My Writing Life Gratitude List

This is the time of year Americans give thanks for the bounty afforded, whether it be material things or situations or family and friends. Whatever we are grateful for. 

Today, I'm going to list what I am grateful for in my writing life. I would suggest you make a list of your own. Keep that list somewhere you see it and refer to it when those rejections come spinning in or when a story just is not working and you're totally frustrated. We do have to remind ourselves of the many good things in this crazy deal we term our 'writing life.'

What I am grateful for in my writing life:

• for the knowledge I've gained over the years
• for the joy of writing something satisfying
• for the opportunity to reach others with my writing
• for the many, many friendships I have with other writers
• for the opportunity to continue growing as a writer
• for the many publications I've had
• for having a passion for writing that has never died
• for a fine state writers organization
• for being able to write my family stories and share with my family
• for the rejections, yes, for the rejections because they have helped me grow as a writer
• for being able to connect with other writers
• for eyes and mind and hands that all allow me to write
• for being able to follow a childhood dream--"I want to be a writer."
• for the help and friendship of the women in my online critique group
• for having access to a wonderful public library
• for the ability God gave me

No doubt I'll think of more as the day goes on, but the main pieces of gratitude are included in the list above. 

I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. We will be spending the day with our daughter and her family. No post tomorrow or Friday. Let's all enjoy a little time off.

The Taste of a Lemon and Other Things, Too

Last week, I offered a post on the sense of hearing with an exercise to help writers develop that sense in their writing. If you missed it, read it here. Today, let's look at the sense of taste. After all, Americans are going to be tasting a lot of foods in a couple of days as we celebrate Thanksgiving.

When we write about food, we don't want to be generic and say The pie tasted good. or This lemon is sour. Go for more than that. The pie tasted sweet and creamy, sliding smoothly down my throat. or My lips puckered and my eyes watered as I stuffed the half-lemon into my mouth with a grimace.

Write a line or two about each of the tastes below. It's not only food that we taste. 

• toothpaste
• gravy
• chocolate chip cookies
• cough syrup
• Coconut cream pie
• chocolate
• hot peppers
• chewing gum
• cigarette
• mashed potatoes
• cranberry sauce
• cinnamon
• licorice
• beer
• ice cream

Have you noticed that your taste changes as you move from childhood to adulthood and even on to senior citizen status? Things I hated as a child are some of my favorites now. Do our taste buds actually mature? 

For a second exercise, write a paragraph about the taste you like most and the one you dislike so much it makes you shudder. 

University of Iowa Free Writing Course

There are writers who complain that they cannot attend writing courses at colleges or community colleges or other places because they don't live close enough to any of them to take advantage of them. Online writing courses wipe out that excuse---oops, I mean reason. Another reason people don't sign up for these courses is money. There are some fine ones that will cost you nothing but your time.

Yesterday, I received notice of an online course offered for free from the University of Iowa through their International Writing Program. The name of it is Hidden Meanings:  Creative Fiction, Non-Fiction & Facts. This is the newest one of many offered free because of grants the university has. The program itself is called MOOC (Massive Open Online Course)

The course can be taken on your own schedule from now through December 31. It's a good opportunity as there will be no more free online courses through this program in 2020. Go here to sign up and see more info re the course. My biggest concern is that it comes at a very busy time of year for most people.

The course is open to all writers at all levels anywhere in the world. The University of Iowa's writing programs are highly regarded.

If you would like to see past courses, which you can still do online, go to this site.  Scroll down to the two boxes that say How to Use This Site and View the Mooc-Packs and check out the several available at no cost.

If you go to a search engine and use 'free online writing courses,' you'll see a good selection. I would advise checking into them before signing up. I'm certain some are better than others. But, since it's free, you don't have a lot to lose. There are many online writing courses that charge various amounts, many being several hundred dollars. Will you get a lot more from them? I have no idea, but that old adage comes to mind--you get what you pay for. That might not always hold true. One of the free courses could be just right for you while the costly one might not. The problem here is that you won't know unless you pay the money and take the class.

Mentoring a New Writer

I was asked yesterday if I would consider mentoring a high school student (senior) who is writing a novel. His English teacher feels he would benefit from having a mentor to give him some guidance as he continues working on the novel.

It's something I would enjoy doing, but I am not a novelist. Writing a full book is quite different from the shorter pieces I write--stories, creative nonfiction, memoir, inspirational, fiction for children, and poetry. I feel like he needs a mentor who has written a novel. So, I put some feelers out in my local community to see if any of the novelists would consider mentoring this young man. 

Have you ever considered mentoring a beginning writer? Maybe you've never been asked, and maybe you never offered. If mentoring a writer is something you think you'd like to do, contact your local high school, Junior College, Community College or University to offer your service. 

What does mentoring another writer involve? 

1. Meeting one on one with the writer to establish rapport.
2. Offer honest feedback on the writer's work.
3. Help set goals
4. Offer emotional support
5. Be open-minded
6. Encourage the writer to be willing to grow

1.  We all love to email or text because it's so easy, but to mentor another writer, it's best to meet one on one. Start out by meeting for coffee or coke in a public place. Get to know a little bit about the writer and let them know your background, as well. Establish the fact that you are hoping to be of help and offer some guidance.

2.  After reading a portion, or all, of the writer's novel (or any other kind of writing), give honest feedback. I would suggest setting the stage first by telling him/her that any criticism you give is not meant to hurt but to help him/her grow as a writer. Explain that objective eyes like a mentor's see the writing differently than the person who wrote it in the first place. 

3.  Goal setting never hurts anyone. Help the writer create a list of his/her goals. Then go over them, one by one. Which are the most achievable; which are out of reach at this point?

4.  Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on now and then. Let the writer know that you'll be there to listen. (But not constantly!)

5.  You will want the writer to be open-minded, but you need to be the same. If you disagree about a point, be a big enough person to listen to the writer's side, then offer your own. Remember, few things are all right or all wrong.

6.  Encourage the writer to read books and articles on writing and to do some writing exercises to help him or her grow as a writer. Let them know that you are not going to be the one to solve all the problems, that they need to work at growing as a writer. 

So, what's in it for you, the mentor? We can all think back to our early days of writing and how we floundered now and then. Wouldn't it give you some satisfaction to help someone going through the same problems? You'd be sharing your expertise, offering a service and spreading a bit of kindness. 

One note of caution:  Early on, set times to meet. Decide if you're willing to let the writer contact you via email, text or phone call in-between those meeting times. Set your rules at your first meeting. Most writers will adhere to what you set. You want to help new writers, but you don't want to give up too much of your own writing time. 

Encourage The Love of Writing

I completely forgot I Love to Write Day on November 15th--last Friday. So, here is a post I wrote in 2012 about this national day of recognition for those who love to write, and even those who do not. 

Two things I saw on facebook this morning triggered my thoughts for this post. One was Save the Date and the other one that jumped out for me was I Love To Write Day.

November 15, 2012 will be the tenth annual I Love To Write Day. I usually feature it in my post on that mid-November day. It's the one day of the year that everyone is encouraged to write. Doesn't matter what it is--just write! A thank you note qualifies, but so does a poem, a story, a two-paragraph description or memory piece. So, mark your calendars now. Save that date!

Personally, I celebrate this day every day because writing is something that satisfies me like nothing else. I'm willing to bet that my blood pressure evens out to normal whenever I write. It pleases me to string words together in hopes that they will touch the heart and soul of at least a few people who read them. Maybe my words will provide pertinent information or entertain someone. When I finish a writing project, no matter how long or short, I have a sense of accomplishment greater than when I do anything else.

I like words. I like putting words together. I like creating stories and poems from those many words. I enjoy doing crossword puzzles because they are filled with words, unlike those sudoko puzzles that irritate me to no end. Some people love them. Must depend on whether you're a number person or one addicted to the beauty of words. There is no doubt which category I fall into.

I've heard far too many people say they hate writing. They offer a number of reasons, but one I hear frequently is that it is because of a teacher (or teachers) who made it a chore instead of pleasure or who ridiculed the results of an assigned essay. Sad that they who should be the greatest proponents of writing for enjoyment sometimes end up being the biggest discouragers. Maybe part of it is because we were often assigned the topic, not left to create our own subject. On the other hand, when the teacher said to write on anything of your choice, we sometimes sat there with a blank slate in our mind.

I hope that teachers and parents will encourage children to write. We push reading at all levels today, which is wonderful. But I'd like to see more emphasis placed on writing. Mary Lane Kamberg, a Kansas author, has a fine book of tips for young people who want to write. She includes exercises in The I Love To Write Book--Tips and Ideas for Young People.

Whether you are a teacher, a parent, or a grandparent, I hope you will do what you can to promote the joy of writing to the young people you know today. There's plenty of time before November 15th to plan an event or project to celebrate I Love To Write Day

The Whistle of a Train--A Sensory Detail

Let's look at the things we hear, one of the sensory details we put in our fiction, personal essays, family stories, and even poetry. 

This morning, I was catching up on email when I heard the whine of a train whistle, blown several times. I wondered if it was the historic Union Pacific train, known as Big Boy, making its way across Kansas this week in celebration of 150 years of the Transcontinental Railroad. It was due to stop here in our town at 9:30 a.m. 

The sound of that whistle made me stop and listen. I always liked to hear the train whistles when I was a child. We lived across the street from the railroad tracks, so we were treated to that arresting sound on a frequent basis. I can remember being in bed on a summer night, windows open, hoping for the train to come by and announce its presence. When I did hear it, I wondered where it was going. My own world in those days was quite small, but I knew a train went to many places.

What do you think of when you hear a train's whistle? Does it trigger any memories for you? Do you think of it as mournful or cheerful? Is it different at nighttime when the train moves through the darkness than it is on a sunny day? 

The train whistle is only one of many sounds we put into our writing. You don't want to say The train blew its whistle. Your reader knows what a train whistle sounds like, but why not enlarge on it to make it more interesting? The train's whistle whined loudly as it passed by the crossing gates, growing dimmer and dimmer as it sped down the track. 

Try writing a sentence or two for each of the sounds below giving your reader a clear picture of the sound. Avoid cliches. Delve into your memory bank.

• jet plane
• waves on the shore
• ball hitting a baseball bat
• washing machine
• school bell
• air brakes on a bus
• popcorn popping
• crying child
• church bells
• piano
• cow mooing
• birdsong

Adding sensory details, like hearing, can bring your writing to life. Don't be a generic writer who only lists the main points and neglects the small details that make writing a pleasure for the reader.

This Writing Game

When you keep submitting your work and getting rejections, it can be disheartening. Change that 'can be' to 'is.' With each rejection, you feel like the wind has gone out of your sails. You're sad--or mad--and you ask yourself if you should just chuck the whole idea of being a published writer. 

Change the 'you' words above to 'we' because you're definitely not in this alone. You have plenty of company in that feeling down after a rejection. We write, we submit, we receive a rejection, we feel crummy for a few hours. 

After that, we need to do some analyzing. Why was our work rejected? Did we choose the wrong kind of publication, one where our work didn't fit? Did we send a clean submission with no spelling errors, correct punctuation etc? Could we have used more sensory details? Did we make things clear? Do we need to do some revising before submitting to another editor? Answer those questions honestly. We know by then that we have some work to do. 

If you feel your writing is the best it can be, then find another place to submit. Editors are individuals. What one likes, another might detest. As writers, we need to find the right fit, and that's not always easily done.  I had that happen this week. I submitted a story yesterday afternoon in response to a call for submissions. This morning, I received an acceptance from the editor. The original call said the editor would choose one or two of the best stories to publish in December. It's seldom that an acceptance comes that quickly. More often, we wait and wait and wait and...  When it does happen this fast, it certainly boosts the ego. I also think about the many submissions that got rejected by an editor or the ones that ended up floating in writer space with no response whatsoever. 

Our poster today has some good advice. It's those small efforts we make day after day that help us reach success. We may not think that those writing exercises do us any good. We might get fed up with revising and editing our work. We might feel depressed that we get more rejections than acceptances. (Very few writers have the majority of their work accepted.) 

Once again, those two keywords, patience and perseverance come into the picture. If we have the patience to continue with those small efforts and the passion for writing that results in perseverance, we're going to come out alright. We're going to find some successes along with those rejections. 

We have to make up our minds that we're in this game for the long haul. Those small efforts must be made on a daily basis.

Finding Your Inner Awesome As a Writer

Have you found your inner awesome, or are you still searching for it? One way to find it is to keep doing writing exercises. I've shared the photo prompt exercise with you and the freewrite exercise on several posts. I've given you lists of questions to use to trigger your memories to use as an exercise. We've done the "I remember..."

Friday, I reviewed Marlene Cullen's latest book meant to help beginning and intermediate writers through the use of prompts. Marlene uses them regularly. Check out some of her prompts here. 

If you're a writer who has a hard time coming up with new topics, writing prompts could be of great help. 

Here is a list to get you started on a new writing project:

• write about a dream you had.
• write about the worst teacher you had.
• write about a favorite dish your mother mad.
• write about your best friend in grade school.
• write about the person you avoided in school.
• write about your sixteenth birthday.
• write about your most memorable Christmas.
• write about your cousins.
• write about the best house you ever lived in.
• write about your favorite pet.
• write about the chore you hated the most.
• write about your favorite books.
• write about your wedding.

I could go on and on, but you should be able to find something that lets your fingers tap the keyboard. When you use one of the prompts, don't write a report...this happened, then that happened, then... Instead, write giving a sense of place, some emotion, description, sensory details, and active verbs. 

Do the above and you may find your inner awesome flashing like a neon sign. 

A Book For Beginning and Intermediate Writers (and Readers)

You may remember a Guest Blogger named Marlene Cullen. She posted on this blog about a year ago. This writer-editor has published a new book aimed at beginning and intermediate writers, but it's one even a nonwriter can enjoy. 

The Write Spot  Possibilities is the fifth in a series of books to help writers by using prompts. The earlier titles are:

The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing:  Discoveries

The Write Spot to Jumpstart Your Writing:  Connections

The Write Spot:  Reflections

The Write Spot:  Memories

All of the books are meant to help writers through the use of prompts, show examples of writing that evolves from one, and to entertain a reader.

This newest book in the series has the same characteristics plus one more. After each author's prose or poetry, the prompt that inspired the story is given, but also their bios and some advice for writers. 

When I received my copy, I slid it out of the padded envelope and had an "oh" moment as I gazed at the cover. It struck me as not only being beautiful but also illustrating the title (Possibilities) perfectly.

Marlene had invited me to submit some of my writing for the book. Months earlier, I had sent her a travel essay and a poem along with the prompt that fit each one and a paragraph of writing advice. Naturally, I had to turn to that section first, but over the past two evenings read the rest of the 126-page book. 

I found it most interesting to check the prompt after reading one of the stories or poems. A prompt of only a few words brought forth some interesting writing. The advice for writers was right on in every instance, and the bios interested me since so many had come to writing later in life just as I did. The resources pages in the back of the book will be a help to all writers.

The majority of the authors in the book are not professionals with long resumes. They are beginning and intermediate writers, many of whom belong to a writing group that Marlene moderates. They're ordinary people, just like you and me. 

One of the people who penned some praise for the book said the following:

"The Write Spot Possibilities is a collection of playful, experimental, insightful stories as well as prompts, resources, and words of encouragement for the beginning writer. Part anthology, part craft book, Possibilities is a welcome addition to any reader or writer's bookshelf."

                                                                                                 --Elizabeth Beechwood

The book can be purchased at Amazon, $15 for the paperback and $3.49 for the Kindle version.

Submissions Needed for Christmas Memory Stories

Bringing the Christmas Tree Home

Is it too early for Christmas memories? Not if you want to submit a story, or vignette, to Spiritual Memoirs. There is a call for submissions for Christmas memory stories to be submitted between now and December 10th. One or two will be selected for publication by this group. This is a no-pay opportunity.

Considering the name, your story should probably lean to the spiritual side of Christmas. I don't think it has to be overtly so, but an inference or understanding that it is the Christian holiday being celebrated. Some lengthy guidelines can be found here.

I found a quote in the guidelines of great interest for all who write memoir stories. We write memoirs of book-length and short ones, too. But do we stop at merely telling the story, or do we let our readers know how the experience affected us?  Read the quote below slowly so you absorb it. Keep it in mind when writing a submission for this call but also for all the memory stories you write. We need to do more than 'tell a story.'

“Rather than simply telling a story from her life,
the memoirist both tells the story
and muses upon it,
trying to unravel what it means
in the light of her current knowledge. . . .
The contemporary memoir includes retrospection
as an essential part of the story.
Your reader [is] interested in how you now,
looking back on it,
understand it.”
(Judith Barrington, Writing Memoir)

The photo above reminded me of a story I wrote some time ago about getting the Christmas tree during my childhood years in a suburb of Chicago. Totally different than what the picture depicts. Maybe it will give you some ideas to write your own Christmas memory story.

Finding The Right Christmas Tree
By Nancy Julien Kopp

 In the 1940s, we city folk didn’t cut down a tree in the fields but kept our own tradition. On a cold December evening, Dad announced that it was time to find a Christmas tree. My two younger brothers and I grabbed heavy coats, hats, gloves and snow boots, and flew down three flights of stairs to our 1939 Plymouth. Our excitement bubbled over in giggles and hoots.

The corner lot Dad drove to, normally empty, now held dozens of evergreen trees. The pines and firs seemed to have appeared magically, lined up like the toy soldiers my brothers played with.  A wire had been strung around the lot and bare light bulbs attached. There was plenty of light to allow buyers see the assortment of trees that would decorate the homes in our neighborhood.
.
The proprietors, who were also hunters, had erected a wooden teepee-like frame in a prominent corner to display two dead deer and a black bear. They were hung from hooks and occasionally swayed when the wind gusted.

My brothers and I marched round and round the frozen animals.

“Go ahead, touch it,” Howard dared.
   
My hand reached within inches of the thick, matted fur of the bear, but I quickly drew it back. “You first,” I challenged, but Howard only circled the animals, hands behind him.

Meanwhile, Dad walked the rows of trees, pulling a few upright, shaking the snow off.

He called to us and we crunched across the snow-packed ground.

 Dad held a tree upright. “No,” we chorused. “It’s not big enough.”

We followed Dad and thumbed our noses at several other trees. “Not big enough,” we repeated, stamping cold feet to warm them.

The owner ambled over, so bundled up he looked kin to the dead bear. He kept a cigar clamped in his teeth and wore gloves with the fingers cut off, so he could peel off dollar bills from the stack he carried to make change.

Dad shook the man’s hand and said, “OK, let’s see the good trees now.”

The burly man moved the cigar from one side of his mouth to the other, rolled his eyes and finally gestured for us to follow him.

We scooted across the pine-scented lot to a brick building. The man opened a door, and we tromped single-file down a long flight of concrete steps.

Even more trees leaned against the walls. Dad pulled out one after the other until he found a tree that we three children deemed “big enough.”

Silence now, as the serious part of this adventure commenced. Dad and the cigar-chomping man dickered about the price. Finally, money changed hands, and Dad hoisted the tree. We jostled one another up the steps to be closer to the green treasure.

Dad fastened the tree to the top of the car with the rope he’d brought. The boys and I knelt on the back seat, watching to make sure the tree didn’t slide off the roof of the car during the short drive.

Once home, Dad hauled the tree up three flights of stairs to our apartment and put it on our small outdoor balcony. We’d wait until close to Christmas to bring it in and decorate the branches. Several times a day, I peered through the glass door to check that no one had stolen it. Why I thought someone would climb to the third-floor balcony to steal our tree is a wonder.

Days later, Dad carried the tree inside and tried to put it in the stand, but it was no use. The tree was too tall. It should have been no surprise, as it happened every year. He always caved to our chorus of “not big enough.” Dad found his favorite saw and cut several inches off the tree trunk. When he put it in the stand, the tree rose like a flagpole, straight and tall, nearly touching the ceiling. There was a collective “Ahhh” from the entire family.

Dad hummed a Christmas tune as he strung the many-colored lights, then Mother helped us hang sparkly ornaments, and we finished with strand upon strand of silver tinsel, being warned to place it strand by strand. “No throwing it at the tree,” Mom said. Near the finish line, we did throw that tinsel when Mom went to the kitchen. It was great fun to toss it and see how high we could throw.

Finally, Dad climbed a step-stool and placed the last piece on the top. What joy to see our special angel with the pink satin dress and golden wings. The tree was so tall that her blonde hair skimmed the ceiling. I visited her every day while the tree was up. There were days when it seemed she smiled at me. Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without her.

That sweet angel got lost somewhere over the years. Most likely, she’d become tattered and torn, and Mother discarded her long after we children had grown and left home.

Finding the right tree and decorating it each year was one more link in the chain of family bonding. My brothers and I were gifted with the treasure of the memories of that holiday tradition.

Now, my husband brings our tree upstairs from a basement storage closet. Artificial, always the same height, never needs to be made shorter. It’s easier, but I miss those cold, snowy excursions to the tree lot with my brothers. I still put an angel on top of the tree. She’s nice but not quite the same as the one with the pink dress and golden wings. Not once has she smiled at me.

Why Bother With Writing Exercises?

Exercise for the Body

We all know exercise is good for the body. It helps muscle tone, keeps fat from taking over, and increases your stamina. It also makes you feel energized. 

I'm sure there are many writers who exercise several days a week, if not every day. Writer A says he wouldn't miss his morning jog for anything. Writer B says she never misses her three days a week yoga class. Writer C swims laps five days a week.

Do Writers A, B, and C go home and do a writing exercise? Or do they start in on whatever writing project they're working on or are about to begin? Writer A says he doesn't need those basic writing exercises. He's been writing for 20 years. Writer B throws her hands up and says she doesn't have extra time to do writing exercises. Writer C says she sees no reason to spend time doing silly writing exercises. 

All three of those writers pay attention to exercising their bodies, but do they exercise their writing self? Do they work out their writing muscles? What can writing exercises do for them? 

Writing exercises do a lot for those who practice them:

• They warm up a writer for some serious writing later.
• They stir up memories that we can write about some other time.
• They make us think along different lines.
• They flex our brains rather than our limbs.
• They open doorways to new writing topics.
• They make you think.
• They let you use your subconscious.

A ten-minute freewrite from a random word prompt is a great warm-up exercise. It also reaches deep into the recesses of your mind as you type nonstop, no thinking, letting the words flow for the full ten minutes. You may end up with gibberish, but you could find something new to write about. Many Random Word freewrite exercises in my online critique group have been the basis for a fiction story or a personal essay or a short memoir piece. Open a book, let your finger land on a word and begin your ten minutes.

Practicing dialogue is a great writing exercise. Pick a situation and hold a conversation between two or more people. Pay attention to things like making the conversation sound normal, not stilted or too formal. Use tags without adding adverbs. Let your dialogue say it all. Practice writing dialogue for a short time now and then, so that it will become an easy task when you're writing a story.

Write about color without naming the color. This is a great exercise in using descriptive phrases. Try a paragraph for each of several colors. 

Write a paragraph filled with cliches. Then rewrite it changing the cliches to something original. It's so easy to use a cliche, but do it often and you become a lazy writer. This exercise can make you more aware of cliches so you're less likely to use them in your writing.

Write a paragraph with 5-word sentences. It's boring. Now rewrite it varying the sentence length. You'll have a far more interesting piece of writing.

Write about a childhood memory for ten or 15 minutes. Use all the writing skills you have perfected to make the memory interesting; add a sense of place, your feelings, and whatever else will make the memory come alive.

There are many more writing exercises. Use a search engine to find more. Start your writing each day with one short exercise. It's only ten minutes out of your writing time, and as time goes on, you'll reap the benefits.

I'm an advocate of toning your body, but I also urge writers to exercise their mind and writing skills.

When An Editor Asks For Revisions

If we're honest with ourselves, the quote above should hit home with a resounding whack. When we submit our work with the great hope of being published, we have high hopes that the editor will do two things. A. Tell us how much he/she likes our submission. B. Will publish with no editing whatsoever.

That might happen in a perfect world, but we know that for every step forward we take in our writing life, it feels as if we slipped back two steps.

The big deal here is how much you want to be published. You felt like you submitted a near-perfect piece of writing. It should be because you worked on it over and over again until you felt satisfied. Then you sent it to a publication. When it came back with a Yes, we'd like to publish this if you do this and this and this...

Do you want to go back to square one and redo the piece? Your first reaction is a resounding no. Then, your realistic self admits that you can do the edits requested. If you do it to the editor's satisfaction, you'll have one more published piece to add to your portfolio.

If you receive a message from an editor asking you to rework parts of what you submitted, I recommend that you take a little time to do some pondering. Don't dive right in and cut and add. Read your submission carefully, trying to be as objective as possible. Ask a writer friend to read it, too. Or send it to your writing critique group for suggestions. They'll most likely see more objectively than you.

If you want to be published, it's worth the extra effort and slight bit of agony to do the revisions as requested. If you submit future work to the same place, the editor will remember that you were willing to go that extra mile. 

Strong Writing Uses Active Verbs

For most of us, our first draft will be filled with 'to be' or passive verbs. Verbs that are weak and do nothing more than serving as a line between nouns and other parts of speech. You know the ones--is, are, were, will be, was. They have no energy, no power, no pizzazz.

Author, Gary Provost wrote a small book called 100 Ways To Improve Your Writing. I recently purchased it and am finding it a worthwhile read and reference book. The guide was originally published in 1972, but this is an updated 2019 version. His section on using strong verbs is short and to the point. It's quite inexpensive.

 A couple of quotes from Gary Provost regarding action verbs: "Verbs, words of action, are the primary source of energy in your sentences." He goes on to state that verbs are the ones in charge of the sentence. He continues with "If you choose strong verbs, and choose them wisely, they will work harder for you than any other part of speech."

Action verbs give a sentence energy, even excitement. They will also reduce the number of adverbs you use. We're always being told to ditch the adverbs. If you use strong verbs, you can do that with no problem.

If you use a verb like walk or look, you might feel as if you're scratching that 'to be' form for a better verb. It is better, but it isn't good. We consider it a weak verb. Turn walk into stroll, pace, lope,. For look, you might use words like peek, gaze, stare, peer. Here's where your thesaurus can be of help. Look up those weak verbs to find a better, stronger one.

Action verbs bring an immediate mental image to the reader. Those 'to be' forms do not. Mr. Provost gives an example of two paragraphs from one of his novels. One was from his first draft, while the other is from the published book. There is a world of difference in the two. I am quite certain that you and I use far too many of the 'to be' form of verbs in our first drafts. You don't want to let them float right on to your finished piece.

I write using Word, and in the far right-hand corner, at the top bar, there is the word Find. Click on it, then enter the word you want to check, such as was. Lke magic, every was in what you've written will show up in color. It can be a very rude awakening to see dozens of them throughout. You know that your next job is to replace as many as possible with strong action verbs. Other programs will have something similar.

There is no way to get away from ever using an is, was, were. They have a place, but you don't want them to take over your story or essay and make the entire thing passive. Use them, but do so only occasionally. 

Be Specific When You Write

Be specific when you write. Don't tell your reader There was a box on the table. That's so general that the reader has no idea if the author meant a wooden box, a metal box, or a cardboard box. The reader doesn't get any sense of the size of the box, nor what it looked like.

If you write A small box rested on the table. Its deep purple color and the silver ribbon wrapped around it made me stop. 

In the example above, the writer specified the size, the color, that it was wrapped in ribbon like a gift. Isn't that far better than merely stating that there was a box on the table? 

What if I said A woman waited at the counter. You have no idea what that woman looks like. But if I said, A nun waited at the counter. you have an immediate mental image. I could go farther and say A rotund nun waited at the counter. Now, that mental image is more clear. 

If I wrote People stared at the animal on the corner, you'd have no idea if it was big or small, tame or wild, what kind of animal. Nothing except it was an 'animal.' A clearer mental image would be brought if I wrote People stared at the spotted Dalmatian on the corner.

Being more specific in your writing is a small thing, but it can bring your writing to life and help your readers see what you have already seen in your own mind. Be careful not to overdo and add a barrage of adjectives to help the reader see even better. Too many adjectives tend to cover up the noun itself. Adjectives are extremely helpful in small doses. 

What Do We Want From a First Draft?

The poster above is a fine reminder to us that we must remember that we are just beginning when we write the first draft. It's much later that the polished, finished product will appear. In-between, there will be a lot of hard work and frustration as we use that sand we first shoveled into a box to build a completed castle. 

Yes, the first draft is meant for you and no one else. It's the place where you gather all those thoughts that have been swirling in your head and try to make sense of them with the printed word. Words will be cut and more added. Paragraphs will be changed around after you finish telling yourself the story in that all-important first draft. Where would you be without it? You need show it to no one. It's all yours to do with what you will. Some writers file the first draft away to let it simmer before they work on it again. Some will pound away on it for days. Your choice.

If I ever wrote a first draft that was perfect, I'd probably pass out from sheer shock. All I want in a first draft is to get the story down, write the bones of the personal essay, hit the highlights of a short memoir piece. Or get the main idea of a poem that I can flesh out later. 

First drafts are a beginning. No less. No more. Use them later as a springboard to the finished product. 

Ever Been A Beta Reader?

Last week, I was a beta reader for a friend who has written a book for writers who want to write stories from family history. For those who are unaware, a beta reader is a friend, or a small group of friends, who read a manuscript before it goes to press. 

Their job is to catch mechanical errors like a space needed between words, punctuation and spelling errors. They also watch for clarity. If it's fiction, they try to see if the plot is being followed, if there is information overload and more.

My friend felt her book was quite ready to go to press. She had a handful of beta readers who made her realize there was more work to be done. Almost all the things marked were mechanical errors, a typo here and there, spaces missing between words, a comma needed. Easy enough to fix. The author definitely wanted to have all those small bits and pieces corrected before her manuscript turned into a book. 

Unlike proofreaders and copy editors, a beta reader is not paid. They agree to do the job as a friend. Hopefully, someday the original author can return the favor. 

I had a note from the author this morning thanking me for my help. She said she was astounded at how many little things were found by the beta readers. She had, I'm sure, gone through the manuscript on her own numerous times. Why didn't she see those errors?

Other readers can go through a manuscript with completely objective eyes. This is one reason to join a critique group. Someone else will see many things in your work that you do not, whether mechanical or plot line or clarity and more. If you use beta readers, keep the size of the group relatively small. You'll get opinions from 4 or 5 that you can deal with. Try for 20, and you'll be overwhelmed. 

You're probably thinking that beta readers, or critiquers, are needed for books but not for short pieces. Think again. It's also important for shorter works like personal essays, short stories, even poetry.

Does that absolve you of proofreading your own work? Certainly not. Do your own proofreading and editing a few times before you ask for other eyes on your work. Take the help given in that very sense--that it is 'help' not criticism. 

If you're asked to be a beta reader, accept the request. It's good practice for your own proofreading, and you get to read a book before anyone else. You're also helping a friend. The only disadvantage might be that it takes away from your own writing time, but I think the benefit outweighs that.

Write About November Memories

The ability to remember the past is one of the greatest gifts we have been given. As writers, we make good use of our memories. Memoirs are in vogue today as writer after writer explores their past hoping to see it better themselves and to share with others. 

Personal essays lend themselves to creating a story with a universal truth using your memories. 

We also use memories to write fiction. Many children's books are based on the author's own childhood memories. Things that occurred in the past can be used in adult fiction, as well. If we've experienced something, we can write with conviction. We incorporate our own experiences into the made-up stories we write. 

Poets certainly use memories as they pen their short or lengthy poems. 

I think an excellent writing exercise is to write about your growing-up years each month of the year. We're in the early days of November so try a free write about what your life was like in November. D

Questions below might be of some help in writing about November:

• What was the weather like where you lived?
• How did your wardrobe change?
• What did you see in the grocery stores?
• What kinds of foods did your mother make?
• What holiday plans did you make?
• What did you study in school?
• Did your town have a Veteran's Day Parade?
• What sports did you watch or play?
• Did you celebrate Thanksgiving? How? 
• What chores did you have?

Below is a memory piece I wrote a few years ago about November in Chicago when I grew up in the 1940's and '50's. I've posted it here in the past, but it's a good example of what you can write about for this 11th month of the year. Write one of your own to add to your Family Stories book. What a great addition it would be to have a memory sheet for each month.

November In Chicago

The crisp, sunny days of October somehow slid into damp, gray ones during November in the Chicago area where I grew up. The sun played hide-and-seek in the late autumn and winter months, mostly hiding. Wind swept across Lake Michigan, bringing a chill that seeped through warm, woolen jackets and into the bones. Fallen leaves swirled around our feet with each new gust and naked branches dipped and swayed like ballerinas. We walked faster on our way to and from school. Once home, Mother often commented that we had roses in our cheeks, nice way to describe chapped skin. We paid little mind to our rosy cheeks once inside our warm apartment. 

Each of the five rooms had a large radiator with an on-off knob on the side, and a deep, narrow pan for water that hooked over the back to increase humidity. We had steam heat, fired by a huge coal furnace in a garden level basement. The coal man inserted a chute  from his truck into a window. He sent the coal rumbling down the chute while several kids gathered around. The apartment janitor stood at the delivery end of the chute in the basement. Once this scary looking, coal-blackened man finished, the kids ran to the basement door to witness the next step in bringing heat to all our apartments. The janitor, grabbed a big shovel and fed the furnace from that huge heap. He let us watch for a few minutes, then snarled at us. “Get out of here now. No place for you kids.” His fierce look sent us scattering. During a coal strike, we wore coats and hats inside, waiting for the hissing sounds of heat coming through the radiators.

We celebrated Armistice Day every November 11th, commemorating the armistice signed to end WWI at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, 1918. Even after WWII, Armistice Day remained as November 11th. Now, we call it Veterans Day and it’s celebrated the second Monday of November. There are still parades and meals to mark the day but I like the original date best.

At school, we studied the Pilgrims first Thanksgiving—history and art class rolled into one. Some classes had replica feasts.

My Thanksgiving menu now remains the same as when my mother or aunts prepared the dinner—turkey roasted to a golden brown and stuffed with a moist dressing redolent with sage. Aunt Adeline made French dressing, a spicy sausage added to it. We savored mashed potatoes and rich gravy, sweet potato casserole, homemade yeast rolls, cranberry sauce, a salad called Seafoam made with lime jello, cream cheese, mashed pears and whipped cream. Our vegetables were usually green beans. Pumpkin pie with real whipped cream finished the feast. 

We alternated hosting the dinner with my dad’s two sisters who lived near us. My five cousins, three brothers and I had a wonderful time together, despite the wide range of ages. After dinner, we were shooed outside to play, even when it was very cold. I suspect the adults sat around and drank more coffee, nibbled on the leftovers and did all they could to put off the dish washing time.

No dishwashers, so all the women cleared the table, washed and dried the dishes with towels made from flour sacks. When my female cousins and I got older, we were drafted  to help. Chattering women and clattering dishes, that’s what was heard in the kitchen after dinner. The men plunked themselves in comfy chairs and listened to the radio and often napped.

 Once married, I thought about asking my extended family to our house for Thanksgiving. I hesitated for fear of upsetting my mother who had cooked countless Thanksgiving turkeys. My aunts had passed away, so Mom was always the hostess. One year, I worked up the courage to suggest it, and Mom threw her hands skyward and said, “Finally! I’ve been waiting for someone to invite me for Thanksgiving for years.” 

Now, my children sometimes make the trip to Kansas for Thanksgiving. We use a few shortcuts and we load the dishwasher instead of drying dishes with flour sack towels, but the grandchildren revel in being with cousins just as I did all those years ago. The faces around the table may be different, but the same warmth of a family gathering to give thanks and spend time together is there. May it ever be so.

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Your Muse Or a Fairy Godmother?

My Muse

This is an updated version of a former post.

In a perfect world, we would all have a Fairy Godmother to grant our every wish. Cinderella might have had a manuscript ready to go in the top drawer of her dresser, but who was going to help her get it published? Of course--her Fairy Godmother. Forget the pumpkin turned into a coach. Serious things are going on here. 

Where is our Fairy Godmother when we need help in our writing journey? And where the heck does our muse run off to now and then? Look all over and she's not to be found. It seems to happen when
you need her most. When you're floundering in the idea tank and worried to a frazzle or worse.

You have an idea for a story but can't seem to sit down and start typing. You need your muse sitting on your shoulder, patting you and smiling as she whispers Keep going, honey, you're doing fine. That little muse is a writer's best friend and worst enemy all rolled into one sugar cake.

Some days she's smiling. Others she sits in the corner pouting. She can be loving. She can be mean. She can be helpful. She can be a major detriment. Face it--her mood usually mirrors yours.

Where did this muse thing get started? Go back to Greek Mythology to find these inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. Today, it's any person who inspires a musician, artist or writer. Real or pretend?

Kids often have imaginary playmates but who's to say if they are a figment of the imagination or very real? Kids believe in them, talk to them, take them along to the playground, even blame their own naughtiness on them at times. So, why can't writers have a muse, imaginary or real, to basically do the same thing?  If we believe in them, it's between us and our muse. Nobody else! We sure aren't going to share her with another writer. Let 'em get their own muse. Right? Notice that mine is purple, just like any good K-State fan would want to have.

A writer friend says she has lost her muse so she stopped writing for several weeks. That's too long for someone as talented as she is. She says she's looked everywhere for her muse but the darned girl keeps playing hide and seek. She pops in for a minute or two and then disappears again. My friend has decided to start writing again and let her muse decide if she wants to come along for the ride or not. I was glad to hear it. I think her muse will show up once my friend begins her next project.

How about you? Are you on good terms with your muse? Does she inspire you sometimes and then play the tease? Or is she always happy and helpful? If you have one like that, be glad, very glad. I get along pretty well with my muse most of the time. Now and then, she becomes a bit irritable and pouty. Then, I have to take a step back and wait until she's in a better mood before I start a new writing project.

We may not have a Fairy Godmother that will wave her wand and produce a book contract for us but we do each have our very own muse who can help us achieve our writing goals. Maybe it's a book contract and perhaps it's writing for a magazine. It doesn't matter as long as she's there to inspire us.

The Bountiful Fruits of Writing

The Bountiful Fruits of November

 As always, when I turn the calendar page to a new month, I had a little feeling of starting over and wondering what the month would bring. It certainly affords us the fall fruits and vegetables pictured above to grace our Thanksgiving tables. 

What kind of bountiful fruits could November bring to writers? Wouldn't we all like to add a published piece to our resume? Or get an encouraging note from an editor? Or write something that we are excited about? 

The answer to all the questions above is a resounding Yes! How are we to achieve a yes to any of the questions? There are ways to do so. We must use our writing time wisely. We need to give our all in whatever writing project we're working on. We need to submit our work, not let it gather dust in a file.

We need to act on the story ideas that pop into our minds at the craziest moments of the day. Thinking about them doesn't get the writing done. Of course, we can't always stop what we're doing, rush to the computer and start pounding the keyboard. But, we can jot down notes to use as reminders when we do have the time to write. If you're like me, you've had many story ideas that never came to fruition. Maybe for lack of time, or perhaps the idea didn't seem so good after you thought about it for a while. We don't want those ideas to fade away because we didn't them the attention required.

We need to plan ahead. It's hard to get in the mood to write an Easter or Passover story in early November, but that is when it needs to be written and submitted, possibly even earlier. Who wants to write a Christmas story in May or June? You could wait until the actual holiday arrives and let the excitement and trappings inspire you. Then, hold the story until six months later to submit for the following year. 

The next couple of months are busy ones with holiday preparations about to become reality. We'll need to plan writing time carefully. You don't want to push it aside for a full two months. Work out a schedule so that you continue writing at least some part of the day. 

Work on all the things mentioned, and you could be reaping the bountiful fruits of your writing.