The Write Spot Blog by Marlene Cullen

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  • The Healing Power of Images Prompt #139

    Today’s prompt is inspired from Poetic Medicine by John Fox, “The Healing Power of Images.”

    Morning glory“A morning glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books” — Walt Whitman

    “Images are drawn from sensory experience and help us to feel what the writer or speaker is communicating. Whitman is more satisfied by the morning glory because it is real and alive, it communicates something to him about reality that is particular, clean and unmistakable. Images offer us direct experience. They can show themselves to us through any of the senses.”

    Think about the house you grew up in, or where you spent most of your childhood. Or, if you want to write from your fictional character’s point of view. . . picture a place where the protagonist spends a lot of  time.

    Petaluma MuseumNow, think about routes you routinely took . . . to school. . . or the library. . . a store . . . or playground

    Travel back in time, or to your imaginary place, and see the sights and scenery. If you are working on fiction. . . use this prompt to visualize your story’s setting.

    Owl.3Zoom out like an owl and observe the activity below. Perch on a rooftop or a pole or a high wire.

    Let’s have the owl observe something on your daily route, or your character’s. A place that evokes a strong memory for you.

    Take a moment and picture this place. . . an intersection, in front of a store, a front yard, a back yard, an untamed place or a place filled with human or animal activity . . . a familiar place, either from real life, or make it real with your imagination.

    Zoom down, get closer to the action. Perch where you can clearly see details of the place you have selected.

    Prompt: Describe as precisely as you can, the images and direct sensations you see, hear, feel, intuit, smell.

    Use sensory detail: Smell, sound, taste, touch, visual: a vendor’s food cart, sewer sour milk smell, wind chimes, brakes screeching, popcorn, hot dogs, brittle wood on telephone pole, dirt, yard ornament, cigarette butts.

  • My tribe. Prompt #138

    Today’s writing prompt is inspired from Your Mythic Journey by Sam Keen and Anne Valley-Fox.

    Cavemen.1“Pre-modern people didn’t think of themselves as individuals — they were members of a tribe as well as of a family. Ancient philosophers knew that human dignity begins with ‘We are a people, therefore I am.’ Modern people are tribal too but we call our tribes by different names — churches, corporations, states, nations. Each of us was nurtured within and shaped by several corporate bodies, voluntary organizations and professional corporations that molded our values and behavior — schools, athletic teams businesses, clubs, temples, and local, national, and international governments.”

    Prompt: I am from . . .

    Note from Marlene: You can write from your personal experience, or write from your fiction character’s point of view. You may have written on this prompt previously. It’s a good one that can be used repeatedly, new things may come up, or clarification about an event may surprise you.  Remember: Just write, no editing as you write, no judging, no critiquing. Just write!

  • Rescuing Your Past – Barbara Sher

    Barbara Sher in Rescuing Your Past says:

    “People say we should let go of the past and move on. But you’ll never move into your future unless you take your beloved past with you. And that’s exactly as it should be.”

    “Rescuing Your Past,” from I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was by Barbara Sher

  • The Past – from different perspectives.

    The following is inspired by Your Mythic Journey by Sam Keen and Anne Valley-Fox.

    Chapter 4, “The Past” It’s Still Happening.

    “We love the present tense. Be here now. Yesterday is gone and best forgotten: our tradition is to have no tradition. We aren’t Europeans buried in ancient tombs and cathedrals and medieval ruins. We were born yesterday and we will be young forever. Over thirty is over the bridge. Age embarrasses us; remembrance is a function of senility. We exile the aged to Sun City leper colonies so they won’t impair our illusion of endless summer.

    But history is not so easily dismissed. Repressed memories, national or personal won’t stay down. To be alive is to have a past. Our only choice is whether we will repress or re-create the past. Childhood may be distant, but it is never quite lost; as full-grown men and women we carry tiny laughing and whimpering children around inside us. We either repress the past and continue to fight its wars with new personnel or we invite it into awareness so that we may see how it has shaped the present.

    The moment you begin to tell your stories you may find that memory is a trickster who picks and chooses scenes. What happened to you in the past has yet to be determined. Ninety-nine times you tell the story of the way you were whipped for stealing apples you didn’t steal. Then in the hundredth telling, you remember that you did steal them and the whole scene changes. Your memories of what happened to you in 1953 will be different in 1975, and again in the year 2000.”

    Lola.200 Prompt:  Think of an incident that one or more people might see very differently.

    Tell the story beginning with the words, “This is how I see what happened…”

    Prompt: Write the story from the other person’s perspective.

    No matter whether you use these prompts or not . . . Just Write!

  • Ukiah Haiku Festival 2015

    Ukiah Haiku

    THE THIRTEENTH ANNUAL

    ukiaHaiku festival 2015  – A celebration and competition devoted to the haiku form of poetry

    Postmark Deadline for Submissions: Saturday, March 22, 2015

    Awards will be presented in the following categories:

    General Topics (Regional*)

    1) Children, grades K-3
    2) Children, grades 4-6
    3) Youth, grades 7-9
    4) Youth, grades 10-12

    Haiku about Ukiah (Regional*)

    5) Haiku about Ukiah, grades K-6
    6) Haiku about Ukiah, grades 7-12
    7) Dori Anderson Prize** — Haiku about Ukiah, Adults

    Haiku en Espanol, Temas Generales (Sumisiones Regionales*)
    8) Para menores de 18 anos
    9) Para mayores

    International, General Topics, Adult:

    10) Jane Reichhold International Prize***

    *Regional categories are open to residents of Mendocino, Humboldt, Lake, and Sonoma Counties in northern California. Winners in the regional categories receive a certificate, publication in a booklet of winning haiku, and a copy of the booklet.

    **The Dori Anderson Prize honors the memory of Dori Anderson, former head librarian of the Ukiah Branch Library, who originally suggested the idea of the ukiaHaiku festival.

    ***The Jane Reichhold International Prize is named in honor of internationally renowned haiku poet Jane Reichhold. The Jane Reichhold International Prize Category is open to submissions from the entire planet.

    Winners in the Jane Reichhold International Prize Category receive monetary awards: $100 first place, $50 second place, $25 third place, plus a certificate, publication in a booklet of winning haiku, and a copy of the booklet.

    ukiahaiku Submission Guidelines:

    ~ Haiku submitted are to be previously unpublished original work by the author submitting.

    ~Entrants may submit up to three haiku per category. Each entrant, however, may win only one award per category.

    ~Submit each haiku using either a printed form or the online submission form.

    ~All category submissions are free of charge.

    ~ Do not include a title.

    ~ Authors retain copyright to their work.

    Haikus are judged anonymously. If submitting on paper, the Haiku Submission Form will be folded in half to allow anonymous judging. Your name MUST NOT appear on the half of the form with your haiku poem. If submitting via the online Haiku Web Submission Form, your submission will be printed out in a way to ensure anonymous judging.

    Mail submissions to:

    ukiaHaiku festival
    Post Office Box 865
    Ukiah, California 95482

  • Do you Haiku? Prompt #137

    CraneHaiku is one of the most important forms of traditional Japanese poetry. Haiku is  a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three metrical units of 5, 7, and 5 syllables.

    Another definition:

    “Haiku (俳句 high-koo) are short poems that use sensory language to capture a feeling or image. They are often inspired by an element of nature, a moment of beauty, or another poignant experience. Haiku poetry was originally developed by Japanese poets, and the form was adopted (and adapted) by virtually every modern language, including our own. The secret to writing great haiku is to be observant and appreciate nature.” — Wikihow-Write-a-Poem

    Haiku by Penelope La Montagne:

    Pruned vines stand in rows

    those charred Venus de Milos

    posing with mustard

    Penelope La Montagne (1948-2018), author of River Shoes by Running Wolf Press and Jigsaw Heart by Finishing Line Press, was a Poet Laureate of Healdsburg.

  • Is it Safe to Post Your Work on Critique Sites? Helen Sedwick

    Guest post by Helen Sedwick

    Every writer knows the challenge of finding readers willing to critique our works-in-progress. We beg, barter, and guilt loved ones into reviewing just one more draft.

    But there’s an easier and faster way to get a fresh pair of eyes to look at your work; online critique sites such as Scribophile, Writer’s Café, and Critique Circle. Some of these sites operate on a credit system; you earn credits by giving critiques and spend credits by posting your work for feedback. Others use an honor system. Some, such as Inked Voices, set up cloud-based, on-going groups. In my experience, these online communities are incredibly helpful and supportive.

    But many writers worry about posting their work online. Will they lose their copyright? Will someone steal their work?

    Good questions and an opportunity to explain what to look for when giving anyone rights to use or display your work, including critique sites.

    Will you lose your copyright by posting online?

    First, be assured that you own the copyright in your work as soon as you put it down on paper or type it into a computer. Posting the work online does not void your copyright, even if you don’t include a copyright notice.

    Years ago, you could lose your copyright by publishing a work without a copyright notice or by failing to register it. That is no longer the case. Copyright attaches automatically.

    What rights are you giving away?

    When you post work on a critique site, you are giving the site limited permission to display your work. But it’s important to look at their terms of service or FAQs to make sure. Look for the following:

    • You are granting them only a non-exclusive right to display your work.
    • Their use is limited to their own site and the site’s business.
    • You may terminate their rights at any time.
    • When you terminate, the site may retain an archival copy only.

    That’s it. No transfer. No right to publish. No right to resell your work.

    Scribophile has a fun way of explaining it:

    You keep all rights to the work you post at Scribophile. The short version is that by posting on Scribophile, you grant us the non-exclusive right to display your work (we have to display it, otherwise nobody could critique it!), and that’s it. We’re here to help you improve, not to cruelly steal your rights while twiddling our moustaches and cackling madly.

    Writers Café, owned by Aresta Enterprises, is a little more formal, but just as clear:

    Aresta Enterprise does not claim ownership of Content you submit or make available for inclusion on the Service. However, with respect to Content you submit or make available for via the Service, you grant Aresta Enterprise a perpetual, irrevocable, world-wide, royalty free and non-exclusive license to use, distribute, reproduce, modify and publicly display such Content on the Service.

    About the broadest provisions are those of WEbook which say: Member grants WEbook a non-exclusive, worldwide, unlimited license to copy, display, render, distribute, transmit, store, and otherwise use the Content covered by this section for all purposes associated with WEbook’s operation of the Site and WEbook’s business.

    Those last three words “and WEbook’s business” permits them to use your work to advertise and promote the site. WEbook has a broader business model than most. It hosts collaborative projects where writers jointly contribute to a work. Online collaborative projects create a hornet’s nest of legal issues, and I would avoid them.

    Can you still offer a publisher first-publication rights?

    Yes. Because copyright law lags behind technology, posting work online is generally not considered “publication,” but is treated as a “display.” It cannot hurt to tell a publisher the work was posted on a critique site, but I have never heard of anyone treating postings of works-in-progress as a first publication.

    Will someone steal the posted work?

    Possibly. Someone could cut and paste your work. In reality, however, outright stealing of copyrighted work is rare. For most writers, obscurity is a bigger problem than piracy. Generally, these sites require people to log in to view postings, so if you find your work stolen, you may be able to trace who has read it.

    Which critique site is right for you?

    Writers may have to try several sites before they find they one that suits them best. Each organizes content differently and draws a different crowd. In addition to the sites mentioned above, take a look at:

    Writing.com

    YouWriteOn.com

    Absolute Write Water Cooler, a huge and active forum that also facilitate critiques.

    And there are many informal groups on Facebook, Goggle Plus, and LinkedIn.

    If you don’t find a site you like this week, try again in a month or so. New sites keep popping up.

    Bottom line, there is much to gain and little to lose by posting your work online, although I recommend you take a look at the site’s fine print before you submit. And until your most loyal friend, the family dog, is willing to read your latest draft, these online communities may be the more consistent source of valuable feedback.

    For more information about the legal issues of self-publishing and blogging, check out my book and my blog at http://helensedwick.com/blog/.

    Website http://helensedwick.com/

    Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+HelenSedwick/posts

    Twitter:   https://twitter.com/HelenSedwick

    Disclaimer: Helen Sedwick is an attorney licensed to practice in California only. This information is general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for the advice of an attorney authorized to practice in your jurisdiction.

    Sedwick.HeadshotHelen Sedwick is a California attorney representing small business and entrepreneurs. She recently released Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook to help writers navigate the legal minefields of blogging and self-publishing. Her historical novel Coyote Winds earned five-star reviews from ForeWord Reviews and Compulsion Reads and is an IndieBRAG Medallion Honoree.

    Self-Publisher’s Legal Handbook was recently listed in the top five Publisher’s Weekly!

  • Things that are meaningful to you . . . Prompt #136

    Write whatever comes up for you. No judging, no criticizing yourself!

    Merlin & StarHave fun with this prompt! Let yourself go. Be silly. Be creative. Be humorous. Be serious. Just write!

    Make a list of things that are meaningful to you, starting with the letter “A” . . . then go through the alphabet to the letter z. Write one sentence, or a few words, why this is meaningful to you. For example:

    A –   A deck of cards – playing gin rummy and hearts

    B – Balloon game in the old living room

    C – Crafts – glitter glue, making things with the kids

    continue to the end of the alphabet

    W – Wizard puppet

    X – X-rays that saved my life

    Y – “Y” always reminds of  watching the Micky Mouse Club. “Why? Because we like you!”

    Z – Zebra in orthodontist’s office

    ~ Now you have a list of things you can write about!  Anytime you want to write and need an idea, look at your list and Just Write!

  • “We write to exert power. . . ” Nellie Hermann

    Nellie Herman. Cure.1“We write to exert power over something we can never control . . . The past.”  —Nellie Hermann

     — excerpted from “Why We Write,” by Carolyn Roy-Bornstein, Jan/Feb 2015 Poets & Writers

     

     

  • Failure is necessary to find “wondrous and magical moments”

    “A rough draft is inherently an experiment, or, rather, a series of experiments. each novel, each piece of writing, is a new thing with different possibilities that demand to be explored. Many of these experiments will fail, but failure is necessary to find those wondrous and magical moments of success.” — “More Ideas Faster, Writing With Abandon” by Grant Faulkner, Jan/Feb 215 Poets & Writers magazine.

    Grant FaulknerGrant Faulkner is: Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month, co-founder of 100 Word Story, writer, tap dancer, alchemist, contortionist, numbskull, preacher. Click here to read more about Grant Faulkner.

    Note from Marlene: Click here for ideas of what to write about. Choose a writing prompt, set your timer for 12-15 minutes and Just Write!