Rejection . . . experience it, write about it, submit to Tin House

  • Rejection . . . experience it, write about it, submit to Tin House

    Tin House Magazine:

    We accept submissions September 1 through May 31, and, as always, our summer and winter issues are not themed. We consider each submission for all upcoming issues regardless of theme. If you wish to be considered for a particular theme, please make a note in your cover letter. We have provided suggested deadlines for each theme issue, but please be aware that these fill up fast, so get your theme-issue submissions in as soon as possible.

    Tin House has announced the Spring 2015 theme of Rejection. We are looking for fiction, essays, memoir, poems, and interviews about rejecting or being rejected. Rejection of, or rejection by people, animals, organizations, institutions, belief systems, physical locations, a calling—the theme is open to interpretation.

    Tin HouseDeadline is September 15.

    Click here for Submission Guidelines

    Marlene C

  • Why do you write?

    “Life often has a way of making people feel small and unimportant. But if you find a way to express yourself through writing, to put your ideas and stories on paper, you’ll feel more consequential. No one should pass through time without writing their thoughts and experiences down for others to learn from. Even if only one person, a family member, reads something you wrote long after you’re gone, you live on. So writing gives you power. Writing gives you immortality.” — Antwone Fisher, Screenwriter and author

    Note from Marlene:

    I write to get out of my head and onto paper. Writing, with a pen or pencil, is an extension of my arm. When I picture my arm, it’s elongated by the pen, which in my mind, is always there. Computer typing — same thing — the keyboard is an extension of me. Writing is as natural and as much a part of me as breathing. I would rather write than do almost anything else. I write because I get to see a side of myself that isn’t always present. My daily concerns revolve around household chores, gardening, helping my husband run his consulting business and whatever else needs to be done. My efficient me bustles about cleaning and scrubbing and waiting until I have a moment or two to write. And those moments are glorious. Because I’m writing for me. Not for any monetary gain. Not for notoriety. I don’t need to be noticed to enjoy writing.

    Hand & PenI write because I not only can, I have to.

    Why do you write?

    Marlene C

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  • What do these writers have in common?

    Bella Andre, David Corbett and Jordan Rosenfeld have all been Writers Forum of Petaluma presenters. Scroll down for details.

    The September 2014 issue of Writer’s Digest magazine is filled with practical, helpful and inspirational articles. Bella Andre is on the cover. Her story, “Romancing Big Publishers With E-book Success” might encourage you to go the indie route for publishing or try traditional. She also talks about why she uses a pen name.

    Do you wonder about “pacing and tension?” Jessica Page Morrell has written an article that explains it in easy-to-understand format.

    Donald Maass writes about “Building Microtension Into Every Scene” and makes it seem like an easy thing to do.

    check mark.1  Writer’s Digest Contest #60 is one you can enter. “Write a short story of 750 words or fewer based on the prompt: A man opens his mailbox to find an envelope containing a set of instructions.” “You can be funny, poignant, witty, etc.; It is, after all, your story.”

    To enter: Send your story using the online form at writersdigest.com/your-story-competition or via email to yourstorycontest@fmedia.com (entries must be pasted directly into the body of the email; attachments will not be opened).

    DEADLINE: August 25, 2014

    Bella.Writers Digest 8.14Note from Marlene:  I don’t receive any money from endorsing Writer’s Digest Magazine.  I just enjoy articles that are well-written, informative and inspiring for writers and this particular issue is jam-packed with good stuff.

    Bella Andre has been a Writers Forum presenter twice. Other contributors in this issue who have also been Writers Forum presenters:  Jordan Rosenfeld (twice), and David Corbett.  Lots of talent in these pages, as well as at Writers Forum.

    And be sure to check out the last page of Writer’s Digest, “Reject A Hit.”  Amy Maricinick, a Petaluma’s Jumpstart Sonoma county writers cleverly spoofed a rejection letter for Great Expectations in the March/April 2013.  Your name can be here, too.  Write your Reject a Hit spoof.

    Marlene C

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  • Lower Your Expectations and Just Write

    My dear friend, Karen Batchelor, was an inspiring and wonderful writing teacher. She passed away too soon, December 2013. I was looking through material to post here and came across this gem by Karen. I hope you enjoy it and hope it inspires you to Just Write.

    Lower Your Expectations, by Karen Batchelor

    When 2012 arrived, I dismissed the thought of making any new year’s resolutions. After all, those aspirations often died just days or hours after their birth. However, on January 1, a tiny little idea began to germinate. A few minutes later when the concept was fully formed, I started in on my new project.

     My goal: Write a minimum of five minutes a day.

     I can hear some of you chuckling. What kind of a goal is that?

    In fact for some time, neither grandiose nor modest intentions have worked. Although I could create a lot of excuses, I really didn’t create any pages of great or even mediocre literature. I just couldn’t make this determination stick. When puzzling over this phenomenon, I recalled a story told by a friend and former colleague. She confided that she made a bargain with herself. If she got up early and went to the gym, she wouldn’t have to do anything once she got there. She didn’t have to jog on the treadmill, lift weights, swim laps, stretch or bend into a yoga position. The goal was simply to arrive. Once there, the idea of working out wasn’t so daunting.

    Then I remembered my walking routine. About twenty-five years ago, I trained myself into the habit of taking a brisk walk every day—minimum thirty minutes. I only stopped walking when I had cancer surgery, but after some recovery time, I worked my way back into this habit (up to forty minutes daily) starting with just five minutes. After a week or two, I increased the time to ten minutes. Fifteen. And so forth.

    While contemplating all of this, I realized that my intentions had been good and honest—I really did want to write every day—but I had been looking for a big, elusive, intimidating block of time. For some reason, the writing task felt so overwhelming that I often postponed that trip upstairs to the computer, or even avoided it. I needed something more attainable, something to help me form a new habit. Maybe I needed to lower my expectations.

    Thus my new goal was born. And it’s working.

    Why? I can only guess, but this is what I think. The task is to get into the habit of writing regularly. In order to form a new habit, I have heard, is to perform it twenty times regularly. If I am overwhelmed by the task, I will probably be discouraged and give up.

    So instead of vowing to write 1,000 words a day (Jack London) or five hours a day (advice from any number of respected authors), what about five minutes a day? Anybody can write five minutes a day—my three-year-old grandson probably could. Lowering the bar relieves some kind of fear of failure. And of course, similar to my friend’s experience at the gym, once I’m there, sitting at the computer, I usually write a lot more than five minutes.

    It’s early February and I have kept my commitment to write a meager five minutes a day. Usually that five-minute promise grows to ten, fifteen, thirty minutes or more. But even when I put in just that tiny five minutes, I write something, and I feel just fine because I’m writing every day, forming a good habit and getting practice.

    Progress report? I have started and finished a short-short story, written this article, started another essay, revised a short story to submit and outlined a novel. The total output is only about ten pages.

    You’re laughing again. Ten pages? What’s that? It’s ten pages more than I produced in all of October, November and December combined. The dread is gone and I make that trip upstairs to the computer every morning instead of waiting until the day is nearly gone. And occasionally now, I make that trip upstairs more than once a day.

    For me, it has come to this: By lowering expectations, I have raised my level of success. Even though this concept might not work for everybody, it probably won’t hurt to try.

    Note from Marlene:  Thanks, Karen. Your idea is working for me!  I have managed to write a blog post almost every day, for eleven months and I hope to keep on writing. Five minutes at a time!

    Batchelor.OceanKaren Batchelor spent 35 years teaching English and ESL. She has published several poems, essays, short stories, and professional articles. She has co-authored eight textbooks and a novel, Murder at Ocean View College. Karen has edited several anthologies for Redwood Writers, where her short stories continue to delight readers.

    Karen, an esteemed Past President of Redwood Writers branch of California, was the recipient of the 2009 winner of the Jack London Award for service to the California Writers Club.

    Click here to read one of Karen’s short stories.

    Marlene C

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  • Unsolicited submissions = fossil fuel for Barrelhouse

    “Thanks for thinking of us as a home for your work! Unsolicited submissions are the fossil fuel that keeps the Barrelhouse moped puttering along on the side of the literary highway.” — Barrelhouse

    BarrelHouse:

    •  an independent non-profit literary organization.
    •  bridges the gap between serious art and pop culture.
    •  a biannual print journal featuring fiction, poetry, interviews, and essays about music, art, and the    detritus of popular culture.
    •  a web site that regularly posts new short fiction, nonfiction, interviews, and random stuff.
    •  produced by writers for readers who are looking for quality writing with an edge and a sense of humor.
    •   offers 8-week online workshops where writers get the straight dope on their work.
    •  wants to be your weird Internet friend. You can also follow Barrelhouse on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest jibber jabber from Barrelhouse, our contributors, and the indie lit scene.

    BarrelHouse accepts submissions through a Submittable.com account only. No previously published work; simultaneous submissions are OK. Submit one piece of fiction or nonfiction at a time, or up to five poems in a single document. Essays must be pop-culture related.

    Barrelhouse

     

    Marlene C

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  • Books on writing

    There are more how-to-write books than we have time to read. IF we tried, we would spend all our time reading about writing and not writing. But there are a few especially good how-to write books. Here are some of my favorites. What are your favorite writing books?

    Dorothea Brande was an early proponent of freewriting. In her book Becoming a Writer (1934), she advises writers to sit and write for 30 minutes every morning, as fast as they can.

    Peter Elbow advanced freewriting in his books Writing with Power and Writing Without Teachers (1975), and freewriting has been popularized by Julia Cameron through her books The Artist’s Way and The Right to Write.

    A few more writing books:

    Aronie, Nancy Slonim – Writing From the Heart

    Baldwin, Christina – Storycatcher

    Barrington, Judith – Writing the Memoir, From Truth to Art

    Baty, Chris – No Plot? No Problem!

    Bennet, Hal Zina – Write From The Heart

    Clegg, Eileen M. – Claiming Your Creative Self

    DeSalvo, Louise – Writing As A Way of Healing

    Epel, Naomi – Writers Dreaming

    George, Elizabeth – Write Away

    Goldberg, Natalie:   Living Color, Long Quiet Highway, Wild Mind, Writing Down the Bones, The Great Failure

    Heffron, Jack – The Writer’s Idea Book

    Kabat-Zinn, Jon – Wherever You Go, There You Are

    Keene, Sam and Anne Valley-Fox – Your Mythic Journey

    Kelton, Nancy Davidoff – Writing From Personal Experience

    King, Stephen – On Writing

    Lauber, Lynn – Listen to Me

    Lamott, Anne – Bird by Bird

    Lara, Adair – Naked, Drunk and Writing

    Nelson, Sara – So Many Books, So Little Time

    Rosenfeld, Jordan – Make a Scene

    Saltzman, Joel – If You Can Talk, You Can Write

    Schneider, Pat – Writing Alone And With Others

    Smith, Michael C. and Suzanne Greenberg – Everyday Creative Writing

    Ueland, Brenda – If You Want to Write

    Walker, Christine – A Painter’s Garden

    Walton, Todd & Toomay, Mindy – The Writer’s Path

    Zimmerman, Susan – Writing to Heal The Soul

    Just a few of my books on writing. Yes, I have two copies of Jordan’s Make A Scene: One for my personal use and one for lending.

                               writing books 1                                writing books 2

    Marlene C

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  • Real Simple wants to know your Eureka moment.

    From Real Simple magazine, July 2014:   “Have you ever had a Eureka moment? Tell us about it.”

    “Think back on the instant when everything became clear. The split second when you realized that you had chosen the right career. Or the moment when you knew that your dearest friendship would last forever. Whether your epiphany changed your life or just made your day, write it down and share it with Real Simple.”

    Real SimpleEnter Real Simple’s seventh annual Life Lessons Essay contest and you could have your essay published in Real Simple and receive a prize of $3,000.

    Send your typed, double-spaced submission (1,500 words maximum, preferably in a Microsoft Word document) to lifelessons@realsimple.com. Contest ends September 18, 2014.

    Click here for contest rules.

    If you wrote on Prompt # 40, Pivotal Events . . . you’re on your way to entering this contest!

     

    Marlene C

  • Freewrites. . . what do you call them?

    When you are writing in a “freewrite” style of writing, using the types of prompts suggested in The Write Spot Blog, you can use your personal experiences for your writing. Or you can write about something that happened to someone else. Or you can write fiction. If you are writing fiction, respond to the prompt the way your fictional character would respond.

    Freewrites are also referred to as free flow writing, free association, writing freely and I’m sure there are more descriptions for this type of writing.

    Writing prompts are also referred to as: sparks, jumping-off points and, again, I’m sure there are more references to writing prompts.

    bookphoto I’m curious and interested. . . what do you call this type of writing? And what other phrases do you use for writing prompts?

    Whatever you call this form of writing and whatever sparks your imagination . . . Just write.

     

    Marlene C

  • West Marin Review accepting submissions

    West Marin Review, a literary and arts journal published by Point Reyes Books and Neighbors & Friends, is now accepting submissions of literary works, poetry, and visual art for Volume 6, for publication in 2015.

    Submission Deadline: September 1, 2014

    Click here for submission guidelines.

    Submit only unpublished work in all categories (excerpts from blogs are okay).

    Prose and poetry may be submitted online or through U.S. Mail. Visual art may only be submitted through U.S. Mail. 

    Submission fee: Please attach a check for $10.00 made out to West Marin Review with your submission. If you are submitting more than one piece or in more than one category, you need only pay once. If you are submitting online and through the mail (for example poetry and art), you need only pay with your online submission; please note this in your mailing. Mail to:

    West Marin Review
    Post Office Box 1302
    Point Reyes Station, CA 94956

    Simultaneous submissions are okay, but notify immediately if your work is selected elsewhere.  Compensation for published material is two copies of the volume of West Marin Review in which the piece appears.

    Questions? Write to West Marin Review at info@westmarinreview.org.

    West Marin ReviewVOLUME 5: This year’s Review is a sampler of extraordinary prose, poetry, and art. The issue includes actor/author Peter Coyote, composer Burt Bacharach, poets Linda Pastan and Howard Norman, artists Randall Gray Fleming and Wendy Schwartz, along with art and poetry from West Marin school children and Tomales High School students.

    Click here to purchase.

    Marlene C

  • We all have an intuitive sense. . .

    I think we all have an intuitive sense, but we get side-tracked by what others think or we get distracted by all the “noise” both inside our heads and outside. It’s hard to get quiet and listen to what we think. But when we do, we experience the joy of discovering what’s going on for ourselves.

    A passage in Reading Water, Lessons From The River, by Rebecca Lawton, describes a situation when Becca was a white water rafting guide and had one person, a friend, in her raft. They capsized, lost the boat and nearly drowned. Becca managed to save the life of her friend.

    After it was all over, Becca asked her friend: “Do you regret running it?”

    Becca’s friend answered, “It might have been the right choice for you,” she said, “But from now on, I’m making my own decisions.”

    Here’s an idea for getting in touch with your intuition and writing deeply.

    You can use suggestions for relaxation from the June 24, 2014 Just Write Post, “Listen to your body as a way to creativity.”

    Settle comfortably in your chair. Breathe in deeply through your nose. Exhale loudly. Take a few deep breaths and let go. Release your worries. Let go of your fears. Just let go.

    Follow your inner sense, your intuition, your gut level feeling  …  pay attention, use what you’ve got. Don’t fight it. Relax into your own judgment and decision making.

    Choose a writing prompt and Just Write.

    Old meets new bridge.Jim C. March Old bridge meets new. Photo by Jim C. March.

     

     

     

     

    Marlene C

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