Is it a surprise to anyone that I am a classic Type A personality? Yes, the upholstered chair at my desk frays along the front, not the back. When I focus on a client, it’s intense, eyes in compassion, but still intense. I don’t meander; I storm. My actions reflect layers of quickly reasoned thoughts, not tending to linger on the single thought in great depth.
I don’t write short stories, but for assignments at the Univ. of IA summer program, I am forced into its tightly knit form. I learn a great deal as I organize my thoughts, reach for the concepts and writer craft skills I have and I’m learning. They give me a chance to see what I’ve accomplished on a few pages. One such work, I’m cultivating, revising, and eying for my annual contender for the Zoetrope: All-Short Story Contest. I do this without any thought or hope of recognition, but more of a final school exam, a statement of my growth.
This year, two writing projects intersected and gave me pause. One a nonsense, fun piece for an acquaintance about reviews and scotch whiskey—okay, you had to be there… The other was this short story, Eden.
After Eden’s time in the corner, in the drawer in writer's vernacular--that recommended writer’s rest and pause, this time rather than picking it up, attacking it with vigor, and devouring it, I read it through the eyes of that master brewer, deep in his caves, testing his kegs in the cold, bitter winter time, imagining the spring. The deep draw of breath from each glass, the first virgin taste on one, the middle-aged ripeness on another, and then heavenly, fully aged flavor of the cream—aged ten, fifteen, more years. Reminiscing on the smoky flavor, the subtle blend, the gentle timeless aging in a keg traveled with me into my revision of Eden—an incident unprecedented.
Being type A, these moments do not settle easily around me, but when they do, when I find that peace, when I find that time for being in the moment—it is a delicious and wondrous time, and the work does well for it.
Showing posts with label writer's craft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writer's craft. Show all posts
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Expanding the Writer's Craft Toolbox...
I am ever working to improve my craft skills. Classes have proven, other than actually writing, at doing so. I thought I would share what I've got on tap for the summer.
I'm signed up to attend two one-week courses from the Univ of IA Summer Writer's Festival. http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/iswfest/html/instructor/moranville.html and also http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/iswfest/html/instructor/Loren.html Both should be excellent revision tool classes. I'm looking forward to my first full week workshops. I've attended for weekends, but never the whole week dedicated to writing! The workshops are filled with writers from all over the world and the value of knowledge gained vs cost has never been a concern. I'm so psyched.
My huge what-the-heck have I done was sign up for a DVD/audio class from a University of Iowa professor now retired. http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=2368 The class is called Building Great Sentences:Exploring the Writer's Craft. It's one of those classes you either love because you know it improves your writing or it will make you feel you never should have tried writing at all.
I may have jumped too far into the deep end. I'm hoping my college linguistics class I took is up to the challenge. (It was so lovely and terrifying to be 50+ in with 20 somethings taking that class in person one summer.) With this class, I'll either swim and learn, or I'll be gasping for air the whole time. I'm hoping that the class comes with handouts! If not, I'll sink! The lecture notes were provided for the first class--printing it out was crucial. Let's say that mastering the long sentence is this instructors forte.
The instructor also wrote a key sci fi genre review from 1900's to now that is used in a lot of writing/lit classes. It's from teach12.com
How about you? Are you forging forward with Aiden and his sisters? Plans for class coming up?
A recap is below of the general description.
Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft
www.teach12.com
Whether two words ("Jesus wept.") or 1,287 words (a sentence in William Faulkner's Absalom! Absalom!), sentences have the power to captivate, entertain, motivate, educate, and, most importantly, delight.
I'm signed up to attend two one-week courses from the Univ of IA Summer Writer's Festival. http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/iswfest/html/instructor/moranville.html and also http://www.continuetolearn.uiowa.edu/iswfest/html/instructor/Loren.html Both should be excellent revision tool classes. I'm looking forward to my first full week workshops. I've attended for weekends, but never the whole week dedicated to writing! The workshops are filled with writers from all over the world and the value of knowledge gained vs cost has never been a concern. I'm so psyched.
My huge what-the-heck have I done was sign up for a DVD/audio class from a University of Iowa professor now retired. http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/coursedesclong2.aspx?cid=2368 The class is called Building Great Sentences:Exploring the Writer's Craft. It's one of those classes you either love because you know it improves your writing or it will make you feel you never should have tried writing at all.
I may have jumped too far into the deep end. I'm hoping my college linguistics class I took is up to the challenge. (It was so lovely and terrifying to be 50+ in with 20 somethings taking that class in person one summer.) With this class, I'll either swim and learn, or I'll be gasping for air the whole time. I'm hoping that the class comes with handouts! If not, I'll sink! The lecture notes were provided for the first class--printing it out was crucial. Let's say that mastering the long sentence is this instructors forte.
The instructor also wrote a key sci fi genre review from 1900's to now that is used in a lot of writing/lit classes. It's from teach12.com
How about you? Are you forging forward with Aiden and his sisters? Plans for class coming up?
A recap is below of the general description.
Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer's Craft
www.teach12.com
Whether two words ("Jesus wept.") or 1,287 words (a sentence in William Faulkner's Absalom! Absalom!), sentences have the power to captivate, entertain, motivate, educate, and, most importantly, delight.
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