In her book, “The True Secret of Writing” Natalie Goldberg writes: Writing is for everyone, like eating and sleeping. Buddha said sleep is the greatest pleasure. We don’t often think of sleep like that. It seems so ordinary. But those who have sleepless nights know the deep satisfaction of sleep. The same is true of writing. We think of it as no big deal, we who are lucky to be literate. Slaves were forbidden to learn to read or write. Slave Owners were afraid to think of these people as human. To read and to write is to be empowered. No shackle can ultimately hold you. To write is to continue the human lineage. For my grandfather, coming from Russia at seventeen, it was enough to learn the language. Today, it’s our responsibility to further the immigrant dream. To write, to pass on the dream and tell its truth. Get…
Month: November 2013
Today I know . . .Prompt #22
Today’s prompt is inspired by B. Lynn Goodwin, owner of Writer Advice, and the author of You Want Me to Do WHAT? Journaling for Caregivers, available on Amazon. Prompt: Today I know . . .
Yesterday I believed . . . The truth is . . . Prompt #21
Writing prompts inspired from You Want Me To Do What? Journaling for Caregivers by B. Lynn Goodwin. Prompt: Yesterday I believed . . . The truth is . . .
B. Lynn Goodwin – You Want Me To Do What? Journaling for Caregivers
B. Lynn Goodwin has written an excellent book with helpful writing prompts. Her book, You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers, is a wonderful resource for writers . . . a fabulous compendium of writing prompts. Lynn writes “The months and years devoted to caregiving can be vital, critical, limiting, and frustrating. They seem endless while you are in them. You Want Me to Do What? Journaling for Caregivers gives writing tips and over 200 sentence starts to help hassled and harried caregivers process their feelings.” I have used Lynn’s writing prompts in my writing life with great results. Lynn writes, “I began journaling steadily during my first year of ‘Mom Care,’ a name I invented when my mother refused outside help. Journaling let me vent, process, and keep my mouth shut at critical moments from 1994 through August 8, 2001.” B. Lynn Goodwin is the owner of…
This is a space for free wild mind writing. . . — Christine Falcon
“This is a space for free wild mind writing that doesn’t need to be analyzed nor dissected. It’s about the practice of writing and tapping into that raw creative energy, just to keep our juices flowing.” — Christine Falcon
Guest Blogger Katya Cengal talks about Getting Published
In a way, getting published, whether in article form or book form, is about finding the right fit. When you submit a piece you are looking for the perfect partner. In that sense it can be compared to modern dating or job placement. Both parties are looking for something — it is the match maker, recruiter or agent’s job to make sure everyone gets what they want. If you don’t have an agent, you must take on the role of match maker yourself, courting various editors and selling them on your story. Several months ago I found out about a woman in San Francisco turning old Muni buses into mobile showers for the homeless. It seemed like a brilliant idea and a perfect fit for a women’s magazine. I wrote a pitch highlighting the female innovation angle. My contact there loved it. Unfortunately, the editors above her did not. So…
Today I feel . . .Prompt #20
Today’s prompt is inspired from You Want Me To Do What? Journaling for Caregivers (available on Amazon) by B. Lynn Goodwin, founder of Writer Advice, promoting authors through interviews. Writer Advice also publishes experienced and emerging writers, showcasing fresh ideas and high quality writing. Prompt: Today I feel . . .
Guest Blogger B. Lynn Goodwin asks: What Would You Do With a Goal and a Deadline?
NaNoWriMo, www.nanowrimo.org, invites you to draft a 50,000 word novel in one month. I’m doing it for the second time, and I’m going for higher word totals than the 1667 suggested daily allotment. I just want this first draft out of my head. I want material to work with. Not a fiction writer? You can still achieve a 30-day goal with memoir, biography, or any other form of non-fiction thanks to author and writing coach Nina Amir’s WINFIN, http://writenonfictioninnovember.com/about-2/. WINFIN (Write Nonfiction in November) is “an annual challenge to create a work of nonfiction in 30 days.” The rules are simple: Decide what you’re going to complete and go for it. You can create “an article, an essay, a book, a book proposal, a white paper, or a manifesto” The program “operates on an honor system…no word counts logged in here. It’s a personal challenge, not a contest.” Simply describe…
Guest Blogger Jordan E. Rosenfeld – How to Stay on the Writing Path
“The seeker embarks on a journey to find what he wants and discovers, along the way, what he needs.” —Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed “Not all who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring How to Stay on the Writing Path by Jordan E. Rosenfeld I believe that most writers are also seekers. While we may have a larger-reaching goal to find an audience and be published, ultimately, the writers who stick out the hard times do so because there is gold to be found along the journey. Sometimes it’s the kind of gold that requires mining and panning and sweat and agony. Other times it comes silently, a gift in the night from a willing muse. But one thing is for sure: writing gives as much as it takes—and it takes a lot. So how do you stay on the path of writing without falling off? How…