Where to Start?
Where do I start writing? This question confounds even the best writers.
When you have trouble getting started, pick a setting. What objects do you see? Describe any characters in your vision. Include smells, colors, textures or tastes. All these will help describe what you see.
Use an organized outline or simply jot down notes to organize later.
Rory C. Keel
8 Best Quotes on Writing from FiW’12
By Natalie Bright
Based on the sessions I attended during Frontiers in Writing 2012 in Amarillo this past June, here are a few of my favorite quotes:
Natalie Bright
POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE
The Job
And as a writer, one of the things that I’ve always been interested in doing is actually invading your comfort space. Because that’s what we’re supposed to do. Get under your skin, and make you react.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/stephen_king.html#6gHi02fVOrIQUbmH.99
As writers we have several goals to accomplish when we write a story.
1. We entertain. Well, of course. People who read fiction read to be entertained. A true reader will read your words and see the action and hear the dialog as if watching a movie. Therefore we write to keep their attention.
2. We write to make a connection. We reach out to our readers with our words and try to touch them. We want them to know who we are, what we think and why we think it. This is our voice and our shot at immortality.
3. We write to teach a lesson or to make a statement. I used to get really upset in high school because the teacher constantly reminded us that every story has something to say. I really wanted a story to just be what it is. But as a writer I have learned that there needs to be a reason, or a theme, that drives the story through its course.
4. And of course, we write because we have the need to create. There are characters inside our heads that scream to be heard. There are worlds that need to be described.
So we write and we tell our stories to whoever will read them. And even if no one reads them, we still write.
Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.
Nandy Ekle
TEXAS
by Sharon Stevens
While going through used paperbacks at our bookstore I came across a copy of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” with a bookmark I had tucked between one of the pages long ago. My memories instantly took me back. I remembered watching this version, the production by Franco Zeffirelli’s, at the movies on my fifteen birthday. Something stirred in my tender soul that night and it wasn’t just the scene where a naked Leonard Whiting (Romeo) rises from Juliet’s bed and greets the morning sunlight. I was overwhelmed not only with the words of Shakespeare, but the poetry, the settings, the costumes, and the way the dawn filtered through the sheer curtains of the bedchamber. All of it connecting me from that day to this moment, celebrating cinema and live theatre through the centuries. The story is timeless of two families struggling, torn with their beliefs ripping each other apart while destroying the very heart of the youth until all come together in grief.
The notes in this Scholastic book mentioned that Shakespeare borrowed the plot and characters from a long poem by Arthur Brooke called, “The Tragical Historye of Romeus and Juliet, but the ancient story came from an Italian tale very much older than that.
Jennifer Yirak Ryen directed “Romeo and Juliet” this past year at Shakespeare in the Park at Palo Duro Canyon. I can’t tell you what this meant for me to hear “A curse on both your houses” echo against the canyon walls, and to see the lights glint off the swords as they battled each other to the death. I think this is truly what Shakespeare envisioned as he read the “historye” and set his images to resound through the centuries. He wrote this play to be performed on a bare stage with minimal distractions from the periphery of our vision. In Palo Duro Canyon Jennifer did just that as Paul Green did over fifty years ago with TEXAS and Dave Yirak continues to this day. The play is the thing and the world is our stage.
Shakespeare never wasted a tragedy and as writers neither do we. We collect every thought, every scent, every memory, every pain, and every joy in between. We don’t celebrate misfortune, but we do rejoice in the friends and families that stood beside us as we struggle…those who brought us to the brink as well as those who held us back.
We can never know what someone may glean from something we had written. An image may come to mind that we weren’t anticipating, tugging at our hearts or gnawing at our soul. So many times I burst with excitement over a phrase and burst into tears with the next one. Who are we to judge what stirs a soul or drains a heart?
We can only write and hope that someday our writings will touch either a passion or a nerve and ignite a flame.
The musical drama TEXAS begins their season on June 2, 2012. Much has changed from year to year, but the passions remain the same. Dave Yirak, the artistic director, will again be guiding the cast and crew to perform for millions from around the world. Paul Green’s message as a writer of man against man, man against nature and man against himself has never gotten lost amid the controversies trying to divide the very foundation of our heritage. Even though the names of the actors, hospitality, front of the house and those behind the scenes may be different, Shakespeare will be front and center with the best seats in the house.
Sometime in the past I had tucked a quote in between the pages of “Romeo and Juliet” to hold my place. Where ever that place was I have forgotten long ago. I wondered why in the world I had marked that certain spot. What did I notice, what caught my eye, what was in my heart? The quote was from “The Lost Colony”, a symphonic drama and the accompanying article written in the July 1960 Reader’s Digest by Alan Rankin about Paul Green. Margaret Harper was moved by the words and she and her husband Ples visited with Margaret and William Moore about asking Green to come to Palo Duro Canyon to see if he would write a play to be performed with the spirit of our heritage.
Green asked for a packet of material to be sent to him so he could get a feel of the legacy that surrounds us. The Panhandle Plains Historical Museum gathered material from all his sources and sent it on. The museum will be holding their, “Night At The Museum” on June 1 & 2nd from 9:00-10:30pm. All the lights are turned down and everyone brings a flashlight to explore the museum in all its glory.
I treasure TEXAS and all it stands for. I marvel at the majesty of Palo Duro Canyon. I rejoice in the men, women and children that encompass the cast and crew past and future. I know that each time I walk the grounds leading to the entrance to the amphitheater, as God and John Wayne are my witness I know without a doubt that there will be something that will touch my soul and bring back a memory.
Maybe I will use it in a story or maybe I will store it in my heart, and come across it sometime in the future when I open the page of a book and turn to the placed I marked so long ago.
I truly think Shakespeare will be proud.
Sharon Stevens
Outtakes 53
When the Muse Strikes
Don’t you just love those days when you power up the computer, open your current document, and start typing? They are few and far between, but when they come along, the pages fill as if by magic. There have been days I started work at eight in the morning and looked up ten hours later with more than one completed chapter. There are rules for such days. At least these are my rules.
Enjoy those rare days when everything just seems to work. The visits from the Muse or infusions of inspiration make up for the days you struggle.
Cait Collins
Consistency creates success
At the 2012 Frontiers in Writing conference in Amarillo Texas, I had the opportunity to speak to the “First Timers” class. Several years ago this type of class proved to be very helpful in preparing me for my first writing conference. Important writing information is shared such as what to expect when attending a writers conference, appropriate attire, behavior toward guest speakers and agents, how to choose which classes to sit through, and how an individual can maximize their learning experience for a profitable return on their investment paid at registration.
During the open forum portion of the class, a student asked the question, “Does an author become successful because they write a minimum number of pages or words a day?”
The truth is, each writer is different. Some write minimum word counts; others write volumes of pages quickly or stretch those words out over hours.
When you look at successful writers the one thing that is common among them all is consistency.
Whether it’s one word or ten, slow or fast, they write every day.
Rory C. Keel
Dr. Pepper & Peanuts
By Natalie Bright
My kids ask for Dr. Pepper’s during the summer, and I remember craving them just as bad when I was a kid. My grandfather, Pappy, used to take me to the Coop in Lockney, Texas where he’d buy me a “sodi pop” and a handful of peanuts. You had to take a couple of sips before your peanuts would all fit in the thin necked bottle. I always studied the artwork on the bottle and asked him why couldn’t we have one at 10, 2 and 4 everyday?
The memories of our childhood, the tastes, the experiences all influence our stories and add color to our writing. If it has to do with history, I always have to know how and why. Which brings me to the point of this blog: how long has Dr. Pepper been around?
The unique flavor of Dr. Pepper was created and sold beginning in 1885 in Waco, Texas. Dr. Pepper is the oldest manufacturer of soft drink concentrates and syrups in the U.S. It originated at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store by Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist who worked there.
Alderton liked the syrup flavor smells and in his spare time served carbonated drinks at the soda fountain. Keeping a journal, he began experimenting with numerous mixtures until he found the one he liked. Long story short, the store owner loved it, the fountain customers loved it, and its popularity soon spread.
Robert S. Lazenby, a young beverage chemist, also tasted the new drink and along with Morrison, formed a new firm, the Artesian Mfg. & Bottling Company, which later became Dr Pepper Company. They introduced Dr Pepper to almost 20 million people attending the 1904 World’s Fair Exposition in St. Louis. At the same Fair, hamburgers and frankfurters were first served on buns, and the ice cream cone was first served.
So now I’m wondering in my fictitious town of Justice, Texas, 1887, if my main character’s grandfather might buy her a Dr. Pepper? The challenge comes in taking our experiences and applying them to another time and place. That’s the magic of writing.
Did you Know, 23 fruit flavors give Dr Pepper its unique taste?
POST CARDS FROM THE MUSE
Did You Write A Blog
Ten forty-one p.m, Thursday night, a few moments before exercise time and I still have not written my Freaky Friday blog. What to write? What to write?
I sit here with my fingers on the keyboard willing words to scroll across my brain in some sort of order that looks like an interesting piece. My fingers tap on keys and letters rush together forming words on my screen. But do they make sense?
Well, the theme is here: breaking through the block. The tools are working: letters to words to sentences to paragraphs. The form is here: big title, middle title, by-line. But is the meaning here?
Sometimes the best way to break a block is to pick up a pen or pencil, or put your hands on the keyboard, and starting typing words. Most of the time, the first few words come out forced and silly, but will soon become exactly what you were looking for. If you doubt that, just read this blog.
Congratulations. You have just received a post card from the muse.
Nandy Ekle
DESTINATION
by Sharon Stevens
“Destination-The purpose for which anything is intended or appointed; end or ultimate designs.” 1890 Webster’s Dictionary
I just love pageantry, don’t you? I love everything about it… the colors, the music, the fanfare, the camaraderie, the life stories, what’s not to like? I am amazed how people can pull together thoughts and families and turn them into visions and images for the whole world to view.
There is so much pageantry going on this weekend. To name just a few, the Olympics begin, the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum in Canyon will be displaying a lock of George Washington’s hair, and last but not by any means least, Linda Broday, Phyliss Miranda and Jodi Thomas are in Anaheim California for the Romance Writers Conference and Awards.
There is enough inspiration in just one moment with any of these events to carry an average observer for an entire year. I was reminded of this when I was cleaning out the trunk of my car and came across the May 2001 issue of the local magazine ACCENT WEST. In it was the article by Liz Cantrell, “The Power Of A Dream,” about Brandon Slay and the story of his memories with the Olympics.
I had forgotten there was so many connections to our area so I stopped by the Canyon Public Library and picked up a copy of “Pride Of The Plains, 50 Years of the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame” by Mike Haynes and Dave Wohlfarth. The first story was about Joe Fortenberry, the Olympic basketball player from Happy Texas who attended WTSU. The last story was about Brandon Slay and his commitment to youth and sports all around the country. One of the many stories in the book was written about Merry Byers from Canyon, and her journey in basketball, all written by Jon Mark Beilue.
Every story I read is pageantry. I can’t help it. My heart doesn’t need to hear the “Star Spangled Banner” to explode with pride. It swells with everything I read in every publication with each word printed, and every photo posted no matter what country is represented. I can celebrate every single second all the way from the Opening Ceremonies to the last fireworks bursting in the skies over London. And this leads me to the connection with destination.
Diane Sawyer interviewed Apolo Ohno for the 2010 Olympics. He said something so interesting and deep I have carried this in my writing ever since.
Ohno mentioned that most of the other kids were there to win a Gold Medal, but he said he was living his destination. He had come to enjoy and celebrate the experience of just being among competitors and athletic friends.
So this weekend if you watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, or travel to the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum to view the lock of George Washington’s hair, or google the awards at the Romance Writers Convention in California of Jodi Thomas, Phyliss Miranda, Linda Broday and DeWanna Pace, embrace the joy and excitement and pageantry each represents. Wish them God Speed as they travel to their destinations, and don’t forget that they cherish these wishes as they return home.
As always I am living my destination. Happy trails as you journey to yours.
Sharon Stevens
Outtakes 52
Thank You
I cannot believe this is my 52nd post. We started WordsmithSix a year ago on August 1. I wondered if we would remain committed to this blog. We are all so busy. We have full time jobs, family commitments, personal lives, and writing projects. I feared we would, at some point, allow life to interfere with our blog posts. But here we are 52 weeks later, still working hard and still writing our blogs.
My greatest concern was I would have nothing to say that would be worth reading. Yet you proved me wrong. I so appreciate your comments, votes, and likes. It’s good to know that others have shared my experiences and wanted me to know they appreciated reminders of days gone by. Your posts have encouraged me to reach higher; do better. Thank you for visiting our site. Thank you for reading our posts. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Your comments mean more to me than you will ever know.
As I look back, I realize I wrote and posted a complete piece every week. That’s 52 publications over the last year. By committing to WordsmithSix, I set aside time every week to work on my blog. I did my best on all of the posts, but not all of them were winners. Even so, you kept reading. Your support made me determined to do better. I hope to do even better in the future.
So where do I go in the second year? Good question. I said in the beginning my thoughts are simple. I love writing. I love the challenge of creating characters, scenes, and dialogue. There’s more to say along those lines. What about the books I read, the authors I respect and follow? What have I learned from fellow writers? Yes, there is much more to say.
This is my last blog for our first year. I look forward to the next year and the continuing challenge of writing my weekly blog. Thanks Craig, Natalie, Nancy, Sharon, and Joe for your support and encouragement. You all are the best friends and critics a writer could hope to have.
Cait Collins
Wordsmith Six 