Today is Put a Poem in Your Pocket Day

 

This is Put a Poem in Your Pocket Day. It is a time to turn to your favorite poets and to share poetry that you enjoy. I have selected a poem called "Winter Stars" by Sara Teasdale as my pick for this national celebration of poetry. Sara Teasdale was born in 1884 and died in 1933. 

Her poem is one of sorrow, but also of natural beauty and the peace it can bring to us. Pick a poem you like and read it today, then share with others. 

Winter Stars

I went out at night alone;

  The young blood flowing beyond the sea

Seemed to have drenched my spirit’s wings—

  I bore my sorrow heavily.

But when I lifted up my head

  From shadows shaken on the snow,

I saw Orion in the east

  Burn steadily as long ago.

From windows in my father’s house,

  Dreaming my dreams on winter nights,

I watched Orion as a girl

  Above another city’s lights.

Years go, dreams go, and youth goes too,

   The world’s heart breaks beneath its wars,

All things are changed, save in the east

  The faithful beauty of the stars.

---Sara Teasdale

Musing On Poetry

 

Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson--Poets of Yesteryear

April is National Poetry Month, and I've been a bit remiss in not mentioning it until now. Tomorrow is National Put a Poem in Your Pocket Day. Every year, we hear people moan and groan about poetry. I've heard comments like Not for me! Who reads poetry? And why? I just don't get poetry. Too highbrow for me. High School made me dislike poetry--all that memorizing!

A lot more people would enjoy poetry if they gave it a chance. If they would read it without a preconceived notion that they are not going to like it. Will you like every poem you read? Of course not. You don't like every story or essay you read. Certain parts of all writing appeals to us, or it doesn't. Please don't make a statement saying you don't like poetry until you do a little exploration and give it a chance. 

The Huh? Factor:  There are poems that make sense only to the poet. When we were in high school, we were required to read a certain amount of poetry and tear it apart bit by bit until we understood what the poet was telling us. It didn't always work, did it? I remember reading a poetry assignment, deciding what it was about, and then having the teacher go a completely opposite direction the next day. Many times.

Over the years, I grew to like reading and writing poetry as did many others. There is beauty in the words. In the thoughts of a poet. In the poems that have become beloved over many years. Poets like the two shown here today will be remembered for the poems they wrote that appealed to readers. They, and other poets, wrote about nature and love and sorrow and so many more areas of life. 

What kind of poetry do you like? Sonnets, Asian forms, rhyming, narrative, free verse, acrostic, or some other? There are complicated forms and very simple ones. I've never had any training in writing poetry so I stay with the simple kinds. I can write free verse, a rhyming poem, a narrative, but that's about it for me. I know poets who write all kinds of more complicated forms. Know and also admire them.

My state writing organization sponsors an annual writing contest in Prose and Poetry. The Poetry category has several subsections to enter. There are many poetry contests which can be found using your favorite search engine online. 

Some poets write in hopes of publication, preferably paid publication, while others write poetry only for themselves and perhaps a small group of family and friends. Either way is fine. It's your choice. 

Before you write poetry, read it. Read a lot of it. Don't read only the famous poets, but also lesser known names. I could list several here whose names I know because I have read their work, but you may never have heard of them. Search for poetry collections in bookstores and at your local library. When you read a poetry collection, it is not necessary to read cover to cover all at once. Read it that way if you like, opr read in bits and pieces. Go back and read the ones that appeal the most to you.

That brings me to another thought. Reading a poem once and moving on doesn't allow you to absorb the message or the beauty or the thought behind the poem. Read a poem several times. The more you read, the more you see, the more you understand, and maybe the more you like it. 

If you're not familiar with the two poets I have named here today. Do a little research on each one, and read some of their poetry. Then try to find the works of more modern poets like Maya Angelou or Amanda Gorman, the young poet who read her work at our last presidential inauguration. 

Put a little poetry in your life. Poetry is feelings put into words. Read it. Write it. Enjoy it.Tomorrow, you might even want to put a poem in your pocket along with myriad numbers of people.

A Photo Prompt Exercise for Writers

The photos today were taken several years ago when we were in South Aftic at a game reserve. Use them today to do a Photo Prompt Exercise. 

Choose one or both, since they are related. Take some time to study the photos before you begin writing. Note any details in the scenes. Then write whatever the photo(s) bring to mind. 

Use your powers of description. Create the beginnings of a story. Write a poem. Write a nonfiction piece sharing whatever knowledge you have of these two wild African animals. 

Use this exercise as a warm-up to whatever writing you plan to do today. 
 

Stringing Pearls as You Write

 Today's post is a repeat, one that I wrote quite a few years ago but is still relevant today, especially when writing your family stories.

We do not remember days,

we remember moments

I read the quote above at the bottom of a Happy New Year greeting I once received. It fit perfectly with the topic I'd selected for today's post. I wish that the person who wrote this quote had been named. Sadly, it is anonymous.

We do remember the special moments in our lives with a clarity that I find amazing. I've had special moments that have stayed with me for the many decades I've walked this earth, and it's been those moments that have created memoir stories that seem to be perfect for many anthologies.

Each one of those special moments is like a pearl, and as writers, we can string them together to create a memoir of our lives. The individual moments shine in our memory bank like the pearls on a necklace. They gleam and step forth clearly so we can write about them.

One of my favorite pearls is a story I wrote for a Chicken Soup Tea Lovers book. My grandmother and I had afternoon tea at the famous Walnut Room at Marshall Field's department store in Chicago when I was four years old. Only a young child, I still remember it as clearly as if it happened yesterday. Because the memory remained vividly in my mind, I found I could recreate the event well enough to have the story published.

Another is a story about a valentine box my dad made for me during my second-grade year. I believe I remember it so well because a revelation hit me while Dad and I spent time together making the box.

Yet a third special moment memory that produced a publishable story is about the first time I had surgery. I was four and staying in the hospital proved frightening until a beautiful and compassionate nurse eased the experience for me. She set me on a path of service to others for the rest of my life.

The events that impressed us the most are the ones we remember as though they happened only yesterday, not years ago. Those moments are the individual pearls that we string together.

When an event occurs in our life that has some importance in shaping our character or signifies love and family, the memory becomes more important than the mundane things in our days. The memories are stored until we pluck them out and add one more pearl to our life's necklace. All it takes is a little trigger to bring the memory forth. Once it's there, it's up to you to write the story.

  

When Our Writing Is Not Perfection

 

Have you ever come up with an idea for a story, got excited about it, thought about it, and then tried to write it but it didn't come out the way you'd hoped? Or, did you ever have an idea for a personal essay, something that would resonate with readers, written draft upon draft, then finally gave up because it all seemed wishy-washy? Maybe you had a couple lines of a new poem doing somersaults in your head, so you finally started writing, and it sounded kind of sappy, not the brilliant piece you'd created in your mind. 

If you've worked on a writing project over and over, draft upon draft, and it still doesn't have any pizzazz, it's alright to let it go. If you've made the supreme effort, but you're not satisfied, it's perfectly permissible to put it in a file and forget it. Maybe you can pull it up next year or five years from now, and it will work better. Or maybe the piece will stay in the file forever. That's ok. There is no law that says a writer MUST complete a writing project.

When it doesn't feel right, doesn't work, why let it make you a prisoner? Instead, move on to something new. 

I had an idea for a personal essay that I thought would be a winner. Turned out it was a real dud. My online critique group found myriad problems when I submitted it for critique. They were kind enough not to tell me it was a piece of junk, but after reading all the remarks, I figured that out for myself. I still thought my original idea was a good one, but it obviously didn't come across that way in the end. So, rather than make myself miserable or become a prisoner to something I couldn't change, as today's poster tells us, I slipped it into a file. It still rests there today and probably will do so forever. 

An experience like the one I mentioned above is alright. It doesn't mean I'll never write something good again. It merely means that this idea didn't work out like I'd hoped. 

There  is nothing in the writer's bible that says we can't junk a piece if it doesn't work out. There's no prison sentence given for unfinished projects. 

Instead, we are free to develop a different idea for another story, essay, or poem. Not only free, but encouraged to do so. 

Have you ever noticed that some writers have a bestseller book for their first publication, but never quite come up to the same level of storytelling again? That second book doesn't sell the number of copies that the first one did. In fact, it could be classified as a major literary disappointment. If that happens, the author should let it go. Don't dwell on what happened. Instead, they should move on to a new story. 

No one ever said that all of our writing will be brilliant, worthy of publication, or award winning. Don't dwell on that part of your writing journey. Put it behind you and move on the the next project. 

Words in a Teacup

 Today's photo shows us a cup full of delicate flowers, some that are lavender and a few white ones. The cup and saucer rest on a book with a few of the blossoms scattered over it. Only a few flowers were needed to fill that cup.

Think about the possibility of filling that cup with words? How many words would it take to fill it to the brim? What kind of words would you use? Will it be words that might be used to create a poem? Or will it be words that tell a story-flash fiction perhaps. Could you fill the delicate china cup with the words of an essay, or a memoir, or an inspirational piece? 

I think you could fill the cup with all kinds of words, words that when put together in proper order will be a work you can edit and proofread, revise and polish, and have something new to submit to a publication. 

Where will you find the words to pour into your cup? Out of thin air? Maybe. More likely, you'll bring those words from deep into your past experiences. You'll find some in your subconscious. Others will emerge from your everyday observations. 

Will you drop the words into the teacup one by one and hear them go 'plink, plink, plink?' Or will you gather enough words to slip into the cup all with one big whoosh? That depends on what kind of writer you are. Some of you work with bits and pieces while others start writing and are deep into the work in minutes.

Here are some other receptacles for your words. What would it take to fill each one?

chalice

vessel

stein

mug

demitasse

goblet 

grail

bowl

The teacup is small, so it wouldn't take too many words to fill it. Some of the others in the list are much larger. Can you pump up your writing passion to fill any of them? 

If a huge project becomes overwhelming, step back and ask yourself if you can write enough words today to fill a pretty china cup. It's doable. Then go on and fill one more cup, then another and keep right on going. Have you ever been to the home of someone who collects china cups? The display can be anywhere from a few to a great many, all in a different pattern. If you can drop words into one, you can keep right on going and fill several others.

VERY Can Be Eliminated When You Write

 

When we write, we tend to use some words on a rolling basis. We use them far too often because they pop into our minds, and we grab them. When we edit or proofread our drafts, we should look for some of these offending words and replace them or delete completely. We use them when we are lazy writers.

One of those words is VERY. We use it to emphasize something, to let readers know we are quite sure about the word it precedes. We use it when we don't want to search for a more meaningful or stronger word to replace the 'very' and the word following. 

Our poster today is a list of 'very' expressions and a better word given for each one. I'm going to repeat it here in a list for you to print and save if you are so inclined. 

very noisy                                            deafening

very often                                            frequently

very old                                               ancient

very old-fashioned                             archaic

very open                                            transparent

very painful                                         excruciating

very pale                                              ashen

very perfect                                         flawless

very pooor                                          destitute

very poertgul                                      compelling

very pretty                                          beautiful

very quick                                           rapid

very quiet                                            hushed

very rainy                                            pouring

very rich                                              wealthy

very sad                                              sorrowful

very scared                                         petrified

very scary                                           chillling

very serious                                        grave

very sharp                                           keen

very shiny                                           glistening

very short                                            brief

very shy                                              timid

very simple                                         basic

This is a very long list (try lengthy). Do you see how easily the word 'very' came to me when writing the opening sentence in this paragraph? 

For an exercise, choose a story or essay in your files and highlight the word 'very' from beginning to end. Are you surprised at how many times you used it? Or were there only a few 'very' words? If you had a lot of them, try replacing as many as possible. I think you'll find doing so creates a stronger piece of writing. 

VERY and several others come under the heading of Unnecessary Words. Some can be replaced while others can be deleted without losing any meaning in your sentence. For today, let's concentrate on this one prickly word--VERY. 

Story Ideas Abound

 

Our poster tells us that we walk past myriad story ideas every day. It's only the good writers who actually see five or six of them. Maybe the quote should have added...and write the story. Seeing the stories around us and acting upon it are two distinct things.

Only recently, I happened onto possible story ideas, or essay topics. A few of them are still swirling in my mind off and on. 

We happened to talk to a Lutheran pastor at a funeral. He was a black man who told us he had been a Muslim until 8 years ago. If only we had had time to listen to his whole story of how that came to be. But a good writer could take the bit and expand it into a piece of fiction. 

Only yesterday at lunchtime, I waited just outside a restaurant door for Ken, who was parking the car. A man in his 40s walked up, noticed me and then Ken approaching. He said, "Are you guys on a date?" I said, "We are, and it's not even Friday night." As he held the door for us, he smiled and replied, "I think that is soooo sweet." Could it be the base of a story? Of course.

Ken needed to purchase a new suit, so we went to a favorite men's store in a Kansas City suburb yesterday. The salesman was most helpful and congenial. In the space of the time it took to try on a suit, have alterations marked and ties purchased, we learned a great deal about the salesman, and, in turn, he found out a lot about the two of us. There were a few things within the conversation that could be used in writing a story. 

I visited a friend in the hospital one day last week. I stayed around 15 minutes, but what I learned about her and the reason she was hospitalized could have turned into a story. 

Tomorrow, we are having company for dinner. One of the Czech students we hosted several years ago when she studied at Kansas State University is in town for a visit. She is bringing her fiance with her. The situation itself is the basis for a story, and I'm sure there will be more in our conversation tomorrow evening. 

Make a trip to your local library, and I'm willing to bet that you'll see a story among the  others in the building, maybe even several. What you see and hear can trigger story ideas.

The key to all this is to be observant, to use your 'writer's eye.' Seeing the stories around you is not the end, however. You must turn what you saw and heard into a story, or perhaps an essay. Acting quickly is key, as memories fade with time. When you see a story, jot down the particulars in a small notebook to help you when you are ready to write. 

As an exercise today, keep track of the story possibilities you see and hear all day as you go about your usual activities. Home all day? Maybe something you see on tv will trigger a story thought. Those who are out and about have the opportunity to see many stories. 

Is Proofreading Important?

 

I cannot stress the importance of proofreading your edited and revised drafts. It's the final step before you submit to a publisher, whether a book or a short piece. I am going to be on the road today, so here is a repeat post with a bit of updated info regarding proofreading. 

Every writer knows that proofreading is important. Very few would dispute that. Just as important is the way in which you proofread. A quick glance over the piece is not going to give you the type of end product that you want--or that editors will deem acceptable. 

Editing and proofreading are companions. Do one, then the other. 

There are many parts to proofreading, lots of Do This or Don't Do This. I have listed some of those you should do below:

DO set your draft aside for a while before you begin. How long? I'd say a minimum of overnight, maybe even a few days. Don't wait 15 minutes after you write the final words of the draft and then start proofreading. Your mind is still into what you wrote in the draft; it's not ready to look for ways to improve it yet.

DO read aloud at least once in your proofreading process. Trouble spots you might pass over while reading silently will become easier to spot. Things like sentences that are too long, an overabundance of adjectives or adverbs, poor subject/verb tense, and more.

DO check punctuation. Some writers go through the entire piece checking only commas or quote marks. You'd be surprised how often writers miss putting in commas where needed or quote marks on only one end of the quote. 

DO look for repetition of words and ideas. It's all too easy to repeat as we write. It's one thing you'll catch if you read aloud.

DO look at verbs. Are there too many passive verbs? See how many you can change to be active. Active verbs always make for more interesting reading.

DO check to see that your pronouns are clear as to who or what they are referring to. I often mark this problem in the work of others that I critique. The writer knows who or what, but the reader needs to have clarity. 

DO Check each paragraph to make sure it shows a single point. Mixing more than one thought for a paragraph is confusing. Make sure that each person speaking in a dialogue begins a new paragraph, even if all they say is "Sure." 

DO a spell check and check for words that are used too often, like 'was' or 'it' or 'that' with the tools given with your word processing program.

Do check for overly-long sentences. If a sentence goes on and on, the reader will easily lose the important thought in it. 

DO check for sentence fragments. Complete sentences are what we strive for, even though an occasional fragment works in what we're writing. Only occasionally, however.

DO check verb tenses. Don't bounce them around. Be consistent.

DO show more than tell. Your piece will be far more interesting if you do this.

DO check the dialogue sections carefully. Eliminate adverbs in the tags. Check the punctuation and quote marks carefully in dialogue.

DO be consistent with capitalizations with names and specific places. I often see a story I'm critiquing that uses caps in some places and not in others for the same word.

DO look for varying lengths of sentences. Mix up the long ones with the shorter. 

The list above is not complete, but it can help in checking what you want to proofread and how. 

Should you proofread more than once? I think it would be beneficial to do it at least twice or three times with time left between proofreading sessions. If you do two sessions back to back, you're very likely to miss the same mistakes. After you edit, do a final proofread session. It's your last chance to make your submission as good as it can be.

Guest Blogger Addresses Titles

 

A BOOK BY ANY OTHER NAME

By Christina Hamlett

When it comes to book titles, my author clients tend to fall into two categories: (1) those who refuse to even start a new project until they have the perfect name for it and (2) those who are so wedded to a fledgling title they refuse to give it up even after the plot develops, matures and outgrows it.

Let’s call the first group what they really are: Procrastinators. No one is going to know the computer file name you label your project unless you tell them. Call it Unknown. Call it Opus28. Call it My Book. Just call it something and start writing in order to conquer your fear of the blank page. Before you know it, the book itself will reveal how it wants to be known. I also advise procrastinators to jot down title inspirations whenever/wherever they occur, even if they’re not currently writing something. If you’ve ever said, “Wow! That would make a great title for a book,” it likely would; you just have to wait for The Plot Muse to catch up. Make a note before it gets away.

The second group is often comprised of those who pen “passion projects”—cathartic, semi-autobiographical works masquerading as fiction. Their titles run the gamut of obscure to profound and usually have deep meaning only to the author (i.e., A Prairie in October). The belief that the title is part of their core identity as a wordsmith makes it hard for editors to tell them otherwise, much less inform readers of the book’s genre. While you can cling to that dear little title all you want, is it really one which will sell the story? Test it on your focus group. Do a survey on Facebook. Pay attention to the answers you receive. Also keep in mind that if you have to embed your word-for-word title in a line of dialogue for it to make sense, it is not a good title.

How, then, do you find a title which will be a smart match?

FILL IN THE BLANKSThere’s a reason romance novel titles all sound vaguely the same. They are often generated in-house by algorithms which follow these patterns:

The (character) and The (character)

The (character)’s (quest/conflict/secret)

To (verb) A (character)

(Character name)’s (quest/conflict/secret)

A/an (object) For (character name)

(Character name) of (setting)

To demonstrate how simple this is, your practice list of characters is comprised of the following:Buccaneer, Duke, Prince, Highwayman, Cowboy, Scullery Maid, Duchess, Witch, Princess,Adventuress. Your verb choices are: Seduce, Bewitch, Kidnap, Fool, Marry, Tease, Romance.

The quest/conflict/secret is related to reward, revenge, escape or something the character does not want to be found out. Likewise with “object.” The character name can either be the hero or villain. The setting is where the majority of the storyline transpires.

Silly as this exercise is, the results easily convey who’s in the book, what’s the conflict or quest, and where it takes place.

Algorithms are also used in online book title generators such as:

https://blog.reedsy.com/book-title-generator

https://www.imagineforest.com/blog/book-title-generator

https://www.ruggenberg.nl/titels.html

https://thestoryshack.com/tools/book-title-generator.

Granted, some of the titles they produce are on the doofy side (Death of the Winged Pygmy, Lonesome Skeletons, The Sallow Swamp) but at least they’re a starting point. Just swap out the nouns, adjectives, verbs and settings to suit your own purposes. Say it out loud to ensure it sounds euphonious. The suggestions on these websites are all free for the taking but although titles are not subject to copyright, be sure to check whether an exact title you like hasn’t already been grabbed by someone else.

KEEP IT SHORT

Readers may totally love your epic tale of Lady Lillian and How She Rose From DismalObscurity in Post-War Belgium to Become Queen of the Chocolate Cartel, but do you really think they’re going to remember all of that the next day at the water cooler when someone asks them if they’ve read any good novels lately? A good rule to remember is that if your title were displayed on a freeway billboard, people should be able to recall what it said after only one glance and going 65 miles an hour.

BUT HOW DO YOU SAY IT?

Choose a title that’s easy to pronounce for regular workaday people. If they have no idea how to pronounce Ghffellyweedwikin's Fllrppschwig, they’re not likely to buy it. I also urge authors touse caution in choosing a title which may look fine in print but could be misconstrued if spoken out loud. A case in point was when the editor of my romantic suspense novels decided to change one of my titles to Knight Dreams. Do you really think anyone is going to go up to a bookstore clerk and ask, “Do you have…?” Had she gone into science fiction, I can only imagine what she’d do for a title if an author wrote about Uranus.

SUBTITLES

Fiction editors typically frown on subtitles, the exception being if a subtitle is deemed necessary to clarify a book’s genre. To return to the earlier example of A Prairie in October, the following subtitles would actually be useful: A Trixie Codswaddle Mystery; Two Dogs on a Journey Home; Her May-December Romance.

NONFICTION

There’s more latitude for creativity and even a little ambiguity in fiction titles. Not so with works of nonfiction. Readers want to know exactly what they’re getting into; specifically, what are they going to learn, what problems will be addressed, and how will the content add to their knowledge base. Accordingly, many nonfiction titles embrace the five journalistic Ws: Who, What, Where, When and Why.

Who Can I Trust With My Heart?

What Happened to Roanoke Island’s Lost Colony?

Where Are the Best Places to Retire?

When Will the Workplace Return to Normal?

Why Am I Always So Tired?

These Ws also lend themselves to subtitles if, for instance, you wanted to respectively title theabove examples: Limited Engagements, Aliens Among Them, Life in the Slow Lane, I Miss My Cubicle, and ZZZZZZZZZZZs.

Numbers are likewise effective sellers for nonfiction works, especially those in self- help/educational categories; i.e., 101 Plots for Stage, Page and Cinema, 50 Ways To Ace Your Next Job Interview, 6 Months to a Debt-Free Life.

**********

Former actress and director Christina Hamlett is an award-winning author whose credits to date include 44 books, 261 stage plays and squillions of articles. She is also a script consultant for stage and screen and a professional ghostwriter. www.authorhamlett.com.

Today's Featured Writer: Wanda Bates

Wanda Bates

I have decided to feature a writer I admire on an occasional basis. Today will be the first of this series. The writer I have selected to feature today passed away several years ago, but she remains in my memories and my admiration has never waned. I wrote this tribute while Wanda was still living. 

Wanda: A Most Admired Friend

Last August, an e-mail from Wanda Bates startled me. “I have a surprise for you” She went on to describe her sudden move to a local nursing home. “I know this is what is best for me now,” she wrote.

My first reaction was shock, then sorrow, for I’d admired her independence and knew she was comfortable in her own home, but I was thankful she adjusted to the change so well. I resolved to go visit my friend soon. 

Wanda ranks high on my list of greatly admired people. I am a better person for having known her, have benefited from observing her positive attitude, and I appreciate her wit and humor. I also am a fan of her writing abilities.

She is small and frail, but her mind is clear and sharp at age ninety-three.  Wanda’s move to the nursing home happened jackrabbit fast, or so it seemed to her, when family members and a hospital social worker put the plan into action after a flare-up of a chronic condition. Wanda knew she couldn’t manage on her own at home at the time, so she agreed.

We met through a common interest—writing, and, despite a difference of twenty-four years in our ages, our friendship grew over the years as we e-mailed one another often. Even in her senior years, Wanda continued to write and post some of her work on at OurEcho.com, a website that specializes in family memories. (no longer in existence) She sold a few of her essays to another website, and continues to be amazed that someone would pay for her work. Wanda has written an enlightening nine part series that details her life living in a “teacherage” in Iowa for three years in the 1930’s and also a three part series called “Wars and Rumors of Wars.”  The two of us were featured in a newspaper article about writing family memories. Her essay titled “On Being Ninety,” filled with insight and subtle humor, remains one of my favorites.

When Wanda read her work to the writing group we both belonged to, I always paid close attention for her words were simple, but strong. No flowery, overdone work. 

On my first visit to the nursing home, Wanda looked pale and weak, and my concern was great as I drove home after our short visit. It’s not easy to drive while wiping away tears. 

But the next week when I returned to visit Wanda again, her room was empty, the bed neatly made. My heart did a little flip-flop. Where was she?  I looked into the dayroom and didn’t see her, then moved on to a sunroom and there was Wanda, sitting in her wheelchair typing away at a computer. She looked so much better that I breathed an inward sigh of relief. 

She told me the physical therapists were working hard to help her gain enough strength to walk again, and I could see that she had the same goal as they did. “They gave me a test today,” she said. “I had to tell them things like who was president of the United States.” She pulled a long face and said, “I guess I passed.” We both laughed since she could probably answer more of the questions than the person administering the test.

We e-mail in-between my visits. She says she thinks she must still be around to be a guinea pig for the student nurses who come in to take vital signs. And she thinks living at the nursing home is best for her now, that they fill all her needs. Visits from family and friends break up some of her days. She continues to send e-mail messages and to read stories at several websites. ”I’m thinking about getting a laptop to have in my room,” she told me. “Then I won’t tie up the computer in the sunroom.” My first thought was that she could then continue to write essays and poetry, and that pleased me.

The other day we’d had a nice visit, and as I prepared to leave, Wanda thanked me for coming to see her. “You’re a good friend,” she said with a tiny sparkle in her eye and a sweet smile. It’s easy to be a friend to someone like Wanda.  

I am always encouraged after I visit Wanda. She is living proof that a writer doesn't have to give up writing as age creeps up. I know now that I can keep writing as long as my mind is alright and my desire to write still strong. Throw in a continued sense of humor like she has, and it's easy to see why Wanda is still writing at almost-ninety-five.

Sadly, the website where much of Wanda's essays were published is no longer available. I learned a lot by reading what Wanda wrote, not only the history involved, but her thoughts on life and people. Great insight and wisdom from this special woman.

If the day comes that I must enter a nursing home, I hope I will remember Wanda’s attitude and face a new living arrangement with the same acceptance and gratefulness. She’s been a beacon of light for me and, I suspect, for many others. But for now, I will continue to be thankful for this special friend. 

 

Write Your Easter Memories

 

Easter weekend is drawing near. Do you have a family story that revolves around Easter? Below you will find some questions that might trigger some memories.

A.  Are Easter celebrations different today than when you were growing up? 

B.  Did you have a family Easter Egg Hunt?

C.  Was your Easter Egg Hunt indoors or outside?

D.  Did your community sponsor an outdoor Easter Egg Hunt?

E.  Did your family go to church on Easter Sunday?

F.  What kind of clothes did you wear on Easter?

G.  What kinds of foods did you have for Easter dinner?

H.  Did you get an Easter basket filled with candy and maybe small toys?

I.  Did you color eggs?

J.  Did your family celebrate alone or invite other family members to Easter dinner?

K.  Did you always go to Easter dinner at one of your relatives?

L.  What was the weather like on Easter Sundays where you lived?

M.  Was shopping for new clothes for Easter important in your family?

Hopefully, the questions above will help trigger some memories for you. If you don't have an actual Easter story to write, write your 'memories of Easter.' Add it to your Family Stories book. That collection can have memories in it as well as family stories. 

Several years ago, I wrote some Easter thoughts with a small story within those memories. 

Easter Thoughts

By Nancy Julien Kopp

I’ve been thinking about the Easter celebrations of my childhood years in the Chicago area during the 1940’s. When Easter fell in March or early April, we donned colorful spring dresses and coats to walk to church in sharp north winds, even a little snow on occasion. 

On one of those bitter cold Easter mornings, I had a new aqua-blue spring coat and hat that I’d looked forward to wearing. Mother told me it was much too cold to wear it. “You have too far to walk to church. You’ll freeze,” she said. 

I begged and begged. “Please let me wear it. I’ll wear a sweater underneath.” Tears slipped from my eyes as I waited for her to give in. They were genuine, not a ploy. Wearing that new coat was a monumental need at that moment at age eight.

Mother relented, but I did have to wear the sweater I’d proposed underneath my lightweight, pastel-colored coat. I think I was very glad to have it as my brother and I headed to church to hear the Easter story once again. My parents never attended church with us. Theirs was a mixed marriage—Dad was Catholic and Mother Methodist, and neither ever gave in to the other. But we kids all attended the Methodist church and Sunday School. Dad polished our shoes every Saturday night so we’d look our best on Sunday mornings. He buffed them to a high shine and lined them up in the living room.

The day before Easter, we dyed eggs in glorious colors. Coffee cups filled with hot water, a dye tablet and a splash of vinegar covered the kitchen table. We arranged the eggs on a big platter with artificial grass as a nest. The Easter Bunny hid them while we slept that night.

The Easter Bunny usually brought us a few chocolates, jelly beans and a new comic book. He also hid the brightly colored eggs in our living and dining rooms. What fun it was to discover the decorated eggs, one or two of which we always found in Dad’s shoes left out overnight.

Later in the day, aunts, uncles and cousins joined us for a special dinner. Mother usually fixed a leg of lamb or a big ham, glazed with brown sugar and mustard, cloves inserted in the scored top. Many side dishes weighed down the dining room table-- scalloped or mashed potatoes, two or three vegetables, a jello salad, homemade rolls, pickles, olives and pickled beets, and a springtime dessert of some kind, cream pies, berry pies, or a cake with whipped cream frosting. The aroma of all these good things filled our small apartment.

When we were all too full to move, it was time to do dishes. No dishwashers, but all the women pitched in, and they were finished in no time. Maybe not all the women. I had one aunt who always announced she needed to use the bathroom as soon as the cleaning up began. Off she went, and she never appeared in the kitchen again! The clatter of dishes and the chatter of women filled the tiny kitchen. My cousin, Carol and I were drafted at an early age to dry the silverware, a job neither of us liked. We hurried through our task, so we could walk to the park to play the rest of the afternoon.  Occasionally, we finished our Easter celebration by going to the movies. We sat transfixed at the fabulous musicals starring Betty Grable or some other glamorous star of the 1940’s.

. The rebirth of springtime flowers, trees and bushes still symbolizes the meaning of Easter for me. Christ’s resurrection created a rebirth for all Christians, and as He taught us to love one another, I also think of the love of family as part of our Easter celebrations. It isn’t only the ones of my childhood, but for today, as well. We hope to be spending this Easter holiday with our daughter’s family, going to church, having a celebration dinner, and being together. Not so very different than all those years ago. 

Where is Your Writing Place?

 

Our photo today shows someone's writing place. It looks like it might be in a coffee shop. The writer has coffee, a notebook, and a pen, also her phone. I see a second phone across the table. Maybe a fellow writer left her phone to charge, but is not present in this scene. The sun is shining, and the writer can look outside to see what is going on to get possible ideas for what he/she is writing. The small houseplant on the windowsill gives a homey atmosphere. It appears to be a nice place to write, although some people would be distracted by what is going on at the other tables in the coffee shop or by the constant traffic streaming by outside the window. To write in this place would take powers of concentration. 

What about you? Where do you like to write most often? There are many choices for each writer. 

Some have a special place at home that they claim as their writing spot. It might be a room turned into an office. It could be a desk in your bedroom. It might be the kitchen table when it is not being used for eating. Maybe you have a glassed in porch which allows you to use it for three seasons, or four if you have heat in it. You could claim a corner of that room as your area. Maybe your basement level is finished, and you can snatch a corner there to be your writing place. 

Some of the places mentioned in your home could bring problems for a writer. If you have a husband and children at home, it would be difficult to work in peace with the everyday comings and goings of a family. That kitchen table would need to be cleaned off when mealtime rolled around. The downstairs family room would have lots of things going on, so even in a corner, it would be hard for the writer to concentrate. The bedroom? If you share the room with a spouse or partner, they might want the lights out when you are right in the middle of a story. Having an office in your home would be the best, I think. That is where I write, but there was a time when I used the kitchen table, and then moved to a guest bedroom where I set up a card table and my electric typewriter. Yes, it was a long time ago. 

Some writers want to leave their home and write in some other place like the coffee shop mentioned earlier. Some would take their computer to the library and set up a place in a quiet spot there. Others would go to an outdoor cafe in good weather, or in the park on a picnic table. I've seen people in our senior living place who are using their computer in a public space there. One man who writes nonfiction articles on nature is often present in a game room. Some bookstores have small areas with tables and chairs where coffee,tea and more can be ordered. What could be better than to write surrounded by books?

I have written blog posts on my phone when my computer was out for repair. I could find about any place in our home to do that, or even while on a trip with Ken driving and me peck, peck, pecking on my iphone. Writers who also commute on buses or trains might use that time to write on their phones. Use your phone to write while in a doctor's waiting room, then transfer your work to your computer later. 

It doesn't matter where you write. The most important thing is to write! Even so, find the place where you can write that makes you comfortable and does not disturb others. 

The Treasure of Books

 

The vast majority of writers are also people who love books. They are the ones who wander into a bookstore and get swept up before the door finishes closing. The ones who plan to read one more chapter, but cannot stop and often read far into the night. Today's post brings you several posters I found about books and the joy of reading. 

This one is a tree we would all like to have on our patio or deck or screened-in porch. It requires no water, and it is yours to pluck a new book just like a flower or leaf.

This one describes me well. I can become completely lost in a good story. How about you?

Dear Snoopy knows what to feed us. Even his little buddy sits atop a pile of books while reading his own. Snoopy is welcome to bring his barrow filled with books to my house at any time. 

I feel that reading to children is one of the most important things a parent can do. The poster tells us that doing so teaches little ones to associate books with love and affection. As a grandmother, I was so pleased when I saw that the parents of my grandchildren provided many, many books for their children and that they read to them on a daily basis. 

There is truth in this poster's words. I love a home where books are in plain sight--on bookshelves and on end tables or other spots. Books should be where they can be picked up easily. 

Writing Obituaries and Tributes

 

We attended my husband's brother's funeral in the Chicago area this past week. His obituary listed many of the things he'd done in his long life, and the tributes at the funeral added something more to the memory of this fine man. 

On the long drive home, I started thinking about writing obituaries and tributes. There are forms to help people write the obits, and funeral home staff can be helpful to bereaved families giving guidance.

What about writers? Shouldn't they be able to write an obituary for a family member and do it quite well? Answers to that question may vary. Some might say "I'm a sci-fi writer, so what do I know about writing an obituary?" Or "I write steamy romances, you don't want me to write my sister's obituary." Or "I write technical articles for the airline industry. Don't expect me to write my father's obit." 

Years ago, many young journalists began their newspaper career by starting at the bottom rung of the ladder. They were given the job of writing obituaries for the paper after getting information from the family. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. They learned to gather all the facts, the same as they would need to do when writing news stories. 

I think writers would be able to write quite eloquent obituaries using the tools of their craft. Those who read this blog regularly know that I advise writers to write in a different genre occasionally. It's good practice. It would certainly help in writing about someone who had passed away. 

Most newspapers have a certain fee that is charged for a minimum number of words. More words cost  more money. It's up to the family to make it short or a real bio of the deceased. 

You should include things like dates of birth and death, parents, spouse, (or spouses if more than one marriage) children, grandchildren and special friends are sometimes included. You can add education history, career history, military service,  hobbies or interests pursued, and organizations the person belonged. Awards he/she might have received. Many include the cause of death. Add service times and place and memorials if any have been selected. 

When asked to give a tribute to the memory of the deceased at a funeral service or a celebration of life in some other venue, you can be more personal telling what you admired about the person, why you were close friends, cousins or whatever. Humor can certainly be included here. My husband told some things about his brother that few others knew, but I think they appreciated hearing these bits and pieces of their growing up years. 

As writers, you can use words well. Why not use them when writing an obituary or giving a tribute to someone you and your family have lost.? Or for a deceased close friend.

What about writing your own obituary and keeping it where a family member can find it when the time comes to use it? I have written mine and my husband's, but after thinking about what we witnessed this past week at the family funeral, I am going to revise and add. 

Some of you may be thinking this is a gloomy topic, or that you don't want to even think about such things. Death is a part of life, and we would be wise to be prepared. My apologies if I have offended anyone with today's post.

Short Timeout

 

DUE TO A FAMILY FUNERAL, THERE WILL BE NO POST UNTIL MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2022

One Trait Every Writer Needs

 

Our quote today is by Octavia Butler, who was a science-fiction writer. She didn't sugarcoat her thoughts in this one. The reason I like the quote is that she highlights one of my two keywords for writers--persistence. 

When we start writing, our work doesn't look professional yet. It isn't usually an example of strong writing, poetic prose, or scintillating sentences. We shouldn't expect it to be any of those things when we begin our writing journey. 

If we're persistent and keep writing week after week, day after day, we can become a better, stronger writer. If a newbie writer writes something new every other month, or even once a month, it's not enough. Cliche that it may be, the saying "Practice makes perfect" can be applied here. 

A sculptor starts out making simple pieces of art, and he/she learns along the way. With each new sculpture, the artist improves and most likely learns something, too. A carpenter who is just starting out cannot be classified as a master carpenter, but after years as an apprentice and then on his own, he perfects his trade. If you've ever read any of Julia Child's books about the art of cooking, especially French cuisine, you'll know that she was not a born chef. She learned from her many mistakes, but the most important thing was that she persisted. She was a very determined woman. 

Determined is what writers should also be. Persistence is what helps you continue with determination. Most poets don't write prize-winning poems with their first or second try. They pen scores of poems before they reach success in winning a prize or achieving publication. 

Persistence in writing means writing something every day. You needn't write an entire story every day, but do write a few paragraphs, a journal entry, or a writing exercise. Write a letter to a friend! But write each and every day. 

Persistence means not giving up when a writing project doesn't go well, or when rejections arrive. Keep going, keep learning.

Persistence means reading about the craft of writing. It means attending workshops and conferences to continue learning.

By now, you may have remembered, or guessed, my other keyword for writers. Patience. That persistence which I recommend takes patience. They go hand in hand, and each one can benefit new writers, intermediate writers, or the highly successful ones. 

Octavia Butler knew what she was talking about!

Writers and Anthologies

 

Many of you know that I have multiple stories in the Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies. I still check their website for the books that need stories. Right now, they have calls for eleven books. Eleven! Check the Possible Book Topics page to see what they are.

Chicken Soup is one of the best known anthologies, but there are many more, but it's up to you, the writer, to find them. That takes a bit of work, but it's well worth the effort if you find a few that fit your kind of writing. 

Facebook has a group that is a boon for writers. They have calls for anthologies but also other publications. The page is Call for Submissions. Find it by searching on your home page for the group. Other writing group pages on Facebook sometimes have calls for submissions to both anthologies and other types of publications, too. 

If writing for anthologies is your aim, do a search on your favorite search engine. Then try a different search engine, where you may find some duplicates, but also some different places where you can submit. There are many to choose from. Some of the top ones are:

Google

Bing

Duck, Duck Go

Yahoo

Baidu

Yandex

Ask.com

When you search, you may be surprised by the number of anthologies and also how specialized some of them are. Some want only horror or dark stories, while others might seek holiday stories, and still others are looking for mystery stories. There are poetry anthologies and anthologies that feature stories about cooking. Guideposts puts out lovely anthology books. Theirs is one of the nicest quality, I think. I once had a story in an anthology that used reading as the theme.

Some of the former anthologies have come and gone. A Cup of Comfort was quite popular for a while, and then it vanished. Another was Not Your Mothers... But it had a short duration. Why? Maybe the quality of the stories was not up to par. Maybe the editor didn't put enough time and effort into advertising. Or perhaps the editor moved on to other things. 

Be sure when you are searching for anthologies to check the date the calls were put out. I noted one recently that sounded interesting, but it was from 2008. A waste of your time. When you put your keywords in a search engine, it might not hurt to add 2022.

Why bother to write for anthologies? They pay, some better than others. Chicken Soup for the Soul is the highest that I am aware of. You'll get a check for $200 and 10 free copies of the book in which your story appears. Others pay $50 or $25 or maybe with a copy of the book. A second reason is that it is a good addition to your list of publications. A third is that some are easier to bring a successful submission than some other publications. Not all, but some of the smaller ones are not as choosy. Chicken Soup for the Soul, being the Queen Bee, has rigid guidelines and great competition. 

If you want to write for anthologies, find some of those lesser ones to start with. Move on up when you feel confident about the stories you're writing for the various anthologies. 

One of the most important things you should do is to study the guidelines. You will find books that have minimal guidelines all the way up to Chicken Soup for the Soul which has lengthy and rigid ones. Pay attention, no matter which anthology where you want to submit your work. 

Last, but not least, read a variety of anthologies to help you get an idea of the kind of story or poems they publish. It helps you get a feel for what you should keep in mind when writing and submitting your own stories or poems. 

Book Review by Lisa Carter, Guest Blogger

 

A review of Walking the Bowl: A True Story of Murder and Survival Among the Street Children of Lusaka, by Chris Lockhart and Daniel Mulilo Chama

By Lisa Carter

Narrative non-fiction stories have always held a special place in my reading heart. I find it such a privilege to be transported into the lives of others, inspired by how they face the challenges of life and appreciate the will that leads to their triumph.

Walking the Bowl was an even deeper honor to read and to witness than usual.

According to the publisher: “For readers of Behind the Beautiful Forevers and Nothing to Envy, this is a breathtaking real-life story of four street children in contemporary Zambia whose lives are drawn together and forever altered by the mysterious murder of a fellow street child.”

The story behind how this book came to be is itself nothing short of a dedicated miracle. Over five years, the co-authors and a small team documented the lives of street children in the vast slums of Zambia’s capital city. Lockhart, Chama, a graduate student and four former street children immersed themselves in the culture, taking hundreds of pages of notes and over a thousand hours of recordings.

When a young boy, who became known as the Ho Ho Kid, was found murdered at the city dump, the team dedicated their efforts to follow the investigation in real time and discovered a connection to many of the children they were already in contact with.

Lusabilo is a self-titled “chief-of-the-rope” at Chunga Dump, who has not only survived there for years but now wields a certain beneficent authority over other waste-picking kids. When he finds the Ho Ho Kid’s body, he is forced to assist the police in their investigation.

Along the way, Lusabilo is led to Moonga, a recent arrival in the capital, whose distant uncle never meets him at the bus station. Taken in by a gang of beggars who sniff glue, he becomes hooked but never stops dreaming of one day going to school. 

Timo is a youth who just wants to control his circumstances, and the only way to do that in his world is as an ambitious, ruthless gang leader. His “street wife,” Kapula, is forced by her aunt to work at a brothel and hand over all her earnings. Exhausted and determined, she hides a few coins each day with a plan to take her little brother and escape the slums.

The connections between these four kids, each of whom ekes out a brutal existence, and the murdered boy is told unflinchingly, unsentimentally and compassionately.

As an American medical anthropologist who has worked in Africa for decades (the “white man” in this book) and a Zambian social worker who himself was a street child (the “Outreacher”), authors Lockhart and Chama knew they wanted to reach the wider public with this story. They wanted to humanize these individuals, rather than perpetuate the tropes or appeal only to a small circle of insider professionals: 

“In the end, narrative nonfiction was the only possible answer. We also felt that the combination of narrative nonfiction with ethnographic immersion and the rigorous data collection methods we adopted was an immensely powerful approach. It not only allowed us to write about all the issues surrounding street children in a more mainstream manner, but to do so via the voices and stories of the children themselves.” 

Powerful indeed. At least seventy percent of the dialogue in this story is direct quotes, and most events were directly observed by the research team.

I felt the stabbing pain of empathy for every one of these kids, abandoned by family and society, left to survive on their own in merciless conditions. Lockhart and Chama hold nothing back. They expose what seems to be an unsolvable tragedy of poverty and corruption, helped little and often made worse by the beguiling notions of growth, expansion and development.

Yet the story they present is ultimately one of hope.

In their preface, they say, “If you were to ask us what we hope you learn from this book, we would say we hope you learn a little bit about the day-to-day lives and realities of street children and a great deal about the power of the smallest good.”

Walking the bowl—offering what little you can to another—is at the heart of this story. It’s a tale the Outreacher shares with every kid in the slums and with the White Man. (If you would like to hear it, I offer a podcast reading 

It’s a concept we know by many names: paying it forward, returning a kindness, sharing the love. It’s a deed the world needs more and more of.

Kapula thinks so too. Toward the end of the book, she tells the Outreacher, “I wonder how different things would be if everyone did the small things you do for us every day. Even if they only did one thing in their whole lives, especially if that one thing was passed on to others—like in your story. Myself, I think it would be a very different world.”

This book achieved its aim. I learned a little about others and a great deal about how I can live a more powerful life by offering the smallest good, a simple kindness to another, today and every day.

This is a beautiful, deep, impactful, necessary book. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in narrative non-fiction, memoir, Africa, Zambia, true crime, social issues, and/or inspirational titles.

May we all take its message to heart and walk the bowl.

Lisa Carter is Founder and Creative Director of Intralingo, helping authors and translators write and readers explore stories. Lisa brings two decades of professional literary experience, including nine books and multiple other pieces published in translation, and nearly as many years of contemplative and compassion practices to her work. Her inclusive, engaged, caring presence inspires people to share their stories, create new ones and feel truly heard.

A version of this recommendation first appeared in the BookLove Letter. Grateful thanks are provided to Hanover Square Press for the review copy.