6-Minute Poems

Okay, gang, here's the place to post those 6-minute poems we juggled together this evening! And if you couldn't make it to the meeting, I'm sure Melissa would be happy to reach into her little word-basket and email you eight random words to build your poem with. Hope (Damned Hope!) to see your's here soon. I'll prime the pump with my little goofy excursion into Shel Silverstein territory...


The rhino in the rain
looked past his horn --
bored, forelorn, jejune,
when a wingnut bug
curled up in his ear
and whispered with elation,
"It's not a conundrum,
get out of the rain!
You'll shrink or melt or drown
in this veil of water --
this pouring fountain,
this plethora of drops!"
The rhino thought, and thought,
then thought some more,
and with a shake of his head
and a slurp of his tongue...

he ate the bug.

Finishing the Story

Newberry Honor Award author Shannon Hale (who just happens to live in SLC) posted this advice for writers on her blog this week. I thought this was like an entire book on creative writing distilled down to its essence.

And in my ongoing quest to answer emailed questions, here's one I get a lot: "I'm writing a book and having trouble finishing it. Do you have any advice on how a person can get their thoughts out or should it just come to you naturally?"

First, I think the writing process is very unique for each writer, so what works for me may not work for you. But in my personal experience, I wasn't able to finish a book until I:

Had lived long enough to have something to write about. I tried for 15 years to finish a book, but was unable until in my twenties. I think I needed to experience enough and have a certain maturity to be able to look at story with perspective.

Learned to make and keep daily writing goals. Until I decided, I'm writing this many words or pages each day until I'm done, no matter what, I was never able to finish any stories of any length.

Accepted a lousy first draft. Once I really understood that I was never, ever going to write something wonderful on the first draft, I gave myself permission to write a bad draft and found writer's block didn't haunt me in the same way. Remember, it's true for most writers that rewriting is easier than writing a first draft, so the goal is to get that sucker out.

Discovered my own writing process. Do you outline with obsessive detail? Do you discover the story as you go? Do you write the story linearly always or do you jump around to any scene that appeals to you at the moment? Once you know your own writing process, getting through your book will be easier. But, in order to discover that process, you have to WRITE. A lot.

Try to have fun with your story. Try to enjoy the writing process. Turn off any thoughts of publication and just find your story. I think that's the best advice I can give.

Alice Reimagined?

Ever thought of reimagining a classic as a wacky pop-up book? Well, here's a great way to promote it. Check out the site.

Painfully baaad writing

Follow this link at your own peril. This is some painfully bad stuff. Or some very funny bad literature! Thanks to Marissa for the link! Or maybe not...

Quote
"I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork."
Peter De Vries

Books on Writing

Here is a list of favorite books on writing that we can edit & expand, etc. Many of these are ones we talked about (or brought for show-and-tell...) Instead of including blurbs about each one, I just linked the titles to Amazon, where you can search the reviews & customer comments if you'd like. Add comments with ones I missed!

Bird by Bird: Some instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within and Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life both by Natalie Goldberg

On Writing Well: An Informal Guide to Writing Nonfiction and Writing to Learn both by William Zinsser

The Weekend Novelist by Robert J. Ray and Bret Norris

On Becoming a Novelist by John Gardner

If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland

Writing Past Dark by Bonnie Friedman

Sleeping With One Eye Open: Women Writers on the Art of Survival edited by Marilyn Kallet and Judith Ortiz Coffer

Perrine's Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry by Thomas Arp & Greg Johnson

Writing Fiction: A Guide of Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway

Creating Poetry by John Drury

Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity, 3rd edition/expanded by Ray Bradbury

The Writer's Idea Workshop by Jack Heffron

The Writer's Art by James J. Kilpatrick

Fiction Writer's Workshop by Josip Novakovich

The Observation Deck by Naomi Epel

How to Get Happily Published by Judith Appelbaum

The Eye of the Story by Eudora Welty

Book lover's site...

If you haven't already discovered bookslut.com, check it out -- and don't be put off by the name. It has some terrific interviews, good archives, interesting articles and tips, etc.