Before I travel, I’m sharing bits and pieces of writing news to satisfy the working person’s wonderment that a writer, retired from her day job, has much to do! Isn’t writing a solitary endeavor? Yes and no.
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A Writing Life is a Learning Life
In April, I attended two writing workshops—both related to my memoir-in-progress— taught by excellent teachers and mentors: A Book Proposal Bootcamp, online, with Allison Williams, founder of Craft Talks and author of Seven Drafts; and a women writers memoir workshop (in person) with Maureen Murdock, author of Myth Making: Self Discovery and the Timeless Art of Memoir. I’ve excerpted their bios from a couple of websites and encourage you to browse descriptions of their books and course offerings.
Both women inspire me to write more and write better!
Allison K Williams
Allison has edited and coached writers to deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, Spencer Hill, St. Martin’s and independent presses. She’s guided essayists to publication in the New Yorker, Time, the Guardian, the New York Times, McSweeney’s and TED Talks. As Social Media Editor for Brevity, she inspires thousands of writers with blogs on craft and the writing life…. A former circus performer [I can vouch for her fire-eating prowess!], Allison has written for NPR, CBC, the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Creative Nonfiction, McSweeney’s, Kenyon Review Online and Travelers’ Tales.
Maureen Murdock
Psychotherapist, author of The Heroine’s Journey, and influential writing teacher Maureen Murdock explores connections between ancient myths and popular contemporary memoirs to help readers examine their own life patterns and map their personal stories…. [Her] book probes universal questions like: Who am I? What is my journey? Where is home? [to help writers] gain a deeper understanding of the rich scope of the memoir genre… [and develop a] better grasp on their own life trajectory and their place within the rich tapestry of the human experience.
Sweet Rejection
I have recently received several “declined” (aka, rejection) notices from literary magazines to whom I had submitted poetry or prose pieces for publication. Responses, least to most encouraging, range from “Best of luck in publishing elsewhere…” to “Our readers found your work particularly compelling and would be delighted to read more of it—we hope you'll consider Frontier in the future.” The more such notices I receive, the closer I get to my publishing goals. Every piece that is declined gets subjected to another round of review and editing because there is almost always one thing to improve.
Giving Back
I look forward to teaching two workshops this summer, one for the International Women’s Writing Guild (IWWG) and one for Southwest Writers (SWW). If the workshops have an online component, I will share the registration link.
Mindful Editing
At the IWWG annual conference, August 1-4, 2024, in Providence, Rhode Island, I will share what I know about Mindful Editing: How to Improve Your Own Writing. I love this topic! I encourage writers to give their creative writer-brain a day off and engage their inner editor before they call anything “done.” With minimal but careful attention to style (sentence structure, syntax, grammar, and punctuation), writers can improve their writing for greater impact. Over many years as a poet, writer, and editor, I’ve honed a self-editing process for clear, correct, and error-free writing to help writers be their best selves on the page. Participants will learn and practice basic editing concepts and skills in a fun, safe environment.
A Gentle Goodbye
SWW meets monthly in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On September 14, 2024, I will offer A Gentle Goodbye: Life-Affirming Stories. This 2-hour workshop encourages participants to consider end-of-life storytelling as a privilege and a gift. I will share my expertise as a writer and editor, and my extensive experience with parental eldercare, to teach the craft of writing personal remembrances, not template obituaries. As “the writer in the family,” you may be called upon to participate in the life-affirming experience of writing an obituary for a relative, friend, or even yourself (before you go, of course!). We’ll read and discuss examples and respond to generative writing prompts both to recall and honor a life through writing.
Publications
In case you’ve missed my recent lit mag publications, I’m including the links for you, below. Each one sits next to other poems, essays, stories in the same book or on the same site—curated most often by a single editor or small team as a labor of love for the written word. I’m grateful to have my work included. May all our voices find a home in your heart, if only for a few moments of your day.
“Chocolate is Predictable, War is Obvious.” FLORA/FAUNA—an Open Shutter Anthology (book)
“Go into All The World,” Untold Volumes, forthcoming, June 2024
Hold Up Your Head, Point Your Finger and In this Season, You Already Know—Women Raise Our Voices online
“May It Please Superior Court” and “The Writer’s Asana”—Does It Have Pockets? online
“My Step-Mother Was Born in Hiroshima” and “Summer Sunday on the Rio Grande” —Sky Island Journal, #27 (scroll down on landing page to reach links to each poem) online
Solo Pas de Deux—Persimmon Tree, forthcoming, June 2024
“Union Haggadah Revised 1923” [a found poem]—Ritualwell online
Another April come and gone, another May upon us….
What kind of mark will you leave on the world as we all journey toward the solstice? What plans do you have for a meaningful month?
I will be in Prague for the next several weeks—visiting family and having my own writing-retreat-for-one, so my next posts may be more travelogue and photo-essay than usual.
Ahoj!
An inspirational post, enjoyed with my early morning coffee. Thoughts of Prague - so many lovely photographs to discover and make - and thoughts of end of life writing - positive thoughts of a topic I’d normally avoid - cause me to smile. Your procrastination has inspired my own. Though I could lead a workshop on procrastination, especially pre-travel procrastination, I enjoy learning more ways to improve my skills. Thanks! Prague in the spring will be so fun!
So excited that you are off to Prague! Thank you for sharing your ideas and thoughts. It’s inspiring (though I am occasionally intimidated). Can’t wait to hear what’s next!