“As Ray Bradbury says, don’t rewrite—relive. Your fiction is about creating emotion in the reader, and you can’t do that well without feeling it yourself.” —”The Geyser Approach To Revision,” James Scott Bell, July/August 2011 Writer’s Digest Note from Marlene: This is true for memoir writing also. “You’ve finished your first draft . . . You’ve written hot. Now you’re ready to revise cool with the help of creative spurts. . . . wait at least two weeks before you do a first read-through of a draft. Then, go through it as fast as possible, as if you were a reader, resisting the urge to tweak anything just yet.” Good advice for those who can do this. This isn’t my style, but it might be yours. I do agree with waiting to revise. Let go of the attachment to your writing, your beautiful writing. Keep your darlings in a separate…
Telling Your Truth
“Telling your truths—the difficult ones and the joyful ones and all the ones between—is a big part of what makes for good writing. It is also what brings you pleasure in the process of writing. Most people who create and tend a garden don’t spend time on their knees pulling weeds just for the perfect end result—the gorgeous display of flowers that others will exclaim over. They pore over gardening books, order bulbs, water a sickly shrub, arrange the flagstones to make a pleasing path, all because they enjoy the doing of it. So, too, it should be with your writing. You want to see your writing grow, to find your daily work absorbing, to discover you can do better on the page than you could three years ago. None of this will happen if you shy away from the truth. The rewards that you seek are the rewards that…
The Most Fun We Ever Had
“The Most Fun We Ever Had” by Claire Lombardo is one of a handful of books I read a second time, right after the first reading. I read quickly the first time to find out what would happen. I read carefully the second time to savor passages and to try to understand the structure. The second reading also helped to understand the characters and their actions. This book is complex with traveling back and forth in time, and switching point of view, making it hard to know who “she” and “he” are referring to. I think, with some editing, the pronouns could be made clearer and there could be consistent ellipses and em-dash usage. I grew to like this family, like comfortable slippers. They took some getting used to. I didn’t really like the parents until trouble, in the name of Gillian, surfaced. Reading this during the Covid-19 pandemic, the…
Looking For A Silver Lining
Reader’s Digest is looking for stories with a silver lining: If you wished 2020 had a fast-forward button, you’re not alone. In spite of the challenges, many of us discovered unexpected reasons to be grateful this year. Perhaps you discovered a new skill—or a new friend? Did you learn something wonderful about yourself—or about a neighbor or even a stranger? Write about the best thing to come out of your year and Reader’s Digest might publish your story. Write and submit!
Never The Same . . . Prompt #533
Today’s prompt is inspired by a poem I wrote in response to the fires that ravaged Northern California, October 2017 and to the devastation throughout the world. The sentiments seem true today, especially “adjusting to a new normal” and the feelings of frustration, anger, and hope. October 10, 2017 by Marlene Cullen Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Santa Rosa will never be the same.Las Vegas concert goers will never be the same.Hurricane victims will never be the same.This City, That City . . . the list too long. new perspectivesnew fearsnew ways of thinking frustrated with natureangry with wrong-doersangry with bureaucracyangry in general now we know what we don’t want to knowthe unimaginable can happenthere are no guarantees what will we take awaywhat have we learnedwhat do we need we need time to processwe know the five-year droughtand the heavy rainsmade tinder that caught sparksfueled by heavy windscreating flying embers but the…
Chug, Chuff, Hiss, Squeal, Off We Go
Today’s post is inspired by Nancy Julien Kopp’s blog post about using sound in writing. Nancy wrote: This morning, I was catching up on email when I heard the whine of a train whistle, blown several times. I wondered if it was the historic Union Pacific train, known as Big Boy, making its way across Kansas this week in celebration of 150 years of the Transcontinental Railroad. It was due to stop here in our town at 9:30 a.m. The sound of that whistle made me stop and listen. I always liked to hear train whistles when I was a child. We lived across the street from the railroad tracks, so we were treated to that arresting sound on a frequent basis. I can remember being in bed on a summer night, windows open, hoping for the train to come by and announce its presence. When I did hear it,…
Under the Gum Tree
Sonoma County author Nicole Zimmerman’s “The Nature of Beginnings” was recently published in Under the Gum Tree. This Sacramento-based, reader supported, quarterly literary arts magazine publishes creative nonfiction and visual art in the form of a micro-magazine. Under the Gum Tree What does it mean to “tell stories without shame”? “Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we’re all in this together.” —Brené Brown Under the Gum Tree has been championing the mantra of telling stories without shame since 2011. We see our mission as sharing stories that remind readers of our shared humanity. Too much of the human experience gets hidden behind constructed facades based on what we perceive the world expects from us. Stop hiding. Live a story. Tell it without shame. If you write true stories, also called creative nonfiction, (and literary nonfiction, by some) and you’re taking storytelling to a level beyond “I was twelve years…
Boost Dialogue with Beats . . . Prompt #532
Too much dialogue can be boring to read. Interspersing action with dialogue makes a story interesting. In real life, we don’t talk without movement, neither should characters on a page. Plus, action gives clues to the character’s personality, habits, status and more. For example: “I dunno,” Remy said. Well, kind of boring. But what if detail were added: “I dunno,” Remy said, polishing the top of his boot along the back of his jeans. Readers can “see” this action and learn more about Remy’s character. Beats “Dialogue benefits from variety. A good way to maintain reader’s interest is to insert a variety of beats into dialogue. Beats are descriptions of physical action that fall between lines of speech.” —“Amp Up Dialogue With Emotional Beats,” by Todd A. Stone, Nov/Dec 2010 Writers Digest Facial Expressions Facial expressions signal emotions. “When a character raises an eyebrow or furrows his brow, this action,…
She’s Got This
She’s Got This, Essays on Standing Strong and Moving On, edited by Joanne Hartman and Mary Claire Hill is refreshing and riveting. After I started reading it, I didn’t want to put it down. It’s uplifting and inspiring in its authenticity and revelations of humans . . . as we are . . . flawed. After I finished reading it, I wanted to immediately re-read it. It’s that good. Available on Amazon.
Multiply Your Energy
“Keep watch for the energy vampires. Stay with people who multiply your energy.” —Jon Batiste