August Writing Goals and Recap

On By Marcy ErbIn On Storytelling, Writers - Marcy Erb1 Comment

That sound you just heard was July whooshing by and now it is August. I confess I did nothing towards my writing goals (with the exception of posting here regularly) until the last week of July. I co-procrastinated (if that’s not a word, it should be) those alongside a work writing project that had a hard submission deadline at the end of July. But! I got everything in on time (well, more or less).

Recap of July Goals (linked here for accountability purposes):

1. Keep posting here on Mondays and on my other blog, Illustrated Poetry, on Tuesdays.

Did this! At least one post per week on each blog. Didn’t adhere to the precise day of the week so much on my other blog, but eh.

2. Rewrite the first chapter of Enjoinjure.

This I put off until the absolute last minute. I do mean opening the file on July 30 and working on it on July 31. I’m fudging a little because I didn’t really attempt to smooth out and combine the new bits with the old bits until this weekend, which is technically August.

3. Put together an outline for my current untitled story.

I did do this!

I kept the bar low on these writing goals, I know. But overall it worked – I finally addressed that first chapter, which I had been actively avoiding.

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Haiku Wednesday – Creativity

On By Steven D'AdamoIn Poetry, Writers - Steve D'Adamo2 Comments

“Creativity”

Why write on writing

when the story itself glares,

demands attention.

Steve D

This is my lame excuse for not having a meatier post this week. I really just want to finish my short story. Hopefully, I’ll not waste this opportunity and have good news on that front next week.

Exercise 5: Chastity

On By Marcy ErbIn Creativity Sessions, Writers - Marcy ErbLeave a comment

The exercise Le Guin’s proposes at the end of chapter 5 takes far longer to complete than her short little chapter (just two and a half pages!) on adjectives and adverbs would lead you to believe. She admits that this one is hard and suggests you do it away from the pressure of a class or group. I did find myself staring at the blank page for quite a while…once I did start writing, I was surprised at the sinister turn my little paragraph took.

Exercise 5: Chastity

Write a paragraph (200-350 words) to a page of descriptive narrative prose without adjectives or adverbs. No dialogue.

The point is to give a vivid description of a scene or action using only verbs, nouns, pronouns, and articles…

Ursula Le Guin, Steering the Craft, page 45.
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Book Review: FROM SILK TO SILICON and a Brief History of Globalization

On By Steven D'AdamoIn Reviews, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

Last week, I caught up with some history reading, which is always fun.

From Silk to Silicon: The Story of Globalization Through Ten Extraordinary Lives tells the stories of ten people who somehow pushed the boundaries of globalization and whose impacts we still feel today. Continue reading “Book Review: FROM SILK TO SILICON and a Brief History of Globalization” →

Exercise 4, Part 2: Again and Again and Again

On By Marcy ErbIn Creativity Sessions, Writers - Marcy Erb2 Comments

Of the two exercises in Chapter 4 of Steering the Craft, I thought this one was the harder. It was also the first time Le Guin gave us the option to write a complete short story.  The other exercises had pretty tame word counts – 150, 250, 350 words – but this time, she didn’t limit us. And if Ursula Le Guin suggests doing something, I figure it is worth a serious listen.

“Part Two: Structural Repetition

Write a short narrative (350-1000 words) in which something is said or done and then something is said or done that echoes or repeats it, perhaps in a different context, or by different people, or on a different scale. 

This can be a complete story, if you like or a fragment of a narrative.”

(Page 41-42 of Steering the Craft, by Ursula Le Guin)

I did try to make it a complete story – came in a 1285 words – woo!

Personal Earthmovers

Even though the surrounding hills were lined with tract houses rising side by side up gently curving streets, it was still shocking to see the denuded foothills straight ahead on the freeway. The yellow and brown chaparral, which burst into green every spring as long as rain fell during winter, was now raw dirt. Earthmovers and bulldozers were leveling terraces for another development in another Los Angeles suburb. They pushed the heavy clay soil to and fro across the face of the mountain.
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2020 Marketing Goals: Midyear Catch-Up

On By Steven D'AdamoIn On Publishing, Writers - Steve D'AdamoLeave a comment

Back in January, I laid out my goals for my book publishing and marketing efforts for this year. Now that we’re over the halfway mark of the year, it’s time to review–and likely revise–my goals.

By the way, does anyone else feel like we’re living in a completely different world now compared to January? It’s like we stepped into the dark timeline.

Most ridiculous moment of UK politics this year? : ukpolitics Continue reading “2020 Marketing Goals: Midyear Catch-Up” →

Exercise 4, Part 1: Again and Again and Again

On By Marcy ErbIn Creativity Sessions, Writers - Marcy ErbLeave a comment

Back to doing the exercises in Ursula Le Guin’s excellent Steering the Craft book! Chapter 4 is about repetition and its power in storytelling. Thinking back to my English classes of yore, I remember being taught the opposite – to avoid repetition at all costs. One of my high school English teachers had this list of catchy “writing rules” and one of them was “NO PIZZA PIZZA” (after the overly prevalent Caesar’s Pizza commercial on TV) to remind us not to repeat ourselves. So it was refreshing to see Le Guin demonstrate how beautiful and useful repetition can be.
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