Hello
And a Happy Prosperous New Year to you all especially in the writing department.
I was offered a space in an on-line magazine to place a flash fiction story and the guy was generous to offer one of my stories a spot and I am of course thrilled, but get this, he was so great he told me to just write up the story and send it along for him to take a look. On the one hand I thought it was terrific but on the other, it was, boy he has a lot of confidence in me because the thought of just sending off a story a second after I write it makes me cringe because “Hi, I’m Lori and I am a re-writeaholic.”
I know this is suppose to be a good thing, even a great thing because no story is ever written once ( maybe some of those by Ernest Hemingway) but the other ninety-nine percent of them are re-written stories and mine are no exception, they may even be in the re-written-to-be-re-written-and-beyond category. My writing system goes along like this: I write the first draft in a spiral notebook and this seems to take forever but I cannot write any other way. After the spiral notebook I move on to clearing the story out on yellow legal pads. After the legal’s I move to the computer, get the story in there so that I can sit in front of it for a long time: turning, twisting, tweaking the story, ripping out parts (sounds so bloody doesn’t it but sometimes you have to be brutal) starting a chapter over or adding a new one, tossing out a character and growing another; I’m talking reams of time working to get one project just perfect which never happens but this is the way I write. So when told to “just write it up and send it in” I panicked then thought it over and to my surprise, wrote it up. Did I do it in one try? No way; I can't go without tossing it through a couple of re-writes but what got me to do it immediately was having an almost fully formed story idea; seeing the characters doing their thing and not peppering the story with too many of them in the first place and also knowing the story is bounded by a certain word length because it’s a flash-fiction piece; this was a kind of freedom.
I've written the story, I’m going to give it one more going over then submit it. Regardless if it’s accepted by the magazine or not, I’ll send it along to you and you tell me what you think.
Another holiday is upon us, enjoy it with those you love and if you can write up a couple of stories or is that re-write up a few. Best Wishes.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at:matwrite1@aol.com, I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time God willing,
Lori
Friday, December 29, 2006
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Hello and Happy Holidays to you,
I am having trouble coming up with an idea for a short piece of less than one-thousand words. Doesn’t it seem how you have ideas about stories coming out the wood work sometimes? That every time you turn around something comes across to you as a great idea for a story; it happens to me all the time too but my problem is that it works for longer stories and not for something less than a thousand but then I remembered that article I mentioned in a previous blog written by Ms. Oard Warner and how she takes “scraps” from a larger story and creates well-put together short stories with them. I thought okay, maybe I could try that but then I thought challenge myself, stretch my imagination and come up with something special, find a way to create a new out of the ordinary story and not something from drop offs of characters I already know, create new characters a new situation, move into unchartered territory with my writing and fill it with excitement, make it interesting, come up with well-rounded characters and do it in one-thousand words or less.
Writing should be as challenging to me as driving a race car is to Dale Earnhart Jr; I don’t believe he knows wants going to happen when he gets out on the track, every situation is different, heart pounding, exhilarating and I want to feel the same rush when I stare at that blank page and try my hand at a new kind of story.
My story is not due for a while so I’m going to read more this holiday season , books and articles I generally pass up; listen a little closer to those conversations that I try and tune out; pay more attention to the world around me that I dismiss in the every day grind and by doing all this I know I’m going to find that story even if I have to stumble across it or even fall face down on it and get my “ah” moment where I’ll pull out my notebook and start writing like a maniac and come up with a short piece I love.
So I’m going to write this holiday season and I hope you will too. Have a happy Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and just a plain old good time with those you love.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
I am having trouble coming up with an idea for a short piece of less than one-thousand words. Doesn’t it seem how you have ideas about stories coming out the wood work sometimes? That every time you turn around something comes across to you as a great idea for a story; it happens to me all the time too but my problem is that it works for longer stories and not for something less than a thousand but then I remembered that article I mentioned in a previous blog written by Ms. Oard Warner and how she takes “scraps” from a larger story and creates well-put together short stories with them. I thought okay, maybe I could try that but then I thought challenge myself, stretch my imagination and come up with something special, find a way to create a new out of the ordinary story and not something from drop offs of characters I already know, create new characters a new situation, move into unchartered territory with my writing and fill it with excitement, make it interesting, come up with well-rounded characters and do it in one-thousand words or less.
Writing should be as challenging to me as driving a race car is to Dale Earnhart Jr; I don’t believe he knows wants going to happen when he gets out on the track, every situation is different, heart pounding, exhilarating and I want to feel the same rush when I stare at that blank page and try my hand at a new kind of story.
My story is not due for a while so I’m going to read more this holiday season , books and articles I generally pass up; listen a little closer to those conversations that I try and tune out; pay more attention to the world around me that I dismiss in the every day grind and by doing all this I know I’m going to find that story even if I have to stumble across it or even fall face down on it and get my “ah” moment where I’ll pull out my notebook and start writing like a maniac and come up with a short piece I love.
So I’m going to write this holiday season and I hope you will too. Have a happy Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and just a plain old good time with those you love.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
Friday, December 15, 2006
Hello,
When I write I make sure I have two special books at hand, they are: Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass and On Writing by Stephen King. I know most writers always have “writing” books or books about writing in easy reach when they are getting it down. My reasons for having my favorite writing books around are many but I’ll only comment on a few: I love reading passages from On Writing over and over again and not just the chapters on the practical aspects of writing, the “Toolbox” section as Mr. King calls it where he advises on the important basics of writing, using adverbs, grammar, style, plot (or not how to develop one), to read, read and read some more, description, theme, all the mechanics of the writing process, what I love the most about On Writing is that it’s truly like reading one of your favorite novels its full of stories of Mr. King’s life that draw you in like one of his great novels and they fit into the book just like pieces of a puzzle so perfectly that moving from a few paragraphs on how to write dialogue to the story of how he started writing Misery is a smooth ride like eating your favorite ice cream sundae and someone adding more whip cream on top.
I learn something from every page of On Writing. I can open the book on page one hundred fourteen and fall right into it (page 114 discusses vocabulary as one of the best necessaries as a writer) any page and not only learn something important, I’m also entertained, enthralled and like always--inspired--by its great writing and how it moves me to write—just write—and to try and do a great job at it.
I keep Writing the Breakout Novel close by because to me it’s a blue print on how to construct the best book that I can; Mr. Maass tells you like it is and he does it with precise language and a truckload of helpful information such as examples of the kind of writing that adheres to his point, checklists at the end of each chapter that gives the highlights of that chapter and he has also added a workbook that compliments his writing book where you can construct your novel right in front of you and I’m using it now for my novel The Geography of Love so that I will not miss out on the essential ingredients needed to create a great story. I use the workbook (as well as the book itself) when writing each of my novels because it gives me confidence that I’m going in the right direction while I’m traveling that long writing road.
Whatever “writing books” you use to help bolster you through the writing process is a great thing because the tools we need to get us to keep up the writing is to our advantage and to the works advantage. The goal is always to do our best writing as much as we possibly can and that’s not easy, so anything to help us along in this process is a gift.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
When I write I make sure I have two special books at hand, they are: Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass and On Writing by Stephen King. I know most writers always have “writing” books or books about writing in easy reach when they are getting it down. My reasons for having my favorite writing books around are many but I’ll only comment on a few: I love reading passages from On Writing over and over again and not just the chapters on the practical aspects of writing, the “Toolbox” section as Mr. King calls it where he advises on the important basics of writing, using adverbs, grammar, style, plot (or not how to develop one), to read, read and read some more, description, theme, all the mechanics of the writing process, what I love the most about On Writing is that it’s truly like reading one of your favorite novels its full of stories of Mr. King’s life that draw you in like one of his great novels and they fit into the book just like pieces of a puzzle so perfectly that moving from a few paragraphs on how to write dialogue to the story of how he started writing Misery is a smooth ride like eating your favorite ice cream sundae and someone adding more whip cream on top.
I learn something from every page of On Writing. I can open the book on page one hundred fourteen and fall right into it (page 114 discusses vocabulary as one of the best necessaries as a writer) any page and not only learn something important, I’m also entertained, enthralled and like always--inspired--by its great writing and how it moves me to write—just write—and to try and do a great job at it.
I keep Writing the Breakout Novel close by because to me it’s a blue print on how to construct the best book that I can; Mr. Maass tells you like it is and he does it with precise language and a truckload of helpful information such as examples of the kind of writing that adheres to his point, checklists at the end of each chapter that gives the highlights of that chapter and he has also added a workbook that compliments his writing book where you can construct your novel right in front of you and I’m using it now for my novel The Geography of Love so that I will not miss out on the essential ingredients needed to create a great story. I use the workbook (as well as the book itself) when writing each of my novels because it gives me confidence that I’m going in the right direction while I’m traveling that long writing road.
Whatever “writing books” you use to help bolster you through the writing process is a great thing because the tools we need to get us to keep up the writing is to our advantage and to the works advantage. The goal is always to do our best writing as much as we possibly can and that’s not easy, so anything to help us along in this process is a gift.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
Friday, December 08, 2006
Hello,
If we’re lucky we can write all type of things and sometimes I need to write something different especially when writing a long project, so I take a break from the longer novel by doing shorter ones, novellas and flash fiction or sudden fiction that doesn’t take long, doesn’t take too many words and straying from the longer piece to the shorter one can be the most liberating exercises you can do and I had forgotten this until I completed the first sudden fiction piece I had done in a long time and it was terrific. The story is called Ice Cream and Christmas Trees.
To me writing short stories occasionally is like being a mathematician who takes a break from the coldness of numbers to write poetry or a concert pianist who occasionally plays with a jazz quartet because its fun. Another great aspect about writing flash fiction when you have the chance is that you can write about anything and in anyway you like which is different from writing a novel that follows an order, a plan, that creates the novel from beginning to end. Flash fiction doesn’t have to have a beginning or end, doesn’t have to follow any order, it can stop in the middle, it can have poetry thrown in it, it can sound crazy, or plain one liners, it can be 200 words or a thousand, flash fiction can be anything you want it to be and that’s the greatness of it.
So write what you want, what you love, just remember there are so many different forms of writing we can do and should do if not only to help develop our skills so that we can write anything well, but because I have so many things I want to write about (and I know you do to) that getting my stories out in any form is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
If we’re lucky we can write all type of things and sometimes I need to write something different especially when writing a long project, so I take a break from the longer novel by doing shorter ones, novellas and flash fiction or sudden fiction that doesn’t take long, doesn’t take too many words and straying from the longer piece to the shorter one can be the most liberating exercises you can do and I had forgotten this until I completed the first sudden fiction piece I had done in a long time and it was terrific. The story is called Ice Cream and Christmas Trees.
To me writing short stories occasionally is like being a mathematician who takes a break from the coldness of numbers to write poetry or a concert pianist who occasionally plays with a jazz quartet because its fun. Another great aspect about writing flash fiction when you have the chance is that you can write about anything and in anyway you like which is different from writing a novel that follows an order, a plan, that creates the novel from beginning to end. Flash fiction doesn’t have to have a beginning or end, doesn’t have to follow any order, it can stop in the middle, it can have poetry thrown in it, it can sound crazy, or plain one liners, it can be 200 words or a thousand, flash fiction can be anything you want it to be and that’s the greatness of it.
So write what you want, what you love, just remember there are so many different forms of writing we can do and should do if not only to help develop our skills so that we can write anything well, but because I have so many things I want to write about (and I know you do to) that getting my stories out in any form is a wonderful, wonderful thing.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
Friday, December 01, 2006
Hello,
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, ate grandly and wrote and wrote and wrote—good stuff. I did a lot of writing and I’m getting it done to my liking. I- as I do much of the time - was thinking about writing (though the key is doing it) and thought how much of it we really do and the different forms it takes. I start off my day writing out pages of my own work if I’m lucky or at least notes for a story or for a new idea.
From there I usually write notes to my children’s teachers, a line of two on their homework to let the teacher know I’m paying attention too or to comment on something the teacher sent me—those teachers send home a lot of information. Then at the office I write e-mails, more than I thought I did and for a number of reasons: one, because I seem to communicate better in writing than I do speaking to someone over the phone. Two, writing out something another person can read seems to me to clear up any beginning confusion; it’s in writing so quote me on it. Third, writing out a message is easier, cleaner; colder maybe but cleaner. And fourth, you can write out something beautiful, make something easier for the reader to take when its written out, you can pour your heart out in your writing something that sometimes cannot be easy to do over that instrument, the phone.
In the evening I write notes to my husband and those are my favorite. Writing to someone you love, even like a lot is special and I think it has always been since the birth of the printed word. How many times have reading the love letters of others: Catharine of Aragon to Henry VIII; Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine; Theodore Roosevelt Jr. to Bunny (his second wife); F. Scott Fitzgerald to Zelda and Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan make us realize that only through the written word can the feelings and thoughts in the heart be expressed for all the world to see and rejoice in.
Writing is a constant isn't it? It can’t be avoided; shouldn’t be avoided, we can’t live without writing, putting all we want to do, need to be, want to be, who we love, what we love; the way we live; all of it, in to words. I know I can’t live without putting something into words everyday and I don’t think you can either.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, ate grandly and wrote and wrote and wrote—good stuff. I did a lot of writing and I’m getting it done to my liking. I- as I do much of the time - was thinking about writing (though the key is doing it) and thought how much of it we really do and the different forms it takes. I start off my day writing out pages of my own work if I’m lucky or at least notes for a story or for a new idea.
From there I usually write notes to my children’s teachers, a line of two on their homework to let the teacher know I’m paying attention too or to comment on something the teacher sent me—those teachers send home a lot of information. Then at the office I write e-mails, more than I thought I did and for a number of reasons: one, because I seem to communicate better in writing than I do speaking to someone over the phone. Two, writing out something another person can read seems to me to clear up any beginning confusion; it’s in writing so quote me on it. Third, writing out a message is easier, cleaner; colder maybe but cleaner. And fourth, you can write out something beautiful, make something easier for the reader to take when its written out, you can pour your heart out in your writing something that sometimes cannot be easy to do over that instrument, the phone.
In the evening I write notes to my husband and those are my favorite. Writing to someone you love, even like a lot is special and I think it has always been since the birth of the printed word. How many times have reading the love letters of others: Catharine of Aragon to Henry VIII; Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine; Theodore Roosevelt Jr. to Bunny (his second wife); F. Scott Fitzgerald to Zelda and Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan make us realize that only through the written word can the feelings and thoughts in the heart be expressed for all the world to see and rejoice in.
Writing is a constant isn't it? It can’t be avoided; shouldn’t be avoided, we can’t live without writing, putting all we want to do, need to be, want to be, who we love, what we love; the way we live; all of it, in to words. I know I can’t live without putting something into words everyday and I don’t think you can either.
If you have any comments or suggestions, please e-mail me at: matwrite1@hotmail. com. I’ll love to hear from you.
Until next time, God willing,
Lori
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