Mini memoirs unfold naturally

  • Mini memoirs unfold naturally

    Remember the joke: “How do you eat an elephant?”

    “One bite at a time.”

    Same with writing memoir . . . one incident at a time.

    “Whether your life story has an over-arching motif or you plan to cobble together a montage of more diverse meditations, the project can seem less overwhelming if you approach it as a series of mini memoirs—two-to three-page essays . . . pivotal points. . . in the broader portrait of your life.” Richard Campbell, January 2017 Writers Digest

    “The beauty in approaching your life story in terms of mini memoirs is that when it comes to themes, you don’t have to pick just one. Write scenes or vignettes on each theme that speaks to you.

    You may find that mini memoirs unfold more naturally than the more unwieldy, longer story you have to tell—and that they build momentum strong enough to carry you through the manuscript.”

    More on How To Write Memoir:

    How To Write A Memoir – Part One

    How To Write A Memoir – Part Two

    However you decide to write . . . Just Write!

    Marlene C

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  • Sonoma Festival of Light and Rhymed Verse

      Submissions now requested for presentation at the

    SONOMA FESTIVAL

      of

    LIGHT and RHYMED VERSE

    Poems due by: May 6, 2017

     

    Festival takes place: May 21, 2017

    Time: 1:00 pm-4:30 pm

    Location : Trinity Episcopal Church Courtyard, 275 East Spain St., Sonoma, Ca.

    Quatrain submissions in one or all of three categories:

    4 line

    16 lines

    24 lines

    Please include biography in three lines or less.

    For more information, please contact:  Patricia Bradley   bradley2006 -at – gmail.com

    Marlene C

  • Details are critical

    When telling stories, details matter. You know that. Details, especially sensory details, enhance your story and allow your reader to:

    ~ Fully enter the world you are creating

    ~Suspend disbelief

    ~ Connect emotionally with your characters

    “All you need to build your setting is in the world around you. Observe, observe, observe.” — Elizabeth Nunez, January 2017 Writer’s Digest magazine.

    Elizabeth Nunez:

    “. . . like me, you probably wanted to be a writer because you found a lot of joy and pleasure by making up stories in your head. I love living in my imagination—so much so that when I was younger, my siblings would say: ‘Divide everything Elizabeth tells you in half. One half is true and the other is make-believe.’”

    Can you relate to that? I bet you can!

    “The emotions and conflicts your characters experience can be made more vivid by the setting you choose.”

    Nunez gives examples of stories enhanced by setting:

    The Sea by John Banville, which opens with “a strange tide, a morning under a milky sky, a bay that swelled and swelled, rising to unheard-of heights. With that beginning, the mood is established for Banville’s moving story about a man who loses his beloved wife to cancer and retraces his past to a seaside cottage, hoping for respite from his grief.”

    Middlemarch by Georg Eliot contains “a setting that contrasts with . . . character’s emotions.”

    “When the two lovers finally come together, there is not brilliant sunshine, but instead a burst of thunder and lightning. The effect is to convey to the reader the intensity of the passion between the two characters.”

    How to set your story in a place you have never been?  The obvious answer is to go there. If that isn’t possible, research using tools that give detailed descriptions:  Google Earth to see the site, Wikipedia to learn about weather, geographical, historical details. Access newspapers and magazine articles for information using microfiche records (available at libraries).  Interview people who lived there. Watch movies. Use your creative imagination to research as much as possible. But don’t spend all your time researching. Remember to take time to write!

    Blog posts about using sensory detail:

    Imagery and sensory detail ala Adair Lara Prompt #277

    33 Ideas You Can Use for Sensory Starts Prompt

    Sensory Detail – Smell

    Marlene C

  • Voices of Lincoln – Poetry Contest 2017

    POETS WANTED

     

     

    You do not have to live in Lincoln, CA to enter the Voices of Lincoln Poetry Contest.

    Five (5) categories include: Love Is All Around Us,  Dreams Do Come True,  On The Street Where I Live,  Gone But Not Forgotten,  and  A Second Chance.

    You may submit a maximum of three (3) poems: One poem for each category.

    Poems may be in rhyme, free verse, Haiku, or other accepted poetry forms and of any length, up to a maximum of 60 lines.

    Young Poets, 18-years of age or under, are encouraged to submit poems and will compete in a special “Young Poets” category.

    Entry Form and Contest Rules

    Contest Deadline: Poems must be received no later than Saturday, July 22,    2017.  Early submissions are appreciated.  Questions—contact Alan Lowe at    slolowe – at – icloud.com

    Marlene C

  • Why should you use strong verbs?

    Action words

    “A French research team found that action words (kicked, stomped, raced) fire up the motor cortex, which governs how the body moves. Even more specific, describing body parts, such as an arm or a leg, activates the part of the brain that controls arm and leg movement. Using evocative language also wakes up a part of the brain called the hippocampus, which activates long-term memories and plays a significant role in how a reader’s mind turns language into a meaningful experience.” Writer’s Digest, Sept. 2016

    And that’s why it’s important to use strong verbs.

    Make a list of strong verbs and action words. 

    Keep your list handy.  Use it like a thesaurus when you are stumbling for that strong verb that’s on the tip of your tongue, within your grasp, but not quite accessible.

    Or, use a thesaurus.

    To learn more about using strong words to convey emotion, action and memorable characters, click on the following topics. You will end up on another page, here on The Write Spot Blog.

    Use sensory detail and be specific  

    How to be a better writer  

    Vex, Hex, Smash, Smooch  

    Just write!

    Marlene C

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  • Use emotions in your writing.

     

    “Readers covet an emotional experience above all else. When you write scenes, use all the methods you can to help your readers feel the emotions you want them to have—sadness, anger, confusion, mistrust, love, lust, envy, greed and so on. If you want readers to hate your character, show him being despicable to someone who doesn’t deserve his wrath or to someone he supposedly loves. The more you draw readers in to the emotional experience, the more they will engage, and the more likely they’ll want to read your next book.”

    Excerpted from the September 2016 issue of Writer’s Digest magazine

    There are over 300 prompts on The Write Spot Blog. Choose one and practice incorporating emotions in your writing. For example:   Physical gestures can reveal emotions . . . Prompt # 211 

    Just write!

     

    Marlene C

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  • The Writer Magazine

    In April 1887, two newspaper men designed an 18 page pamphlet they called The Writer. It was designed to be “a monthly magazine to interest and help all literary workers.”

    Today, The Writer magazine “is dedicated to expanding and supporting the work of professional and aspiring writers with a straightforward presentation of industry information, writing instruction and professional and personal motivation.”

    The Writer is looking for your story ideas:

    “Our editors are interested in query letters on concrete topics written by emerging and experienced writers in all genres. We are looking for clear takeaway for our readers: What can they learn to improve their writing or advance their careers? What how-to tips and strategies will accomplish this?

    Queries should briefly describe your background and provide details for your story idea. We are interested in how-to stories, reported pieces, narrative essays and profiles of writers and others in the field. . . . We do accept queries that include finished pieces for consideration. We do not accept material that has been previously published in any form in print or online.”

    Email queries to tweditorial-at-madavor.com. Include your name, phone number and a short bio.

    We receive hundreds of pitches every week and cannot respond to all of them. If you haven’t heard from us in two weeks, please feel free to move your submission to another publication. If you’re unfamiliar with our magazine, we recommend reading a few issues, subscribing, or at least signing up for our newsletter to get a feel for the kind of work we publish.

    Article lengths vary widely from 300 to 3,000 words. On occasion, longer articles and excerpts also appear in the magazine.”

    Read Submission Guidelines before querying and submitting.

    Marlene C

  • Sixteen Rivers call for poems for anthology


    Sixteen Rivers Press is seeking unpublished poems that respond to the cultural, moral, and political rifts that divide our country: poems of resistance and resilience, witness and vision that embody what it means to be a citizen in a time when our democracy is threatened.

    Sixteen Rivers editors welcome voices raised in passion and in praise, whether lyrical, philosophical, visionary, or personal.

    Submit 1 to 3 unpublished poems, totaling no more than 3 pages.

    Deadline:  May 15, 2017

     

    Marlene C

  • Pulp Fiction

     

    Pulp Fiction, a Canadian magazine, features a variety of genres:  science fiction, mystery, fantasy, history, suspense, and thriller.

    “We realized we knew a lot of writers who had pieces sitting in shoe boxes under their bed[s] . . .  We also knew writers looking to break out.” — The Writer magazine, October 2016

    The “pulp” in the title refers to “cheap pulp paper used in the dime-novels of last century.

    “We love literary fiction. Beautiful prose, soul-searching themes, and powerful and complex character development are all part of the stories we like.”

    From their website:

    Format

    In these days of massive hardcover tomes and heavyweight trade paperbacks, do you miss the small, inexpensive paperbacks you could stuff in your purse or coat pocket?  We do, which is why our print format is a digest-sized magazine, lovingly modeled after fabulous magazines which have stood the test of time.

     Pulp Fiction is looking for:

    Any genre or between-genre work of literature, or visual art (black and white) up to 75 pages in length.  Short stories, novellas, poetry, comics, illustrations — bring it on.  We do not publish non-fiction, memoir, or children’s stories.  Aside from that we want anything entertaining and well written.

    Contests

    Pulp Literature has four annual contests for writers, and new this year, a cover painting contest for artists.  To hear about contests in advance, subscribe to their free monthly newsletter.

    “We receive fewer entries in a contest than in general submissions, so you’re more likely to get noticed.”

    The Bumblebee Flash Fiction Contest      Deadline:  February 15, 2017

    The Magpie Award for Poetry

    At Pulp Literature, we have an affinity for poetry, the hard liquor of literature. We like it strong, neat, and we don’t mind if it makes our eyes water.  Our judges, will be looking for a fusion of musicality, imagery, feeling, and thought.  May the best poem win!

    Contest opens: 1 March 2017
    Deadline:  15 April 2017
    Entry fee: $25 1st poem, $10 each subsequent poem
    Earlybird fee (before 15 March): $20 1st poem, $10 each subsequent poem
    Entry fees include a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature.

    The Hummingbird Flash Fiction Prize

    Got something short, sharp and snappy to tell?  Wow us with your most economical and brilliant storytelling.  This contest is for short fiction under 1000 words.  Want feedback on your story?  Get a professional critique from one of the Pulp Literature editors for only $15 more.

    Deadline:  15 June 2017
    Entry fee: $15
    Earlybird fee (before 15 May): $10
    Entry fees include a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature.

    The Raven Short Story Contest

    We Pulp Literature editors collect stories like ravens in the woods, swooping down on what catches our eye and bringing the treasures — sometimes sparkling, sometimes grisly, but always fascinating — home to our nests.  Want feedback on your story?  Get a professional critique from one of the Pulp Literature editors for only $25 more.  Show us your most scintillating treasures in the form of short fiction up to 2500 words in length and you could be the one bringing home $300 to line your nest!

    Contest opens: 1 September 2017
    Deadline: 15 October 2017
    Entry fee: $20
    Editorial critique: $25
    Earlybird fee (before 15 September): $15
    Entry fees include a 1-year digital subscription to Pulp Literature

    This contest is for previously unpublished short fiction between 500 and 2500 words in length.  Multiple entries welcome.

    Submission Guidelines

    Short Fiction Guidelines

    We are looking for entertaining, accessible stories:  A story readers can sink into late at night before they go to bed.  We want to stretch people’s minds, but not give them a headache.

    We want a balance of serious and lighthearted stories.  We strive for emotional balance in each of our issues, and want our readers to leave feeling challenged yet refreshed.

    We aren’t satisfied with a joke.  Some writers send shaggy dog stories that end with a twist or revelation that is funny, but not a story.  A story is about a person, not a plot twist.

    We take more short fiction than novellas.   Stories under 5000 words have the best chance of publication.

    We want both plot and character.   We like some action along with those intriguing personalities, and we want to see characters that grow and change throughout the story arc.

    Reading fees

    Because of the large volume of short fiction we receive we charge a reading fee of $10 CAD (roughly $7 US) for short stories and novellas.  If this fee is a hardship please contact us.  Finances should never prevent your words from being seen!  There are no fees for poetry, novel,  or artwork submissions.

    Marlene C

  • Lucky Peach might be your lucky magazine

    Do you like to create recipes? Do you have favorite recipes from way back? Do your stories involve food?

    “Lucky Peach uses food as a filter to tell stories about people, places, traditions, flavors, shared experiences and cultural identities.”

    Lucky Peach might be a good place for you to submit your story/vignette/art/photos and the occasional recpe.

    “For freelancers, the opportunity to break in doesn’t stop at each issue: Lucky Peach expanded its mission with an award-winning website, cookbooks and live events.”

    Their submissions page is very friendly and inviting: “If you’re interested in submitting your writing to Lucky Peach, we’re interested in reading it.”

    COMPLETE ARTICLES ONLY: Lucky Peach does not want pitches nor vague ideas.

    LENGTH is up to you.

    SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS are okay. Just let them know if your work is accepted elsewhere.

    COVER LETTER is not necessary.

    Art Photos:    “Art is important to us. Send us your best stuff.

    Marlene C