So not only did you teach me about writing memoir, you also taught me about reading and thinking about how others write memoir. Thank you so much! Rebecca

Accepting what is to come

You can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails.
Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts

Saturday, August 13, 2022

LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO DANA WILDSMITH


WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE HUMAN?

Do you want to hear both sides of the border issue? Dana Wildsmith teaches English as a second language to immigrants to this country. She takes us inside the hearts and minds of those who struggle to make it to the United States and safety from the dangers in their homelands.

We hear so much talk of building walls along our borders to keep people out but seldom do we hear the migrants' stories that accompany such dangerous journeys--like the vulnerability of giving up your child to a stranger, the tragedy of dying in the desert, or the constant fear of getting caught. Dana Wildsmith's Jumping captures the experiences of what happens when "illegals" try to cross into the United States, "jumping" the border. 

Cesar, the main character, is especially powerfully portrayed with his humor, intelligence, and desire to provide a better life for his family. Read this novel for a good story, for a better understanding of our neighbors, and to know what it means to be human.



Dana Wildsmith’s writing has its roots in literal soil: the earth of the old farm she works to keep alive, as documented in her collection of poems, One Good Hand, and through her environmental memoir, Back to Abnormal, or along the desert sands of our southern border, as told in her novel, Jumping, a story which grew from Wildsmith’s work as a teacher of English Literacy to non-native speakers. 

Her most recent collection, One Light, follows the journey of her mother, Grace, down dementia’s rocky road. Wildsmith has a new book forthcoming from Madville Publishing which took root as the pandemic flourished and we all searched for tools to help us cope with this unprecedented epic. With Access to Tools explores the role of tools in our lives: traditional farm tools, tools of the digital age, and cerebral tools such as patience and memory. 

Wildsmith is a highly sought-after teacher of creative writing and has garnered residencies at the Hambidge Center, the Lillian E Smith Center, Grand Canyon National Park and Everglades National Park. Her website, www.danawildsmith.com, is the home of a widely read blog mostly centered on teaching and writing.

Wildsmith's books are available on Amazon.com 

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Learn what writers need to know from Kristen Lamb

Author, Kristen Lamb, writes a blog that is packed with good writing advice and she uses humor as a way to keep the reader interested in her long articles. She is a fiction writer, but most of what she writes on her blog is excellent advice for any writer.

Often new writers want to break the rules they are taught or wonder why we even have rules for writers. Kristen explains this so well in the two blog posts I refer to here today.

https://authorkristenlamb.com/2022/06/formula-writing-to-formula-vs-being-formulaic/
I subscribe to Kristen's blog and want to share her with you, my students, and anyone who is learning to write, who has questions about writing, and who want to publish their writing.

The following are some quotes from two of her most recent blog posts about the rules of writing and why we should follow them.
"The rules were not for ME, they were for the reader.

The rules, like the component parts of what we call a ‘car’, assisted in the experience. I—me, personally—knew every character in my story. I’d created them, knew their backstories, their secrets, their issues. I had cried when they suffered, laughed at their witty dialogue, glowed with pride when they finally found true love or whatever.

The problem was, while I knew and understood ALL these things, the reader didn’t.

.....So today, we will focus on POV, since most newbies have no clue what it is, how to use it or even that POV is the core way readers ‘follow’ our story. We need to understand what makes sense to them on an intuitive level (as in BRAIN STRUCTURE stuff).

Point of View

Through which character’s perspective is the reader experiencing the story? I have an oldie but goodie post of Point of View and why POV Prostitution (a.k.a. head-hopping) is bad for those who want further explication beyond what I’m giving here.

POV is the most fundamental ‘writing rule’ we must understand if we want readers to not only want to set out on a journey but finish it and love the experience. We must ‘follow the reader’ in that we need to think through their perspective, not just ours.

How is the reader being fed information? What details are important? Who’s story is it? Why is this a story worth money, time, and attention?

Writing Rules for First Person:

Uses the pronouns ‘I/me/mine/my’ and is the most psychologically intimate of the perspectives. This is why it’s been a super popular choice for the social media generation who’s used to being all up in someone’s biz.

First-Person breaks into two camps: The I Remember When and the Come Along with Me. Other than beating the hell out of the pronoun, ‘I’, this is where most writers will run into trouble."

I advise my memoir students to write in first-person point of view. After all, if I am writing about my life, I am the narrator so the reader must be in my head as he/she reads my stories. I want to tell the reader what I remember and how it made me feel. I can't tell you what another remembers or how the events made them feel unless I interview that other person. Then I can tell you what he/she said about the events.

Kristen Lamb has a huge following and she teaches writing classes. Check out her blog and website. You might find that she can help you with your writing.



Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Take Advantage of this Excellent Writers' Conference

I think the Blue Ridge Writers' Conference is one of the best events an author can attend. Carol Crawford and her staff work all year to bring in the best presenters, and they try to have something for everyone. 
Visit the website and see who is on the program this year. This is a small conference where the writers have an opportunity to talk with authors, agents, editors and to ask questions. 



19 th ANNUAL BLUE RIDGE WRITERS’ CONFERENCE 
April 8 & 9, 2016 

The Mission of the Blue Ridge Writers' Conference is to educate, inform, and inspire writers. No matter the level of expertise, the Blue Ridge Writers’ Conference provides a venue for professional writers, editors and agents to provide honest and accurate feedback to the aspiring writer in how to sell a magazine article, finish a novel, or do historical research. 

Other previous keynote speakers include a number of well-known writers such as novelist Claire Cook, Terry Kay, mystery writers Patricia Sprinkle, Joshilyn Jackson and Sharyn McCrumb, essayists James Kilgo and Steven Harvey, suspense writer Karin Slaughter, and former Georgia poet laureate, David Bottoms. 


Saturday, April 9th begins with light breakfast fare and our keynote speech. The 2016 keynote speaker will be Stephanie Fretwell-Hill. Stephanie is an editor at Peachtree Publishers, an independently owned trade book publisher, specializing in quality children's books, from picture books to young adult fiction and nonfiction; consumer references in health, education, and parenting; and regional guide books about the American South. 

Peachtree Publisher's mission is to create books that captivate and educate young and old readers alike, with well-crafted words and pictures. The day continues with concurrent workshops on everything from Children’s Literature to assembling a book of poetry to marketing a manuscript. 

Our 2016 speakers include a wide variety of poets, fiction, non-fiction writers, and much more. Conference attendees appreciate the chance to network with other writers and speakers during the day and the opportunity to submit their work for critique by one of the conference speakers. High school students from area counties are invited to attend and the Art Center offers scholarships to make this more affordable. 

This year’s Writers’ Conference will also offer a four-hour Workshop Intensive on Friday, April 8th. For an additional fee, the Workshop Intensive, presented by Jennifer Jabaley and Kristin Tubb, titled “Show, Don’t Tell: Yes, Yes, But What Does It MEAN?!”, will discuss show, don’t tell techniques for multiple aspects of your story: wordbuilding, characterization, narrative, and dialogue. 

Writers will leave with a solid understanding of the importance of show, don’t tell and the tools to revise their own manuscripts for more showing, less telling. A great workshop for both fiction and nonfiction writers. 

If you are an author and have registered for the conference, you may sign up with the Art Center to have your books for sale on Friday evening during the reception and on Saturday afternoon during the conference until 3:00pm. 

Please email the Art Center no later than March 3rd at blueridgearts@gmail.com to pre-register for a space. Please limit your book sales to no more than (5) titles with a total of (10) books per title. All books for sale must be delivered to the Art Center no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, April 7th. 
The Art Center will sell books in the Mahan Gallery & Art Supply Station for a 10% commission.


Saturday, August 1, 2015

What do I need to know to change from writing nonfiction to fiction?


I am a fan of Bobbie Christmas, editor of Zebra Communications, and author of excellent books on the writing craft. In one of Bobbie's newsletters she answered a question by a reader. She has given me permission to post that exchange here on Writers Circle around the Table. Thank you, Bobbie.



From newsletter by Bobbie Christmas
Q: I've been a freelance writer for magazines and newspapers for many
years, but I have a novel in my head, begging me to write it. I'm not
sure I can successfully switch from writing nonfiction to writing
fiction. What are some of the things I need to know?

A: Quick answer: everything.

Let me explain. I worked with newspapers and magazines for the first
twenty years of my writing and editing career, so I thought I knew
enough to write a novel. Boy, was I wrong! The best thing I did was
join a critique circle for novelists, and I quickly saw that I knew
almost nothing about how to write fiction. I knew a great deal about
how to form a strong sentence; I knew grammar, and I thought I knew
punctuation. Quickly I learned, however, that I had been using
punctuation, capitalization, and abbreviations standard in AP style,
whereas novels and nonfiction books call for Chicago style.

As a gift, my son gave me a copy of The Chicago Manual of Style, and I
went into overwhelm, because of the volume of the book. I didn't think
I could learn it all. I soon realized that I did not have to learn
everything, but I did need to look up specific things, when I wasn't
sure.

Members of my critique circle had been writing fiction much longer than
I had. I could help them when it came to grammar and strong sentence
structure, but they helped me tremendously with details of Chicago
style as well as the many elements of fiction. They made me aware of
point of view, setting scenes, scene changes, character development,
plot development, exposition, backstory, flashbacks, and much more that
I had never encountered as a writer and editor of newspaper and
magazine articles.

Go ahead and begin writing your novel, but find a good critique group
that concentrates on novels and get feedback and information from
members more knowledgeable in writing fiction.

In addition, pay attention while you read your favorite novelists and
see how they handle openings, chapters, flashbacks, backstory,
exposition, dialogue, scenes, character development, plot evolution,
climax, and denouement.

I also offer a lengthy free report on some of the differences between
AP style and Chicago style. It has good information for anybody not yet
fully familiar with Chicago style. Ask for Report #118 by e-mail
(Bobbie@zebraeditor.com), and I'll send it right away.

The switch from nonfiction to fiction isn't simple, but if your heart
is in writing a novel, you will enjoy entering a whole new world of
writing.    

(Bold fonts in post are mine. Glenda Beall)




Bobbie Christmas

Author of Write In Style: How to Use Your Computer to Improve Your Writing 

(To learn more, click here: http://tinyurl.com/o4trud2 )

Owner, Zebra Communications 
Excellent editing for maximum marketability

Coordinator, FWA Editors Helping Writers

230 Deerchase Drive, Woodstock, GA 30188

(1)770-924-0528 


Sign up for The Writers Network News, my free newsletter for writers, at www.zebraeditor.com.

                                 

Friday, April 10, 2015

WORDS ARE ALL WE HAVE

Saturday, April 25, 2015

10 - 1:00 p.m.

  

Mail check for $35.00  to Writers Circle, 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904

Call 828-389-4441 for more information. 


Words Are All We Have

Samuel Coleridge once defined prose as "words in the best order," and poetry as "the best words in the best order." Whichever you're working on, prose or poetry, it all comes down to making the right word choices and putting them in an effective order. 


In this multi-level workshop for writers of prose or poetry, fiction or non-fiction, we will spend some time talking about how to make the wisest word choices we can, and then how to arrange those words in the best possible order. 
We'll preface and follow discussion with short writing prompts. Bring your questions, your problems and your ideas!

Come out and meet Dana on Friday, April 24, 4:30 p.m. Joe's Coffee Shop, 82 Main Street, Hayesville, NC 28904. She will talk about her writing, answer your questions, and read some of her work. This is free and open to  the public

  • Dana Wildsmith's environmental memoir, Back to Abnormal: Surviving with An Old Farm in the New South, was Finalist for Georgia Author of the Year. 
  • She is the author of five collections of poetry, including most recently, Christmas in Bethlehem
  • Wildsmith has served as Artist-in-Residence for Grand Canyon National Park, as Writer-in-Residence for the Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska, and she is a Fellow of the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences.


Monday, September 1, 2014

Write What You Like. Tuesdays at Tri-County Community College

Tri-county Community College

21 Campus Circle, Murphy, NC 28906

September 2- September 23 -- Tuesdays


6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m
 $29

Write What You Like: Fiction, Memoir, Articles – Fulfilling Writing Dreams & Goals, Creating New Writing, Revising & Polishing Your Writing:
  • This class is designed to help you fulfill your writing goals.
  • See what mistakes editors most often find in submissions and learn how to avoid them.
  • Gain the knowledge, inspiration and motivation you need to put your words on paper.
  • Each week writing prompts will generate material for new writing or further a piece in process.
  • Through examples of accomplished writers, you’ll learn techniques to aid you right where you are in the process.
  • You'll also get feedback on your work and learn revision tools.
  • Small class with interaction and feedback from teacher and other students

Instructor: Glenda C. Beall, published author and poet, experienced teacher and blogger. 
Owner/Director of Writers Circle Studio

Register now: Contact -Lisa Long
Director of Community Outreach
828) 835-4241

Friday, March 28, 2014

Don't miss Dana Wildsmith - Saturday, April 12, 1 - 4 p.m.

April 12, Saturday, 1 - 4 p.m. 2014: Dana Wildsmith - Writers Circle, Hayesville, NC
Fee: $45

CHANGING FACT TO FICTION,
OR: 
CHANGING I TO US

All we have to work with when we set out down fiction's road is the stuff of our lives, but that's enough. Every one of us has a couple of horror-story-worthy relatives, and we've all lived through years of high drama in our lives. The material is there, for sure, but the rub lies in figuring out how to use that material when memoir is not our aim. In this class, we'll talk about ways to use those three crazy uncles of yours to flesh out one strong character for a story or novel, how to conduct and make use of interviews, and a little about scene-writing. This will be a class for all levels of fiction writers.

Bio: Dana Wildsmith's environmental memoir, Back to Abnormal: Surviving With An Old Farm in the New South, was Finalist for Georgia Author of the Year. She is the author of five collections of poetry, including most recently, Christmas in Bethlehem. Wildsmith has served as Artist-in-Residence for Grand Canyon National Park, as Writer-in-Residence for the Island Institute in Sitka, Alaska, and she is a Fellow of the Hambidge Center for Creative Arts and Sciences.

Friday, March 7, 2014

Netwest Writers Conference Presenter

Meet Susan Snowden, author and editor who will be a presenter at the Netwest Writers Conference on May 10 in Sylva, NC.

An Atlanta native, Susan Snowden moved to the mountains of western NC in 1995 to have more time to write. Since then her work—fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry—has been published in more than forty literary journals and anthologies. She has received seventeen honors and awards for her writing, including a gold medal in 2013 for her first novel, Southern Fried Lies (IPPY Award; Best Fiction, Southeast Region). Susan has taught writing at Georgia State University in Atlanta, and at Blue Ridge Community in Flat Rock, NC. She’s also worked as a freelance book editor since 1985, editing fiction and nonfiction for publishers and authors. (www.SnowdenEditorial.com).  

The conference will be a one day event at the beautiful public library of Jackson County. This building was once the majestic courthouse sitting on a hill that can be seen for miles around the picturesque little town of Sylva. It has been renovated and made into an exceptional library and event center. 
Registration information for the conference will soon be available at www.netwestwriters-west.org

Friday, January 24, 2014

J.D. Salinger's effect on readers

"When we have a premise in mind for a story, we should ask ourselves what we’d least expect to happen and then see if we can make that unexpected turn convincing."  Lee Martin speaking about writing short stories. 

I watched a documentary about J.D. Salinger. He is not one of my favorite writers, but I am intrigued with someone who could sit in a room for forty years and write, alone, isolated from the world, with no plans to publish his work.

His The Catcher in the Rye actually provoked two or more young men to commit murder. John Lennon's murderer said Salinger's book convinced him to put on his people-killing hat and do the deed.

Perhaps Salinger's least expected happening became too convincing to some readers. His writing is said to be so real, he draws his readers deep into his stories, and they have trouble separating themselves from the characters on the page. His fans became devotees, and one man drove 400 miles just to talk with the author, but was disappointed when Salinger brushed him off. "I'm not a counselor," he said to his fan. "I have no answers for you. I ask questions."

Salinger, a recluse for most of his life, died at the age of 91 in 2010. After seeing his life story, I must read some of his work mainly out of curiosity.

Have you read The Catcher in the Rye or other work by Salinger?
What do you think?

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Writers Circle classes 2013

CreateSpace self-publishing class, October 27 cancelled due to illness of instructor


Writers Circle hopes to hold this class at a later date, possibly next year.

Writers Circle schedules no classes from November - April. If you are a writer or teacher of writing, and want to teach a class in 2013, contact us by email:  nightwriter0302@yahoo.com.

Check out the Schedule page on this blog to see classes as they are listed on the 2013 Calendar.



Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Bring Anything but Poetry to This Class

Four Week Writing Workshop with Glenda Beall

nightwriter0302@yahoo.com

If you write fiction, non-fiction, true stories or anything that is not poetry, this workshop will help your writing.

The class meets two hours each Wednesday afternoon, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. beginning October 17 - November 7.
Bring your short stories, your memoirs, your flash fiction, and we will work on them together. Polish and submit your short pieces.

E-mail: Glenda, nightwriter0302@yahoo.com

Call: 828-389-4441

$25.00 for 8 hours of instruction


Glenda at Writers Circle in Hayesville
 "Hurry and register. I'm waiting for you."


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Date Change for Creative Writing classes by Glenda Beall

The dates for my creative wrting classes beginning September 27 have to be changed a bit. We will have no class on Tuesday, October 4. We will make up that class at the end of the session on a day that fits the schedule of all students.

If you have not sent in your registration for this class, send a check made to Writers Circle and mail to  581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904.

We will cover beginning elements of  fiction first two weeks, Poetry, second two weeks and  non-fiction the last weeks of the class.
Email to receive a schedule of class titles. nightwriter0302@yahoo.com