Category Archives: Writing

Writer Appreciation

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Reasons To Write

By Rory C. Keel

This week I will share with you reason number 4 of why I write.

 Reason #4 – Writing helps me appreciate other writers.                                              

Having put my hand to the mighty penand wielded the awesome power of a fine writing instrument –well ok, I used a computer—I have come to appreciate other writers. While I have not read the writings of every author whose name is attached to a poem or printed on a glossy cover of a book, I can honestly say that I appreciate their work.

No matter the genre, the fact that they took the time to write down their thoughts and ideas is truly amazing.

Consider a few things it takes to succeed in writing:

The idea – Having an idea that draws someone into the writing, then takes that person through a meaningful journey and places him at the end, and having them enjoy the experience is a monumental task. Many of us wish we had an Idea.

Commitment of time – Alas, writing is not like a pyramid scheme, which claims to allow a person to make millions of dollars with only five minutes invested each week. No, writing takes time. Constantly learning the craft of writing, doing research on materials, then actually sitting and writing takes dedicated time.

Persistence – Many who start writing become discouraged through the process of continual critiques received and the re-writing which must be done during the process. Keep writing, use these things as learning tools and don’t give up, consider it as fine-tuning.

Yes, I appreciate other writers, both the famous and unknown, because they wrote.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Longfellow and Christmas Bells

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Longfellow and Christmas Bells

by Natalie Bright

 

A ‘spark’ for writers is the moment an idea is ignited in our mind. The actual words may appear that very moment as notes on a restaurant napkin, or it may be months from now. I have spark notes written on and in everything. Sticky notes, an essential tool for writers, completely cover the wall next to my desk. One statement my son made became the basis for an article published in a magazine over a year later. You just never know what those spark might become.

Where Are the Sparks?

Ideas are everywhere (check out Postcards from the Muse segments by Nandy Ekle right here on WordsmithSix Blog).

Writers find sparks in overheard conversations or by reading others written words. Pictures or art can conjure up a story idea. More often than not sparks come from a writers life experiences. Good or bad, joyous or devastating; emotions evolve into wonderful prose.

As I writer, I’m always fascinated with the history behind the spark and the environment that influences that writer’s words.

Longfellow’s Sorrow

In the case of Christmas Bells, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the words to his poem on December 25, 1864.  The music and words are lifting and it’s always been one of my favorites, bringing to mind joyous holidays past spent with my favorite grandmother.

The words actually came from a very distraught Longfellow.

Precious Fanny Longfellow

Just three years earlier, his wife Fanny had wanted to preserve her daughter’s hair clippings in wax.  In a tragic turn of events, hot candle wax dripped onto Fanny’s dress, igniting it in flames. She ran into her husband’s study, where Henry tried to extinguish the blaze with a rug. He experienced severe burns to his face, arms, and hands. How they both must have suffered through that long night, only to have Fanny Longfellow die the next morning. Henry was much too ill to attend her funeral.

“A merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.” reads Longfellows’ journal entry for December 25, 1862.

Tragedy struck the family again in 1863 when his oldest son Charles, who was only 19 at the time, suffered a severe wound as a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac. Charles had left without his father’s blessing, joining the Union cause in March of that same year.

Continuing On

The Christmas season of 1864 must have been a dreadful time for Longfellow, as he carried on to care for their remaining small children, Ernest, Alice, Edith and Allegra. The Civil War was raging, skirmishes had continued throughout the country as they were still months away from Lee’s surrender to Grant at Appomattox, and Abraham Lincoln had just been re-elected.

From the depths of his soul he wrote “Christmas Bells”, what some believe to be a pacifist poem roused by his grief upon hearing about his son. It was first published in 1865 in a juvenile magazine.

In 1872, five stanzas were rearranged by John Baptiste Calkin and put to the tune “Waltham”. Two stanzas referencing the war were omitted, and the poem became the beloved carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”

  1. I heard the bells on Christmas day
    Their old familiar carols play;
    And wild and sweet their tones repeat,
    “There’s peace on earth, good will to men.”
  2. And thought how, as the day had come,
    The belfries of all Christendom
    Had rolled along th’ unbroken song
    Of peace on earth, good will to men.
  3. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
    “God is not dead, nor does He sleep,
    For Christ is here; His Spirit near
    Brings peace on earth, good will to men.”
  4. When men repent and turn from sin
    The Prince of Peace then enters in,
    And grace imparts within their hearts
    His peace on earth, good will to men.
  5. O souls amid earth’s busy strife,
    The Word of God is light and life;
    Oh, hear His voice, make Him your choice,
    Hail peace on earth, good will to men.
  6. Then happy, singing on your way,
    Your world will change from night to day;
    Your heart will feel the message real,
    Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Waxing Poetic

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Waxing Poetic

By Nandy Ekle

The world is full of things that are similar and things that are very different and we like to compare things to get a better understanding of them. So we use similes and metaphors.

Similes are when we say that something is like something else:  Leaves fell like ideas all around me, but the wind blew them away before I could gather them together. This is a tool to use in description, but also works well for narrating and dialogue. It’s probably the easiest to  understand in symbolic language.

Metaphor is when we use one object to describe another as if it is the other object: When the thermometer broke the silvery liquid inside dribbled to the floor. As this liquid reached the floor, it didn’t make a puddle but beads. I tried to pick one up, but it became liquid and rolled away before I could pick it up.

Two images that mean the same thing, both poetic ways of saying the same thing.

What simile and metaphor can you use in your story telling?

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

 

TUMBLEWEEDS

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TUMBLEWEEDS

By Sharon Stevens

 

Tonight I watch as tumbleweed after tumbleweed blows across my path. Hundreds, no thousands seemed to tear themselves away from their earthly home desperately seeking a place to grab onto. Sadly they only found themselves buried against barbed wire fences with countless others of their species. The wind continues to howl and moan around me, pounding and pelting me with grit and dirt every which way I turn.

My first thought was that the world was coming to an end, but I knew this wasn’t supposed to happen until Friday. What a relief to realize that until then I am apparently safe. My second thought is that with so much darkness and desperation I would have never been able to live during the “dirty thirties” of Ken Burn’s Dust Bowl days. And I very much doubt that I could have survived as a pioneer woman living in a dugout out on the desolate plains hundreds of miles away from any neighbor.

All other thoughts turned to the tumbleweeds themselves. Several years ago I read a Louis L’Amour story about a lonely widow out on the plains that would tie notes to tumbleweeds just to try to connect to another human being. She never knew if anyone would ever see her notes. It was enough that she could put her thoughts down into something tangible, and send them on their way. “Conagher” found one of these with the writing attached, and looked for more clues to try to find the writer.

So many people predict that books are on their last legs, believing that technology will take their place.  And we are faced with the belief of the Mayans predicting that the world will be destroyed on December 21, 2012. Just like the horrific tragedy in Connecticut there will always be those who seek to drain our dreams and extinguish our passion, destroying our way of life, along with everything we believe in. Personally I prefer to hold in my heart a future that includes all that is wonderful and passionate. My thoughts are that even if we…humankind…blast to eternity in a ball of fire our ashes will remain behind to be reconstituted at a later date. There is no doubt in my mind that the message will still be there, readable and clear for future generations to follow. Like the sweet cockroach in “Wall E” I think that tumbleweeds, as books will survive any holocaust.

As writers we have to write as though our thoughts and desires will continue to survive. If we believed that our stories would never reach outside the ideas we hold in our hearts, or if we fail to find our “spark” as in Natalie Bright’s blog post, then we should never begin in the first place.

So just in case the Mayan’s are correct I want to get my Wordsmith six blog out of this plastic computer box as soon as possible. Hopefully I can get it printed onto a medium even if it is something as simple as copy paper. I hope and pray from the very bottom of my heart and soul all my words can come alive again. I so want to be reassured that it will be there for others to share for the future. At that time, how wonderful would it be if whoever controls the universe, whether it is the Good Lord or any other Higher Power, that He will see fit to rebuild a world with Hanukah as well as Christmas, and tumbleweeds as well as books.

As God and John Wayne are my witness, I know the message will be perfectly clear.

Enough

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Outtakes 73

 Enough

By Cait Collins

I’ve finished the Christmas shopping, fought the crowds at the grocery store, trimmed the tree, hung my stocking, and centered the wreath over the fireplace. My living room looks like a tornado struck it as rolls of wrapping paper, tissue, gift bags, tags, ribbons, and bows litter the floor. I have to finish wrapping all the gifts I’ve purchased for nieces and nephews, family and friends. The cards are addressed and mailed. What have I forgotten? I grab my list and check it again. Everything is done until I starting cooking for my sisters’ birthday dinner. Still, I fell as if something is undone.

I look over at the tree and wonder if it has enough decorations. Should I get out the left-overs and add them to tree? Did I buy enough for the kids? Did I spend enough time writing my letters to the aunts and uncles I seldom see? Have I taken enough time to eat right, exercise, and rest? Have I allowed enough time to enjoy the season or have I allowed the parties, dinners, and all the bad reports from the news media to sap my Christmas spirit.

Reality, the tree looks fine. My nephew, Josh, jointed me for pizza and tree trimming. We talked and laughed while we worked. Our kids always get more than they need. My annual letters to the family are long enough to assure them we are all doing fine. No, I have not eaten right. This time of the year I tend to eat on the run. No on the exercise, but I’ve taken a week off, and I’m really taking a break. The parties and dinners have been enjoyable, and I’ve turned off the news. My nephews and I spent three hours taking in THE HOBBIT. Now I have my feet up and am watching A Charlie Brown Christmas. What more could I want? It is enough.

As I get ready to begin submitting my current work, I ask myself if the novel is good enough. Is there enough description? Are the scenes thoroughly developed? Is there enough back story? Are the characters believable? Even when license is taken with reality, are the events written well enough to make the reader accept it? As I read each chapter, I look for places to improve the manuscript. I work to tame my internal editor to prevent overworking Kate’s story. Even when the final edits are done and the submissions are sent, there will be doubts. It’s the nature of a writer to want to snatch the work back and rewrite one scene or another. It will never be enough. In the end, I must trust my instincts and lay it to rest. I’m almost ready to let go. I’m almost ready to say it is enough.

Writing Improves Your Skills

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Reasons to Write

By Rory C. Keel

Why do I write? Is it because throngs of fans demand it, anticipating every word of my next masterpiece? Is it because I honestly expect to make millions of dollars on a bestseller, or desire to be famous? No.

This week I will share with you reason number 3, of why I write.

 Reason #3 – Writing improves your skills.

“Practice makes perfect!” I knew there had to be a reason the teacher made me write my spelling words three times each in grade school. There were a few other lessons I learned while writing words multiple times on the chalkboard, but I will spare you from my youthful indiscretions. Yes, the more a person writes the more they learn and the better they become at the craft. Even those who have a level of natural ability will continue to show improvement with every word.

Use of Tools

There are a few basic tools that you will need to help you get started.

  1. A Thesaurus and a Dictionary will help to insure the proper meaning and usage of words, improving your vocabulary.
  2. The Chicago Manual of Style, or Strunk and White Elements of Style, will aid in punctuation and sentence structure. Over time you will notice a marked improvement in your writing.
  3. Use Encyclopedias found online or at your local library, to research your project. It will naturally results in an increased knowledge of that subject and improve your reading comprehension.
  4. A computer with a word processor program, and certainly, pen and paper are still terrific to use for jotting things down.
  5. Find a comfortable writing place.
  6. Then start with an Idea and write it down.

How do I know these points are true? I’ve come along way since the first grade, A-B-C-D-E-F-G . . .

The Gift of Story

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The Gift of Story

by Natalie Bright

Conversations from the Past

“I can’t believe she bought everyone a present,” my mother said, as Dad eased our car out of my grandparent’s driveway.

My father shook his head in agreement. “She’ll be paying for gifts through next summer.”

So began the conversation my parents had every year following our family’s Christmas. My grandmother bought presents for everybody. The gift list included her four kids and their spouses, plus nine grandchildren. She bought and baked goodies for her mail carrier, her beautician, the pastor and his family, and most of the neighbors on her rural country road.

Giving to Others

My parents never understood why my grandmother worked so hard and spent so much money at Christmas. I think she wanted to make special holiday memories for all of us, and more importantly, I think it made her  happy.

How Do You Give?

A lighted tree, decorations hung everywhere, and seeing my children’s faces when they open their gifts makes me happy. It is indeed a thankful time of joy and giving, which got me to thinking how people give in so many different ways.

You might cook a fantastic meal for loved ones, knit or sew, or donate money to a worthy cause. If you don’t have  extra funds, you probably donate your time. Most of you simply show up: at work and at home again, because someone is depending on you to be there. It’s all giving in one way or another and hopefully, you’re happy in doing it.

As for Writers, We Write.

Writers give by writing. It may sound trite compared to some of the things I’ve mentioned above, but it’s not insignificant to us. In reality, as words fill the blank page, we don’t expect anything in return, although with fingers-crossed we sincerely hope that you’ll buy the book, love the story, post a great review and become a devoted fan. That would make us very happy.

With words we bestow our innermost sadness, hurts, happiness, and fears to you, our dear readers, throughout the year. It’s hard work and we rip our guts out for you. The written word is a powerful gift. Words can change your world view, touch your heart in ways you never imagined, make you laugh out loud, or make you cry.

Sometimes, the gift of a story will remain with you your whole life.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everybody!

http://www.nataliebright.com

Experience the Season

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POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE

Experience the Season

By Nandy Ekle

Bright sparkly lights. Cold wind. The taste of peppermint. Festive music. The smell of burning wax from candles. The silvery icicles hung from the tree in our living room window. And magic in the air. These are my memories of Christmas as a child. My mother made new ornaments every year from Styrofoam balls and sequins. My dad wrapped presents and made his own bows. We three kids tried a little harder to get along so Santa wouldn’t bring us coal.

A very strong memory I have is of my parents collecting toys and fun things for a family we knew who were having a hard time. Mom and Dad took us shopping to help find little trinkets for the children of the family since we played together. Our job was to pick out dolls and hair brushes and pony tail holders, wrap them in the colorful paper, then be quiet and pretend we didn’t know anything about it. When my friend, the oldest daughter of the family, called to tell me about the sack of presents left on their porch Christmas Eve night, I had to act amazed to hear that such a thing happened, all the while giggling inside myself.

As an adult, wife, mother, grandmother, we have tried to make our own traditions. The endless baking. Sitting on the floor with gifts, paper, tape and ink pens spread out while I wrap presents. Gathering the same addresses every year for the Christmas cards.

I think in the past couple of years a new tradition has started. This one has nothing to do with the rest of the family, but has everything to do with feelings. The last few years I have woken up on a cold morning humming a song that inspires a new story. I sit at the computer as the sun slowly rises over the horizon and the magic of the season makes a new story appear on the “paper.” The best thing to do when that happens is to go with it. Let the memories, feelings and emotions of the holiday flow and you’ll probably find your best story.

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

TEACHING CREATIVITY

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TEACHING CREATIVITY

by Sharon Stevens

“Teach kids to understand everything but to fear nothing.”

Kevin Honeycutt

Almost twenty years ago I sat next to Kathy Gist at the Frontiers in Writing Conference at Amarillo College. She had submitted a story for the contest and all of us in attendance were waiting for the results. Kathy won in not only her category, but the best of all the writings that year. The judges for her wrote magazine articles and their talk was about getting your work published. They loved her story! She had taken a sweet memory of her father, and after his death she had taken fabric from his old shirts and quilted them into a wall hanging for her and her family. She wrote that she gathered them up and buried herself within the folds and grieved with each cut but healed with each stitch.

The look on Kathy’s face was priceless as the presenters listed all the publications and magazines that would be interested to carry her story. They told her to submit it now, as quick as she could and to as many as she dared. And she did. She sent her work to Guidepost and Country magazine among others. It was published in Country and then she found out she had won the Guidepost Short Story Award. The prize for this was a week in New York City with five other winners who would spend their time visiting with agents, publishers, other writers, and teachers of the craft of writing.

I thought of Kathy today as I watched Natalie Bright finish up power points for her own presentation. How blessed I was to be beside her as she went over each graphic chosen especially for this talk. Our daughter, Andrea Keller, a teacher at the Sally B. Elliott Elementary School in Irving Texas, had invited Kevin Honeycutt to Skype, and Natalie to speak at their special author’s event. Natalie teaches creative writing for children at various workshops in Canyon and Amarillo, Texas, She is also the Program Chair for the Frontier in Writing Conference and a blogger for Wordsmith Six Blog. Natalie and Jodi Thomas would be traveling to Dallas for the Dallas/Fort Worth Writers Conference this weekend and had graciously consented to give a talk to the kids over writing and a connection to oil. Natalie and her husband Chris have Sunlight Exploration, as a geologist with an oil and gas business, and she had written the book “Oil People” as a middle reader.

My husband, Joe Stevens was the photographer for the book. He has such a gift in photography, where did he tap into this talent?

Jodi Thomas is a guest speaker at the DFW Writers Conference and her topic is, “To Teach Creativity, Writing Deeper.” And this brings me to the inspiration for this blog.

How do you teach creativity, how do you ingrain writing? To inspire, sure, to instruct, ditto. You can do all of these things. But to be able to take those lessons and create a story is something that comes from within. As I watched Natalie I was overwhelmed with all the emotions exploding in my heart. The colors, the graphics, the whole kit and caboodle came alive and sang to my soul.

I felt the same way when I took Creative Writing classes from Jodi Thomas and DeWanna Pace at the urging of my good friend Connie Hirsch. Jodi taught each of us in the class to write from our own heart. They taught us the craft of writing and the mechanics, but it went so much deeper than that or higher above. They inspired us to tap into ourselves and find a way to transfer that onto print. I also am touched in so many ways with each guest speaker at Panhandle Professional Writers like Barbara Brannon from Texas Tech University Press as they share their passion and gifts. In just a couple of hours they take a simple subject and weave a connection that we can use to our own benefit.

And then again my heart is so full as I watch my daughter gather ideas using all she learned with her Master’s Degree in Educational Technology, but also with Podstock, Follett Higher Education, Destination Imagination, BrainPop, Girl Scouts and on and on. And then there are the people who have touched her life such as Dr. Alice Owen, Dr. Elaine Roberts, and Elaine Plybon. Who was their teacher that gave them their gifts? Andrea has volunteered for years every which way she can, and stores tidbits everywhere she goes. Teaching children with Autism keeps her sharp in all the ways she can give them a voice. Her creativity knows no bounds. Where did she find this spark? How does she transfer it to others? It boggles the mind. My husband and I may have given her life, but the extras she created on her own.

Each and every person connected together share the essence of their creativity. Some exude through their very soul. The definition in my 1890 Webster’s dictionary only describes creativity as related to creation as in birth. And maybe it is nothing more than that. But I believe creativity is what takes a scene or an idea and gives it life, and helps it to explode with vivid colors bright with everything that gives us spirit.

I won’t be there to watch Andrea shine, or as Natalie gives her talk or Kevin Skypes, but I will be blessed to hear them as they share their excitement when they return home, or watch their postings on facebook or email. As God and John Wayne are my witness I know with their creativity they will touch the life of a child, or a parent, or a teacher. And each of those will return to their own homes and their own families and pass these moments on to their siblings and to their friends, AND this will perpetuate an endless cycle of heritage and legacy for eternity. What a treasure!

I think words taken from the musical drama “TEXAS” says it best. “Take good news where you are going, say to the waiting dead that your brothers intend good things. And here where you once followed the Buffalo, a kind and happy people will build their homes and cities in joy and Thanksgiving-trusting in one another, friends to one another. Yes, that’s what I mean, honored warrior and chief. And we will remember your suffering and the suffering and sacrifice of your people and of my own Mother who sleeps in this ground where you will sleep, and so will the better and more beautiful make this land because of you. And our children, and children’s children will remember. WILL REMEMBER!”

Sharon Stevens

What a Character

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Outtakes 72

What a Character

By Cait Collins

 Sometimes it seems my stories are flat. My main characters work, but there’s a presence lurking in the shadows. It’s a being that is not living, but whose influence is felt. I encountered this situation with Miss Lucille and Rance Phillips in my current work HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW. Miss Lucille dies in the early pages of the story. Rance has been gone for a number of years. Still these two people have pivotal roles in the story. They are definitely characters, but how can they contribute to the development of the tale?

Incorporating memories brings the character front and center. There are many things about her life in Harley, Texas, Kate wants to forget. But hearing the story of Miss Lucille’s “adoption” of Travis and Mike forces her to relive the day she came to live with her grandmother. Kate’s life had been bleak following her father’s death until her Grams takes over as guardian. Under the care of her grandmother, the young girl begins to grow and develop the characteristics that keep Kate strong even during the worst of times.

Letters and journals give glimpses into the deceased’s life. They provide back story and an eye witness account of the events that drive the story. Kate reads a letter from Rance Phillips, the antagonist’s father. Rance and Miss Lucille were an item, but the Texas gentleman viewed young Kate as a granddaughter. His letter reminds her of the day she bought him two scoops of vanilla ice cream. His words confirm an abiding love for her. The scene and the reactions of Kate, her son, and Dalton provide emotional impact for the reader.

One of my favorite scenes is the reading of Miss Lucille’s will.  This is no boring whereas and wherefore reading. The lady recorded her will. Imagine each heir hearing the voice and witnessing her expression as the deceased detailed each bequest. Each heir is left with no doubt as to Lucille Walker’s opinion of his or her character and the impact they had on her life.

Non-traditional characters can be tricky, but they may create some of the best drama in the story. Joe Nichols, one of my critique partners, is writing a novel about the rodeo circuit and an exceptional bronc. I love his seamless transition from the cowboy’s point of view regarding a ride to Trail’s End view of the event. By incorporating the horse’s thoughts and emotions, he makes the animal a major player in a promising first novel.

Non-traditional characters have the potential to spice up a story. Experimenting with various ways to bring these beings into the tale is a challenge, but it can be fun. Give it a try next time a scene lags. It could be just the fix you need.