The Beatles were a hit sensation on the Ed Sullivan show 50 years ago, 1964. Write about The Beatles, a band you like, a catchy tune, 50 years ago, 50 years from now or 1964. Or write about Yellow Submarine.
-
Emerging Voices wanted — Florida Review
“The Florida Review wants emerging voices to transport editors and readers.” —January 2014 issue of The Writer Magazine.
” Our artistic mission is to publish the best poetry and prose written by the world’s most exciting emerging and established writers.”
2014 Editors’ Awards submissions accepted until Monday, March 17, 2014
Sonoma County author, Stephanie Freele, was published in the summer 2011 issue of The Florida Review.
-
Guest Blogger Marie Judson-Rosier writes about Fantasy Fiction as an Ancient Way of Mythmaking.
Guest Blogger Marie Judson-Rosier writes about Fantasy Fiction as an Ancient Way of Mythmaking.
Clarissa Pinkola Estes invites our voices: “We have a reason for being. Blow away the over-culture that says we weren’t longed for,” (heard at a Mysterium workshop with Dr. Estes). Many of us do not think our words are awaited or even welcome. We have to deconstruct messages we absorbed subliminally through our early lives just to allow ourselves to be creative. There’s an invisible hand at our ankle, holding us back. One of the most common blocks to taking our writer selves seriously is our need to extricate ourselves from a sense of judgment, believing that our contribution is not worthwhile. The doubt of our personal voice runs deep. Many if not most of us are acculturated to believe that true authority lies with someone else. Yet we crave creative expression. We owe it to ourselves and our world to give voice to it.
I came through great swaths of higher academia before I found myself immersed in writing fantasy fiction. As I struggled to write a dissertation, based on research regarding communication in 21st century high schools, I longed to draw my writing from the rich material I knew – as only one’s soul knows – ran thick as sap somewhere in me, out of reach. That’s when I started Jungian dream work and other forms of inner work. In this period, I began daily journaling and have never stopped the daily practice of freewriting, which carries a mother lode of benefits – self-reflection, aid to dream work, and a sense of mental cohesion, to name a few.
It is ironic that the very discipline of writing a dissertation – along with the angst it brought, which drove me to deep inner work – led me to writing the most frivolous of all literary forms; at least it is believed to be so by some. I, however, see some fantasy fiction as holding the key to our ancient ways of mythmaking. I also believe that it has the potential to release us from a tightly defined identity into something broader, with less circumscribed edges. Sometimes the very farfetched nature of fantasy ideas can break us loose from the fetters that bind our minds and can, thereby, be healing.
Companion to the great joy I have discovered in creating fiction is the magic of a good writing group. I can see no better way to hone one’s craft than by the feedback of a dedicated, steady group of fellow writers, helping us to see where we lag in interesting vocabulary, fall into repetition, fail to stir lively curiosity or dedication to the characters. Our group’s anticipation of our next installment feeds the fires of our innovation, allows us to dare to approach revision, and renders the writing a joyful event rather than a lonely endeavor. At least that is my experience. (If you have been considering taking part in a writing group, see below.)
Marie Judson-Rosier, MA, is a teacher, freelance writer and editor. Judson-Rosier has been copyeditor for the scholarly journal Mind, Culture and Activity, an international ground-breaking publication founded by the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition at UCSD. She currently serves as managing editor of ReVision, Journal of Consciousness and Transformation. In addition, she is volunteer coordinator of writing groups for Redwood Writers, a branch of the California Writers Clubs started by Jack London. Anyone living within range of Sonoma County who is seeking a writing group is welcome to e-mail her at mariejudson@gmail.com to be added to the list.
-
Dispute the thoughts that don’t serve you.
Listen closely to yourself and dispute the thoughts that don’t serve you – even if those are true. For example, you might think, “Writing a novel is hard. Selling a novel is hard.” Yes, both thoughts are true, but they don’t serve you. The only thought that serves you is, “I’m off to write a novel.” — Eric Maisel, January 2014 issue of The Writer magazine.
-
Essence of you. Prompt #45
Step 1. Make a list of significant events that have happened in your life. Start with the year you were born . You can list important dates such as the year you graduated, got married, started jobs, vacations. Also, list emotional highs and lows: betrayals, losses, inspirations, revelations, epiphanies.
Step 2. Choose specific years from this list and research historical events that happened during those years.
Step 3. From your lists: Choose an event that you think people would want to know more about. Or, choose events that capture the essence of you.
Step 4: Write about the event. Include specific details and use anecdotes.* Tie in your personal events with historical events. For example: My junior high friends and I swiveled on cherry-red stools at Woolworth’s in 1962 in San Francisco, not realizing that folks with certain colored skin were not allowed the same privileges in other parts of the world.
*Anecdote: A short account of a particular incident or event, especially of an interesting or amusing nature.
Next step: Turn this freewrite into a personal essay. For ideas about personal essay, click on the Just Write category on The Write Spot Blog.
-
We read and write personal essays for the same reasons. — Barbara Abercrombie
“We read personal essays to understand our lives, to find humor, to discover a new way of looking at the world. We write them for the same reasons. the short personal essay (about 500 to 1200 words) is your journey through a specific experience, whether commonplace or one of life’s milestones, and ranges from the personal to something more universal, something your readers can connect with.” — Barbara Abercrombie, “On Writing Personal Essays,” The Writer, January 2003.
-
Who knows more about you than you? Prompt #44
Imagine a room full of people, they are looking at a speaker behind a podium. They want to know more about the topic. In a way, they want to be entertained, even though it’s a somber occasion. They are talking about you . . . in the past tense.
Who knows more about you than you? Who best to talk about the essence of you, than you? For today’s prompt, write about you. Provide enough information so the reader or the person in that room has a view of your life. Write about high points, achievements, life markers. Write about what is important to you.
You can make a list in chronological order of events that have shaped you.
You can look up various years and discover what historical events took place in particular years. Write what your life was like during those historical events. Did they affect you?
Today’s prompt: Write about you. We can call it Life Changing Events or The Chronicles of [insert your name here]. Or we can call it your eulogy.
-
Got a short-short? WriterAdvice wants your story.
WriterAdvice seeks flash fiction, memoir, and creative non-fiction running 750 words or less. Enlighten, dazzle, and delight us. Finalists receive responses from all judges. First prize is $200.
Submit to the 9th WriterAdvice Flash Prose Contest by April 18, 2014. Complete details at www.writeradvice.com.
-
Transforming Depression Into My Writer’s Muse — by Teresa LeYung-Ryan
Transforming Depression Into My Writer’s Muse — by Teresa LeYung-Ryan
What do I have to be depressed about?
I am blessed with friends, writing colleagues, housemates, spouse, family members, coworkers, a half-time day job, health insurance, my intellectual properties . . . and what friends call a sense of humor. But I don’t feel like laughing in my condition, maybe later. I may have inherited the depression gene (or genes) from my loving mother.
While I sympathized with my mother’s illness (my novel Love Made of Heart was inspired by her), it would take experiencing the illness myself before I could gain empathy.
Poor health of the physical nature (especially with overt symptoms) alerts us to seek help; poor health of the mental nature (especially the first occurrence) usually has no clear signals.
Depression snuck up on me, in my forties. The symptoms didn’t look like my mom’s. I had not lost interest in food. I thought I just needed more sleep (and later, even more sleep) when menopause came to stay.
Memories of my personal life during those years are foggy; evidence of their existence and my growth are the people still in my life and the books I still use.
If not for three other miracles — the half-time day job (where people needed my showing up to produce my share of the work) and my clients (authors who needed my identifying the core themes and archetypes in their stories) and my falling in love with blogging (where I have full control as to what and how often I publish) — I might have slept into another world.
Reading and writing have saved my life, more than once.
Two other groups of writers needed my help (which meant I needed to show up). Authors who had invested years crafting their books were being turned down by agents and acquisition editors at publishing houses; these authors were judged not by the quality of their intellectual properties but by modest size or lack of platform; who wouldn’t get depressed! Authors who wanted to self-publish needed help in growing their fans. I root for underdogs; thus the birth of my workbook Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days. (video)
Honestly, even without the rejections, there are other matters that trigger depression – sensational news headlines; lack of rain; climate control; genetically modified organism “GMO” foods; knowing that friends are battling physical and mental illnesses.
Illness is a harsh antagonist, but, who is the protagonist of my life anyway? I am. I learn from all the other archetypes in my life. I need to help myself!
Even though I slip into depression (or depression slips into me), the only way I know how to deal with that menace is to show up for me and my writing.
The theme of “mental illness” shows up in all my work. Two years ago, I began writing “Talking to My Dead Mom” monologues. Last year, I began writing my first memoir. And that is quite exciting for me.
My prayer for everyone is this: May your muse show up for you when you show up for yourself in whatever endeavor you pursue.
For a list of resources, please visit my blog page and scroll down for Helpful Websites & Resources & Guides for Mental Health / Mental Illness / Depression.
Thank you, dear Marlene Cullen, for asking me to be your guest-blogger this week.
Sincerely, Teresa LeYung-Ryan
Teresa LeYung-Ryan author photo by Sasa Southard
Teresa LeYung-Ryan is 22-Day Coach Teresa; author of Love Made of Heart: a Mother’s Mental Illness Forges Forgiveness in Daughter Ruby (novel used in college courses), Build Your Writer’s Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW (workbook for all genres), “Talking to My Dead Mom” monologues, and Coach Teresa’s Blog.
-
How to go for the gold.
What percentage of being an Olympic champion would you attribute to hard work versus natural talent?
Kristi Yamaguchi answers:
“I think it’s drive over talent for sure. I was not the quickest learner. When I was 7, my mom said, ‘You need to work harder because everyone else is learning faster than you.’ Skating taught me to have a work ethic—in order to improve, you have to put the time in.” Quote from Parade magazine, January 19, 2014.
Same with writing, right? You know the drill . . . butt in chair. Warm up with a freewrite, using a prompt. Then keep going. Just write.
