “My Gutsy Story Anthology” by Sonia Marsh, September, 2013.