Midge Raymond's Blog, page 38

On being an everyday writer

Today I’m delighted to be one of the featured Writers on Writing over at the fabulous Passages North blog. This literary magazine, sponsored by Northern Michigan University, has published fiction (including one of my own stories a few years back), creative nonfiction, and poetry since 1979, and its blog is a treasure for readers and writers alike. Check it out for news on the magazine, submission advice, deadlines, and especially the wealth of information from Writers on Writing.

Thanks to Passages North for the opportunity to share my thoughts on being an everyday writer in a busy world!

Bookstore Geek: Pages in Manhattan Beach

There’s a lot to enjoy about Manhattan Beach, from its miles of sandy beach to its boutiques and shops to its amazing Mexican food — and, most of all, Pages: A Bookstore, a fabulous indie in the heart of the neighborhood at 904 Manhattan Avenue.

I discovered Pages thanks to author Cher Fischer, who held her launch party for her novel, Falling Into Green, at Pages in May.

Pages and its three owners — two of them, Patty and Margot, were there for Cher’s party — are warm, generous hosts, and the bookstore itself is a wonderful, inviting space not only for a book event but for wandering and reading.

In addition to comfy chairs for browsing, the bookstore’s shelves are topped with quotes about writing, from William Faulkner to Thomas Jefferson. The layout is spacious but somehow also offers that cozy feeling of being among a great abundance of books.

Like all good bookstores, Pages is active in its community, with events (including author appearances, game nights, workshops, and book clubs), a monthly newsletter, and an expansive children’s section with beanbag reading “chairs.”

Don’t miss this wonderful bookstore the next time you’re in Manhattan Beach — it’s the perfect place to find your beach reading, and a wonderful respite when you’re ready to step out of the sun.

Books (and inspiration) for writers

I’m very happy today to be featured on the blog of the amazing Jane Friedman, who has posted an excerpt from Everyday Writing, including 10 writing prompts that can be done in 5 minutes or fewer (a.k.a. “Quickies”). A million thanks to Jane for posting this — I hope writers find it helpful and inspiring. The idea behind Everyday Writing is to be a writer every day, even if you don’t have much writing time every day — and these short prompts are meant to offer a way to stay connected to your creativity and your writing.

And, speaking of creativity and writing, Brenda Miller‘s wonderful new book, The Pen and the Bell: Mindful Writing in a Busy World (co-authored with Holly Hughes) is for all writers who wish to create physical and mental space for writing. Its abundance of advice for writers includes tips for how to heighten awareness and take risks in your writing, as well as how to write in a community. Best of all, for today only, Brenda’s publisher is offering 20 percent off the book! And be sure to check out Brenda’s blog, The Spa of the Mind, for tips and thoughts on finding respite in a busy world.

 

 

Weekly Writing: New in town

When you visit a new place, what’s the first thing you do? Do you visit the local bookstore, the bakery, the tavern? What is your favorite thing to do in a new place…and why?

On Memorial Day: Books for Soldiers

One of the many things I love about Forgetting English‘s publisher, Press 53, is its yearly Memorial Day tradition: For every book you purchase from the Press 53 website from Memorial Day until Flag Day (June 14), Press 53 will send, at no additional cost to you, a book to an active-duty overseas soldier or to a recovering soldier in a military hospital. What better way to celebrate mark Memorial Day?

Buy a book for yourself or a fellow reader, and Press 53 will take care of the rest. And, in celebration of National Short Story Month, why not try a new collection?

Forgetting English isn’t the only Spokane Prize winner among Press 53 titles — Becky Hagenston’s Strange Weather is also a recipient of the Spokane Prize for Short Fiction (and it’s an amazing collection…I highly recommend it).

I also loved reading Tara Masih’s Where the Dog Star Never Glows and Andrew Scott’s Naked Summer.

And here are a few recent Press 53 award-winning story collections:

Anne Leigh Parrish’s short story collection All the Roads That Lead From Home won an Independent Publishers Book Award Silver Medal for Best Short Story Collection.

Marjorie Hudson’s short story collection Accidental Birds of the Carolinas won a PEN/Hemingway Award Honorable Mention.

Michael Kardos’s short story collection One Last Good Time won the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Fiction.

Click here for details on Books for Soldiers and to start shopping. Happy Memorial Day.

Weekly Writing: Hobbies

Write about a hobby you used to have — something you haven’t done in a long time. What drew you to this hobby originally? Why did you give it up? What might happen if you took it up again now?

Weekly Writing: Bird watching

Look outside the nearest window — and if you can, go outside. Write about the first bird you see, describing it in detail. If you don’t know exactly what type of bird it is, make up a name for it based on its appearance. Next, write about its most human quality and about which human person in your life the bird reminds you of.

Weekly Writing: Quickies

I’m happy to present a few more Quickies, which of course means you have no excuse not to write this week. “Quickies” are prompts that can be done in five minutes or fewer, though of course you can also take your time and write for as long as you wish. Enjoy!

- Write for one minute about each of these words: interstate, book, rice, purple, pine.

- Write about a cup of tea.

- Describe your last headache.

- Write about today’s sunrise. Or sunset.

- Describe your front door.

Most of my writing days are revising days

In this  photo of my writing space, my cat apparently decided I would have to do without some of my notes—at least until he decided to move to another window.

(This isn’t normally the way I write, but I’ve learned over the years not to attempt to move a stubborn cat. I’ve got the scratches to prove it.)

On this particular day, I was working on a revision, and this is, in fact, what most of my writing days are like: They’re revising days.

For me, revision is the best part of the writing process, which many writers find a little insane (I mean, who likes revision?). But I always find it so much better than facing the blank page. This is why I so enjoy this little corner desk: It’s where I go after I’ve gotten a couple of pages typed up, or even a couple of lines; it’s where I take a red pen to my work, and it’s where the real writing begins.

I never know how many drafts it a story is going to take—but this is part of the fun. In Forgetting English, the range is vast: “The Ecstatic Cry” was written in nine drafts; “Rest of World” in eighteen; and “Lost Art” in more than forty. The title story actually began as a novel before I whittled it down to a novella and then, finally, a short story. Sometimes it takes this long to find the story, but the journey itself is always the best part.

I’ve discovered that I like to tackle a writing project from a revision angle because it feels less like a beginning than like a middle (and therefore closer to the end!). And I’m never bothered by the fact that my average story doesn’t get to the end before about twenty drafts. For me, a “draft” isn’t necessarily an entire rewrite but simply anything that’s different: If I change one phrase in a story, that piece moves from Draft #14 to Draft #15. There’s something satisfying about going through so many revisions; it means I’ve thought about every part of the story many times over, which any piece of writing requires before we can truly call it finished.

And for any of you writers out there who don’t yet embrace your early drafts, this Psychology Today article will comfort you: It offers a sampling of the much-scribbled-upon first drafts of works by Marcel Proust, John Updike,  Shirley Hazzard, and others — and the reminder that all good work takes quite a while to get there.

Weekly Writing: Limits

Write about a time you felt limited, whether a speed limit or a one-per-customer coupon or a limitation imposed on you at work. Did you accept or reject this limitation? How do you deal with limits in general…do you tend to obey or defy them?

This is also a great exercise for fiction writers: Apply the above to one or more characters.