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Howdy, Campers--Happy New Year and Happy Poetry Friday! Today's host and my (very odd) poem are below.
To start the new year--and we hope yours is copacetic thus far--we, at the brand-ndew corporate headquarters of TeachingAuthors, will each be offering a book, a tip, a tool--something which helps us read / write /create.
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| The new corporate offices of TeachingAuthors.com |
Ready? Hang on for the wild ride (or better: a wild
write): Esther started us off in her
post telling us about Shaun Levin's Writing Map, MY WRITING LIFE. Fascinating concept, sure to set your teeth on fire.
Today, it's my turn. As regular readers know, I've been an instructor in
UCLA Extenstion Writers' Program since the invention of goat cheese. Recently, UCLA Extension Writers' Program invited its instructors to offer a writing tip in under one minute. The videos that have been filmed so far can be viewed
here; more will be added as they're filmed, including mine--coming soon.
What's so cool about these is that when you're feeling parched, dried-out, and California-drought-ish, wondering what in heaven's name to write, or why the heck you think you
can write, simply watch one of these babies and try the tip.
I especially like
this 49-second tip by poet Rick Bursky. Could you do me a favor and watch it right now? Because what comes next assumes you've listened to him.
Okay--you've watched Rick? Thank you kindly.
So today's poem is the third draft of a poem inspired by his tip. It may not be for kids, it may not be much, but I was grabbing things from all over the internet and deep in the darkest corners of my brain, and
man was it fun to write!
CHANGES
by April Halprin Wayland
Once upon a time, there was
a train came down the track faster than it was supposed to
its feet shoulder-width apart, 90 degrees to the target
but Froggy didn't feel like getting
a lawyer for Teresa Giudice, who was freed at 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Ah, changes!
Ah, the ghastly smell of salmon which spoils so quickly in the refrigerator!
Ah, Old Dresser Redo, DIY Cloud Pillows, Easy Floating Shelves.
How we each, in our own little worlds,
carrot and stick,
the atmosphere of Mars,
water overflowing sidewalks of Hermosa Beach,
how we each change the world.
It's raining again
and there are mouse parts all over the house.
What has been your lollipop moment?
Have you thanked that person?
And they lived happily
A New, Easier Method To Use A Printer For Ink Image Transfers!
ever afterpoem (c) 2016 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved.
TeachingAuthors hope our tips and tools will jump-start your writing year, Dear Reader.
May this be your Year of Yes!
Watch for a related post on our Wednesday Writers' Workout on January 13th ~
posted by April Halprin Wayland with help from Eli, who was tearing up Mouse as I wrote the poem.Eli swears he didn't do it
Photo by Vicky Lorencen
Silver Bay, Adirondak Mountains in Lake George, NY
Studying the menu at a new restaurant can be tantalizing. You scan the appetizers: olive tapenade, baked brie and calamari, then peruse the main course options: lamb chops, tilapia, steak medallions, and finally the scrumptious desserts: peach pie, crème brulee or chocolate lava cake. So many choices. Sometimes it helps to ask your server for a recommendations.
Well, my charming writerly friends, I have a different menu of options to tempt you. I can personally attest to the high quality and value of each. You simply cannot make a bad choice (unlike that unfortunate experience with the ahi tuna sushi special. Sorry to bring that up again. Ew.). Any one of these will nourish your writing skills and expand your network (without expanding your waistband!) Because you can click the links to get all of the particulars, I’ll focus on my personal experience with each.
Highlights Foundation
Whether you write picture books, novels or non-fiction, you will find an outstanding collection of workshops with top-notch faculty hosted in the gorgeous natural surroundings of Pennsylvania. The Highlights team will treat you like gold and feed you like royalty. Presenters take a personal interest in your work and the small workshop sizes allow you to get to know the other participants and learn from them as well. Workshops are pricey, especially if you need to fly, but Highlights does offer scholarships, free shuttle service and makes the experience all-inclusive, so there are no extras to worry about beyond getting there. I loved it!
Vermont College of Fine Arts
You probably already know about VCFA’s two-year low residency MFA program. But do you know there are also weekend workshops? What made this workshop a standout for me was the exuberantly positive atmosphere. The faculty–simply fabulous too. Truly. I came away feeling pretty darn giddy. I’m going again later this month and I can’t wait!
Falling Leaves/Green Leaves Master Class Retreats
Hosted by the Eastern New York Chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Authors and Illustrators, these fall and spring weekends take place on magical Silver Bay in Lake George, New York. This retreat has an amazing participant:presenter ratio–35:5. It’s no surprise, spots fill quickly. This workshop will stretch you and give you a boost.
UCLA Extension Writers’ Program
This online program pairs you with an instructor and a small group of students. I took a course called “Creating Memorable Characters,” which included textbooks and novels to read, as well as the expected homework. Interacting with the instructor and with the other students who were from all over the planet made this course especially fun.
I’ll give you a moment to look over the menu. If you have any questions, please let me know. I’m happy to serve you. Bon appetit!
Hors d’oeuvres have always had a pathetic interest for me. They remind me of one’s childhood that one goes through wondering what the next course will be like–and during the rest of the menu one wishes one had eaten more of the hors d’oeuvres. ~ H.H. Munro
Today's
Wednesday Writing Workout comes to us courtesy of the talented
Sherry Shahan. Sherry and I first met virtually, when she joined the
New Year/New Novel (NYNN) Yahoo group I started back in 2009. I love the photo she sent for today's post--it personifies her willingness to do the tough research sometimes required for the stories she writes. As she says
on her website, she has:
"ridden on horseback into Africa’s Maasailand, hiked through a leech-infested rain forest in Australia, shivered inside a dogsled for the first part of the famed 1,049 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, rode-the-foam on a long-board in Hawaii, and spun around dance floors in Havana, Cuba."
Her new young adult novel
Skin and Bones (A. Whitman) is a quirky story set in an eating disorder unit of a metropolitan hospital. The main character “Bones” is a male teen with anorexia. He falls desperately in love with an aspiring ballerina who becomes his next deadly addiction.
The novel was inspired by a short story Sherry wrote years ago, “Iris and Jim.” It appeared in print eight times worldwide. Her agent kept encouraging her to expand “Iris and Jim” into a novel. Easy for her to say!
* * *
Wednesday Writing Workout
Tell It Sideways
by Sherry Shahan
During the first draft of
Skin and Bones I stumbled over a number of unexpected obstacles. How could I give a character an idiosyncratic tone without sounding flippant?
Eating disorders are serious, and in too many instances, life-threatening.
Sometimes I sprinkled facts into farcical narration. Other times statistics emerged through dialogue between prominent characters—either in an argument or by using humor. Either way, creating quirky characters felt more organic when their traits were slipped in sideways instead of straight on.
There are endless ways to introduce a character, such as telling the reader about personality:
"Mrs. Freeman could never be brought to admit herself wrong on any point." — Flannery O'Connor, "Good Country People."
Or by detailing a character’s appearance:
"The baker wore a white apron that looked like a smock. Straps cut under his arms, went around in back and then to the front again, where they were secured under his heavy waist ." —Raymond Carver "A Small, Good Thing"
The art of creating fully realized characters is often a challenge to new writers of fiction. As a longtime teacher I’ve noticed:
1.) Writers who use short cuts, such a clichés, which produce cardboard or stereotypical characters.
2.) Writers who stubbornly pattern the main character after themselves in a way that’s unrealistic.
3.) Writers who are so involved in working out a complicated plot that their characters don’t receive enough attention.
In Skin and Bones I let readers get to know my characters though humorous dialogue. This technique works best when characters have opposing viewpoints.
Consider the following scene. (Note: Lard is a compulsive over-eater; Bones is anorexic.)
“I’ll never buy food shot up with hormones when I own a restaurant,” Lard said. “Chicken nuggets sound healthy enough, but they have more than three dozen ingredients—not a lot of chicken in a nugget.”
Bones put on rubber gloves in case he’d have to touch something with calories. “Can’t we talk about something else?”
“That’s the wrong attitude, man. Don’t you want to get over this shit?”
“Not at this particular moment, since it’s almost lunch and my jaw still hurts from breakfast.”
Lard shook his head. “I’m glad I don’t live inside your skin.”
“It’d be a little crowded.”
Exercise #1: Choose a scene from a work-in-progress where a new character is introduced. (Or choose one from an existing novel.) Write a paragraph about the character without using physical descriptions. Repeat for a secondary character.
Exercise #2: Give each character a strong opinion about a subject. Do Nice Girls Really Finish Last? Should Fried Food Come With a Warning? Make sure your characters have opposing positions. Next, write a paragraph from each person’s viewpoint.
Exercise #3: Using the differing viewpoints, compose a scene with humorous dialogue. Try not to be funny just for humor’s sake. See if you can weave in a piece
of factual information (Lard’s stats. about Chicken Nuggets), along with a unique character trait (Bones wearing gloves to keep from absorbing calories through his skin.)
I hope these exercises help you think about characterization in a less conventional way. Thanks for letting me stop by!
Sherry
www.SherryShahan.comThank you, Sherry, for this terrific Wednesday Writing Workout! Readers, if you give these exercises a try, do let us know how they work for you.
Happy writing!
Carmela
For Poetry Friday, I'm sharing a poem from a book coming out this fall from J. Patrick Lewis and George Ella Lyon. I just received an ARC of
Voices from the March on Washington (WordSong), and I've only read three of the poems. But they all knocked my socks off! I'll share more closer to the publication date, but here's a sneak peek to whet your appetite.
Last Impressions
black without white
is
a moonless
night
empty
as
a life
of endlessly
falling snow
is
white without black
--J. Patrick Lewis, all rights reserved
This lovely poem especially connected with me because I just wrote three poems about diversity for consideration for a friend's scholarly book on children's literature, and the one he chose uses blizzard/snow imagery as well!
And I love the way you can create many different complete thoughts that kind of overlap each other because of the line breaks. Gorgeous.
Here I am reading Pat's poem:
Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong, creators of the amazing Poetry Friday Anthology books, are hosting the
Poetry Friday Roundup at Poetry for Children. Don't miss it!
Now on to what I've been reading. I've been working on attacking my to-read shelf this summer! I joined the Book-a-Day Challenge through Donalyn Miller and the Nerdy Book Club (
http://nerdybookclub.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/the-sixth-annual-book-a-day-challenge/). My goal is to average a book a day (surprise:>) And it's not too late! You pick your start and stop days, so if you have one month left of summer, go for it. Commit to reading a book a day, and share your books on your blog or Twitter (#bookaday). I post mine on Twitter--that accountability is great. Anyway, the thing I've learned most is that having a book-a-day really helps me get to a lot more picture books and poetry books--which are my favorite books, anyway. But they often get lost in the shuffle as I read research books or escape into mysteries. Below are the most recent 10 books I've finished. I have more in progress.
Looking over my list, I would say two other things I've learned are that I abandon books without guilt now (a major change from 10 years ago), and I want to read MORE picture books and poetry. Once book-a-day ends, I might have to come up with a picture book plan to keep me going!
P.S. Check that last book for the most finely-crafted nonfiction picture book I've read in months.
P.P.S. Those of you in the Los Angeles area who are aspiring picture book writers, check out Teaching Authors'
April Halprin Wayland's upcoming class, Writing Picture Books for Children. It's Wednesday nights from August 6 through September 10. It might be just right for you, so don't miss out :>)
Happy reading,
Laura
