Check this out!
I’m trying to contain my excitement, but good luck with that. I want to announce the launch of a new website to be launched on September 13th — that’s Friday the 13th! I am lucky to have met two wonderful writers who spur my imagination and challenge me to s-t-r-e-t-c-h my creative leanings… and this will be the ongoing result.
Here’s the info — I hope you’ll check us out at Waterfrontwriters.com!
And my soul is sorely shaken
Lest an evil step be taken,-
Lest the dead who is forsaken
May not be happy now.
Coming Soon … Crescent Moon Press
Have you ever been reading a book and thought, Man, this is such a good idea, someone should write a book about this and then slapped yourself on the forehead, realizing you were actually reading the book about this idea and are now eternally grateful you didn’t say this one particular thought out loud?
Well, if you have, you’re not alone. You are, in fact, a writer and it happens to the best of us. I remember the days when I read a book for pure entertainment—those days were fun, and still happen, occasionally, but only when I keep my analytical eye closed tight.
Typically, I analyze every scene – does it turn?
Every word – is it the right one?
Every plot point – is it necessary?
And when I find something good, I mean really good, I devour it—yes, like a Pray Mantis, slicing and chewing from one paragraph to the next, with the promise to reuse that one thought, image or character again, someday, but in a new and personally touched way.
This is what great writers have been doing for eons. T.S. Eliot once said, “Mediocre writers borrow. Great writers steal.” Not plagiarizing but allowing yourself to be influenced and not just by books.
I’ve robbed ideas from the headlines.
Snatched up snippets of language from co-workers.
Even reworked characters I’ve fallen in love with from film and TV into short stories and poems.
There’s no reason to ever feel like you don’t know what to write about. It’s everywhere, all around you, and especially in books, the good ones, even some of the bad, and can be worked and reworked, chewed up and regurgitated, if you’re a Pray Mantis that is, with your own personal touch into something great.
I’m so proud to be named a finalist in Saturday’s Child Press fiction contest. My short story, “The Summer of Winged Creatures” will be published in their magazine this Spring and I’m still in the running to win the $2500 grand prize.
http://www.saturdayschildpress.com/Index.html
The idea of transplanting is simple: If you want to write about a place—leave it.
Ernest Hemingway first referred to this in A Moveable Feast when he wrote about Michigan while sitting in a café in Paris.
I was writing about up in Michigan and since it was a wild, cold, blowing day it was that sort of day in the story. I had already seen the end of fall come through boyhood, youth and young manhood, and in one place you could write about it better than in another. That was called transplanting yourself, I thought, and it could be as necessary with people as with other sorts of growing things (Hemingway 17).
Following his advice, I’ve tried writing from several locations.
In Paris, I wrote about Michigan, just like Hemingway, and felt more of a connection to my first home, there, thousands of miles away, than I ever did before.
In Puerto Rico, I didn’t write about white sands, hermit crabs, and mofongo. I wrote about Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay.
Alas, traveling the world for a perfect writing spot is expensive, so I’ve been keeping my eyes open for a local place to write about my travels.
Inspired by Sara Gruen, I transplanted myself from my bed to my bedroom closet, like she did when completing her novel, Water for Elephants, but unlike Gruen who had enough space for a desk in her walk-in closet, I found sitting on top of a pile of shoes, surrounded by dust bunnies, not exactly conducive to the writing process.
In my local area, I thought I found a perfect writing space at Target— a table by a window that overlooked the Annapolis Town Center. It gave me plenty of room to spread out and was conveniently located near Starbucks in case I needed more of a diversion than the 50% off skinny jeans sign that loomed within view.
Then, I discovered a plush leather couch at my gym. It, too, had a window, nearby coffee, and two hours of free childcare. The noise of grunting weightlifters and chatting friends bothered me at first, but once I got going and my thoughts took over, the surrounding commotion faded away. From this couch, I’ve found a great deal of inspiration and even completed two full revisions of my novel.
Finding the perfect place to write might be a little bit of a ritual for me, but I find it works, so next time you’re stuck or in need of inspiration, book that flight to your favorite travel destination and if you can’t afford it, just look around, because there is a perfect couch, table, or closet just waiting for you to write about a magical faraway land.
Hemingway, Ernest. A Moveable Feast. London: Arrow Books, 2011.
Check out my short story, “The Portrait”, published by Gypsy Shadow.
Karen is a young and semi-talented art student attending her first summer at an overnight camp for talented youth. Her first day at school seems to be going well, especially when she meets her roommate, Cypress Myers, a unique portrait artist. But, as Karen gets to know Cypress she realizes there is something strange about her roommate. Her roommate’s talent for drawing may be inspired by a certain innate mystical ability with deadly results.
L.V. Pires 