Walter Bargen

Walter Bargen, Missouri's first poet laureate, was the speaker at my first writing group meeting. I was afraid that I would not his talk terribly useful since I am not a poet or really aspire to be a poet, but I could not have been proven any more wrong.

I loved his presentation on writing. He started with some of the same advice that I have heard or read from other sources, such as your job as a writer is to get the words down as fast as you can, and if you want to be a writer, you need to be a reader. He even went as far to say that you should be consuming a book a week in the genre you are writing. (A little problematic--since I am not sure of a genre or where my current idea really fits).

Another piece of advice that I dearly loved was "write through what you know to what you don't - only to discover that you are capable of doing." He urged us to work on surprising ourselves with our writing. He stated that he does his best writing when he is surprising himself. "Write to lose control." I love that statement.

His last piece of advice: "Out of the silence comes first lines." Now of course, he was speaking of poems, but I think there is some truth to that for a novel. He also said that out of the silence comes and poem and it works its way back to silence. Isn't this what a lot of writers are talking about when they say that "the story had to be written" or "the characters demanded that their stories be told"?

Step One -- Check

Today, I joined a writers' group. Yes, I finally took the first step and taking this whole thing seriously. I joined the Saturday Writers. A great group of people from what I have gathered so far. I sat in between a freelance writer and a poet, who is willing to trying writing anything according to her name tag.

Another lady introduced herself at the end of the meeting. She is running a critique group that meets at the Barnes and Noble on Tuesdays. I am very excited about it all, and above everything else I am feeling highly motivated to get something down on paper to take to the critiquing group.

Finally, I feel the road under my feet, and it feels like solid ground.

First Lines

As I have stated before, I have been reading dozens of books and magazines on the business, gathering information to make this process all just a little bit simpler and less daunting. I have been analyzing past attempts and determine new courses of action.

Today, I read Snazzy First Lines: Seven Styles to Snag the Reader by Stefanie Freele in Writers' Journal (Jan./Feb. 2009). If you haven't read it, it really gives some sound advice on that all important first line. Important because as someone (not sure where I read this in the last three months) said you have one paragraph to capture a publisher. Some don't make it past the first lines.

I realized that part of the problem in the past has been those dreadful first lines. I have never been satisfied with them, and then have sent most of my time trying to find one, essentially giving up after time.

I have a tool now to solve this issue. So, now I feel that I have one less excuse for not finishing what I have tried so many times to start. Happy Writing.

Excuse Me While I Gloat

Over the past two snow days, I made my child read (yes, such a mean mom). She was a struggling beginning reader at the end of kindergarten, and needless to say, I was very worried about her academic future. So, I forced daily reading sessions upon her every day over the summer. She took to them slowly. She finally blossomed into one of the best readers in her class.

But back to my point....

I decided to challenge her a little. I asked her to read her first chapter book. We went through all my old books from when I was her age, and we decided on Judy Blume's Freckle Juice.

We read the snowy Tuesday and Wednesday away. We read about how Marcus Andrew desperately wanting Nicky Lane's freckles because he didn't want to wash his neck and ears. And meddling Sharon selling Andrew a secret recipe for freckle juice. It was wonderful.

She loved it and her confidence soared. Now she believes she was to tackle Superfudge.

Creativity Theory

Do you feel creative today?

Usually a question that I ask myself almost every morning. Yes? No? The answer is always a little different, but I have noticed that the muse inside of me is somehow tied to nature.

Today, it is snowy. We had another snow day, and God willing, we will have another tomorrow, considering that it is still snowing and suppose to continue until 10 p.m. Today has been fairly productive considering that I have devised this little theory.

Okay, the theory: I feel that when nature is most creative that I am most creative. Today, Mother Nature transforms the world with a blanket of snow into a mysterious wonderland.

In Florida this summer, I felt incredibly creative. But each morning, I watch Mother Nature paint the morning sky with breath-taking colors. So, to massage my muse, I think that I am going to add nature shoots to my blog to get the creativity following each morning.