Monthly Archives: November 2011

Deliberate Randomness

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Deliberate Randomness

The clouds lazily crawl across the sky. They look like big old cotton balls and you feel comfortable watching them while the white globs of fluff change and begin to take on shapes. The longer you stare, the more recognizable the shapes are. The shapes morph and become other shapes.

Later you’re sitting in the office waiting for your appointment. Looking down at the tile floor, you notice the flecks of color in the squares. They seem to be random, but after a minute or two, they begin to look like objects or people. You think you see a strange story in the floor.

Then you gaze across the room at the bookcase and notice the grain of wood. The swirls and peaks catch your attention and pretty soon you have another vision of something vaguely familiar.

Randomness is a hard concept to follow. There are patterns all over the place, especially where we least expect them.

Keep your eyes open to the most random spots in your world and see if a picture doesn’t arrange itself for you.

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

Nandy Ekle

PATRIOTISM

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PATRIOTISM

by Sharon Stevens

n. patriot+ism- love and loyal or zealous support of one’s own country,especially in all matters involving other countries; nationalism.     Websters New World Dictionary

In honor, memory, and celebration of my grandparents Richard & Anna Groves

What I know about patriotism I learned from my grandparents. During World War II families were encouraged to invite servicemen from the local air base for holiday meals. Rationing dictated they could only host two men at a time. The soldiers chosen for my grandparents refused to come unless they could bring a third. Their friend was of Chinese descent from California, and though he fought in Uncle Sam’s army he was unwelcome outside the base.

Grandfather had served in World War I in France in the Balloon Corp when the Armistice was signed. He knew how it felt to be so far from home at any time, but especially during the holiday season. Also their son was serving in Italy. Grandmother found it hard to imagine her first born a world away, and hoped he could find refuge with a family there. So without hesitation they opened their hearts to these three young men.

My mother remembers that first Thanksgiving of the war. They ate turkey with all the trimmings, and cakes made within rationing guidelines.

From that point on the soldier became a surrogate son. Christmas came and went, New Years and Valentine’s Day followed. Every spare moment found him at their address and not just for meals. Weekends were spent playing cards and listening to the radio with the family. Many of the other soldiers spent time off the base riding the bus downtown, to the drive inns, to the dances…his refuge was found within.

I have thought back over my grandparents efforts many times. Outside their home this young man would have faced certain discrimination, an ugliness aimed at his features though he wore the uniform of an American soldier.

In sharing the family hearth my grandparents weren’t marching in cadence with a military band, or saluting the flag with their hands over their hearts as the Star Spangled Banner stirred their soul. Their gesture spanned countless generations of dedicated Americans. They were doing what they could for the war effort by offering a warm meal with filling hearts while they filled bellies. Our family celebrated freedom just by welcoming a young soldier, AND the two friends who refused to leave him behind…simply a shining example linking the heritage of all patriots across time.

Through this legacy I know wars aren’t just won on the battlefield. Patriotism is practiced by those warriors who merely keep the home fires burning.

Sharon Stevens

Thank you

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Outtakes

Thank you

It’s almost done. Sixty pages, three chapters and the second draft of my fourth novel HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW will be ready for final editing. I don’t have a publisher, agent or editor. Yet. The point is that I will have finished the book.

I have so many folks to thank. Without their support, guidance and encouragement, I might have been tempted to drop the project and try something else. So here goes. I’ll start with my good friend Cynthia Hunt who read the novella, liked it but wanted more story. The agent who listened to my pitch and told me it would not sell as a novella. However, I had enough plot twists and ideas to develop a novel, so write it. I have a wonderful family who allows me bounce ideas off them. They support my dream of selling my novel and will celebrate with me when that happens. I have great friends who follow the progress of the story and can’t wait for me to complete the book. I support myself with my writing as I work toward the sale of my novel. I have a great manager and team who support my creative writing.

Last, but definitely not least, I owe so much to Natalie, Sharon, Nancy, Craig, and Joe. Meeting after meeting they critique the pages I read. They offer sound advice, point out the errors without demoralizing, and they give me tons of smiley faces. I treasure their input and friendship. And I wish every writer had such a support group.

Writing is a solitary profession. A writer spends so much time alone in an office, or on the couch, staring at the computer screen or legal pad, and painstakingly give life to a story, poem, song, non-fiction book, memoir, or article. Sometimes you can feel so alone in the process. I compare the writer’s journey to the road a woman travels when pregnant. Can you imagine going through morning sickness, weight gain, runs to the bathroom every ten minutes, hours of labor without family and friends behind you cheering you on? How sad would that be? The truth is we need each other to share the good and the bad. I’m blessed and freely acknowledge it. I wish every writer, every person, would be as fortunate.

So to all of you who have been with me in this journey, I say thanks from the bottom of my heart. I could not have done it without you.

Cait Collins

People Shopping

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

People Shopping

You sit at the table in the Food Court at the mall. After a morning spent shopping in the carnival-like atmosphere, you just need to sit for a minute.

Look at the people around you. You see store clerks on break taking off their professionally styled pumps to allow their feet to breathe. You see young mothers pushing strollers and leading pre-school children behind them. You see teenagers not in classes. You see couples walking close together, or herding small children. Or maybe you see people walking at a fast pace against the wall all around the mall to get their exercise.

What you should see in all this activity is a goldmine of characters. Allow yourself to wonder about their names, their careers, pasts, presents, futures. Let their faces become part of your character files. Imagine inviting someone to sit next to you and gently interview them. You can go back later and decide where they fit in your story and the details about them that did not come out right away.

And always ask yourself, “Are they really what they seem?”

Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.

Nandy Ekle

Fighting Human Nature

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            TRAILS END- The Novel

                                                           Fighting Human Nature

Taking responsibility for the path of your life is hard work. It’s more convenient to make excuses, blame circumstances and other people, or concede to “It’s just my bad luck.” Seeing only the negative side comes easy. It takes real effort to guide yourself in a positive manner, accepting what comes your way, and dealing with it.

In chapter nine of TRAILS END, Donnie finds proof that he is a failure because of the Palomino horse bucking him off. Robert Jarrett’s wife, Allie, delays the home school lesson to present a different point of view to the young cowboy. It’s a turning point in his life and a foundation he turns to forever.

Have you ever had to face the truth to yourself? I think realizing there is always someone worse off than we are, goes along way in accepting our bad situations and motivating ourselves to dig our own way out. I hope that you, like Donnie, can find solutions to your problems, and be happy everyday.

Check in next Wednesday,

Joe

National Novel Writing Month

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National Novel Writing Month

November is National Novel Writing Month, NANOWRIMO for short. For thirty days writers from all over the world will be cranking out words on computers and word processors trying to reach 50,000 thousand words.

The goal is to encourage writers to put out a novel size piece of work in a very short period of time. With that many words completed, the work can then go through rewrites and editing for clean up to produce a polished and completed novel.

This year, I’m going to attempt this challenge as a way of motivating myself to write. It will certainly be a challenge at an average of 1667 words a day. My plan of attack will be to put the outline of my story down, then fill in the spaces. Maybe I should have participated when I had a chatty six year old at home who couldn’t stop talking. I could have taken dictation and made the word count!

If you are interested in participating, go to www.nanowrimo.org and sign up. It’s free, fun and who knows, you even might get a novel out of it.

Rory C. Keel