The Engagement Age (This is NOT a Wedding Blog)

In my Legacy of Words classes, I spend a good amount of time talking about VALUABLE writing. It isn’t a concept that is original with me, and I present it this way:

Valuable writing informs the reader, engages the reader, and deepens the reader’s understanding of the story, himself, or the world. Not every sentence must do all three, but good sentences will.

Originally, I had used the word “entertain” in this explanation of “valuable” writing, instead of “engage.” Some students, though, thought that meant that every story the told had to be funny or full of plot-points like a Tom Clancy novel. So, I modified my approach to put an emphasis on getting a reader’s reaction, not just making them laugh or gasp. We live in an Entertainment Age, when too often that word is reserved only for over-the-top theatrics. Sometimes, the reaction we want from a reader is much more subtle than that; we want a nod of the head, a sigh, or a pause of recognition.

Whether we see our blog as a business or as just one tool in our quest to meet and interact with new people, we are always hoping to find a way to increase engagement.

We not only live in an Entertainment Age, but an Engagement Age as well. Engagement is a buzz-word for those of us who are active in various social media circles. Writers, today, are judged not only by the content of the book or story collection or slate of poems, but by their ability to engage with people on Twitter or Facebook or via their personal blog. Writers who have more “followers” get a step up in the literary line. Those writers who have an active and engaged following in social media circles get even more attention from agents and publishers. So, those of us who are involved in social media try to find ways to get readers to re-Tweet or “share” or “like” or leave a comment. We ask questions we hope people will answer and we write about topics we hope people are interested in, then we sit back and wait to see if anyone takes the bait.

And so, as a writer who has a blog, I strive to find ways to add value to my blog posts, but it seems like the “engage” piece of that puzzle often remains lacking. Perhaps I’ve not said something controversial enough to stir a response. Or, maybe, I’ve not provided enough information or increased the reader’s understanding, and therefore, haven’t earned a response.

(It has occurred to me that if I would make more typos, that might at least generate a series of, “Hey writer genius, you misspelled a word!” sorts of comments…)

As a fiction writer, I want to produce a novel or a short story that will be valuable to the writer. As a blog owner, I want to do the same. I think, most of the time, my fiction can lay claim to meeting that goal. With my blog, I’m still searching for the right formula.

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photo credit: The Rocketeer via photopin cc

Choose Your Font Wisely

Choose Your Font Wisely

As you can see, based on the story linked here, there is now a computer printing font that is made up of cats, cleverly arranged to mimic letters. 

Here’s a pro-writer tip: The all-cat font is not an appropriate choice for your manuscript submissions.

(Yes, I’m being a little silly…)

But, it does serve as a good reminder: Writers should stick to the tried and true, easy to read fonts when sharing their work. I suggest this not only because novelty fonts are tedious to read, but because we want to be ready when the work is refined enough to submit. I write using a standard format and font, so that the moment I feel the piece can withstand the scrutiny of a reader, it is ready to go.

I know some of my writing students are in love with Comic Sans, and I don’t make a big deal out of it, when manuscripts are sent to me with a difficult-to-read font. But, rest assured: Other editors and agents and the like won’t find the humor in receiving a manuscript full of prone felines.

New Plains Review Publishes My Story, Perhaps You Should Visit Some Day

I used to be content to just Google my name from time-to-time. Now I search for myself on Amazon…

I don’t have my copy of the Spring 2013 issue of New Plains Review in my hands just yet (and their website doesn’t reflect the publication of the new issue, as of this writing). I’ve been going to the mail box daily, hoping that TODAY IS THE DAY, and I’ve convinced myself the mail(wo)man has absconded with the magazine in order to read my words.

So, I haven’t actually SEEN it yet, but, I do know it is available online, at Amazon, for $10.

And, I double-checked the table of contents to be sure my name was really there. (It was.)

So, it is official that my story, Perhaps You Should Visit Some Day, has made its way out into the world. (It starts on page 90.)

Best of luck, old friend! I hope you find friendly hands to hold you, kind eyes to gaze upon you, and warm hearts to tarry in for just a little while after the pages are closed.

Community Is Important for Writers

To be honest, I’ve been pretty down for the last week or so.

As I’ve shared before, I have been teaching Legacy Writing classes via the Lifelong Learning Academy here in Sarasota-Bradenton. It is a great opportunity for me to share some of my knowledge about creative writing and meet some really great people. The most recent academic quarter, I had a class filled with writers who had taken earlier classes with me and were eager to keep their writing momentum moving forward. This was a great group of adult learners who had some really magnificent stories to share.

Near the end of the eight weeks of class, several of the students were fighting various illnesses: a broken knee-cap, vertigo-like symptoms, heart problems, and other medical issues.

And then, I found out one of the students passed away last week, only hours after our last email exchange. He was a student with a long writing background, and his work showed it. The selections he brought to class to share with the group were outstanding. I had been hoping that the two classes he’d taken with me were just the beginning of an ongoing literary friendship. I was looking forward to many years of chatting about writing and sharing work together.

And then, he was gone.

It wasn’t as if we were great friends. And yet, his passing has left me very sad. I wanted to know more about his life; I wanted to read more of his words.

Putting down some literary roots can help encourage and deepen your writing.

Just last week, I was telling my writing students about the need for a writing community. We learn and grow best when we are surrounded by those people who can offer us a healthy balance of support and critique. One of the reasons I teach classes like the Legacy of Words class is because I gain more knowledge and experience in creative writing every time I teach. And, I gain new literary friends.

Tonight, I met a new writer friend. She reached out to me, having stumbled upon my website, because she is at one of those points all fledgling writers get to: she’s in need of her own literary community. We talked for an hour and a half, and I walked away feeling re-energized and excited having spent time with someone who has such passion for the written word.

It doesn’t matter if it is a client/student, a writing peer, or someone whose masterful knowledge of the craft I hope to learn from: having other writers to talk to, share with, help, and learn from is a key ingredient in my development as a writer. We don’t have to be in the same classroom, at the same coffee-shop, or even on the same continent, but putting down those literary roots so we can soak up the nutrients around us is a valuable thing.

I hope you are writing, and that the words you write matter.

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As I finished this post, I was reminded of this line, from the song, I Don’t Want to Waste Your Time, by Over the Rhine. (Link to YouTube video version.)

But I don’t wanna waste the words
That you don’t seem to need
When it comes to wanting what’s real
There’s no such thing as greed
I hope this night puts down deep roots
I hope we plant a seed
‘Cause I don’t wanna waste your time
With music you don’t need

Read the lyrics to the whole song at Over the Rhine’s website.

Other Pursuits

Instagram reawakened my interest in photography.

I often talk to other writers about having other artistic outlets. For some of us it may be painting, or dance, or theater, or music. Maybe it is wood working, landscape or garden design, or perhaps cooking. For some of us, we have a whole host of creative things we enjoy, even if we aren’t particularly good at them. These other areas of creativity feed into our writing rhythm and help propel our subconscious mind forward with our writing work, even if we don’t quite realize that is what’s happening.

Photography is one of the things I’ve always enjoyed. In recent years, I’ve allowed that interest to wane. It wasn’t that I was no longer interested in photography, but I did allow myself to drift away from it.

That changed last year, when I began posting photos to Instagram. I had been taking photos with my iPhone to document the little moments of beauty and grace that happen in my day-to-day life, but most of those photos were never shared, and rarely seen anywhere besides the small screen of my smart phone. Instagram gave me a way to manipulate the pictures (through filters) and present them to a wider audience. If you are interested in seeing some of my Instagram photos, you can click here.

Now, I share photos quite often via Instagram, and that act of sharing photos and receiving some little positive reinforcement has reawakened my photographic tendencies, even though the photos I share there are taken almost exclusively with my iPhone. Taking those photos started the ball rolling.

I’ve taken my “real” camera (a Nikon 3100 DSLR) out and about more often recently, and not just for snapshot photos. I’ve returned to a place where I can really consider the composition and content of the photos I’m taking. This “slowing down” and drinking in the details is something that serves me well as a fiction writer, and I’m glad I’ve been able to return to my photographic roots.

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The pursuit of other creative activities can give the writing life a boost.

I know a few of my regular readers are also interested in photography, so I’m going to post some links below to SnapKnot and a contest they are having to give away either a Cannon 5D Mark III or a Nikon D800. (If I win, I’m picking the Nikon…) SnapKnot is a wedding photographer directory where soon-to-be-wed couples can search for the perfect photographer for their big day. They are taking entries online and will give away the camera later in the year. Whether you are a Cannon fan or a Nikon fan, this would be a great camera to own. Big thanks to the SnapKnot wedding photography directory for offering this great camera giveaway!

A Little Shameless Self Promotion

This blog is not typically a “product” blog. I don’t endlessly sell items, though I do try to promote my own work and the writing of others from time to time.

This is a little bit of a departure. Not much, but a little.

There are a couple of events coming up for which you may find yourself looking for a gift.

Mother’s Day

If you’ve lost a loved one – a parent, spouse, even a child – you know the desire to have “one more day, one more conversation, one moment more” with that dear, departed one.

I’m not selling flowers, cosmetics, or gift cards, but I got to thinking: Some of you may have someone in your life (a mother, aunt, grandmother, etc) who you have encouraged, over the years, to write some of her personal history. For over a year now I’ve been teaching Legacy of Words writing classes here in the Bradenton and Sarasota area. A Legacy of Words writing class is a great way for people to “get started” in the process, but some people either don’t live nearby, or they don’t want to participate in a formal, class environment. Earlier this year I developed my Legacy of Words Workbook to be used by would-be Legacy writers. It’s a good introduction and starting point to help someone get a start on their own efforts to leave a written legacy. And, Mother’s Day might just be the perfect excuse to give someone a copy of this workbook.

(For those unfamiliar: Legacy Writing is a literary form that draws on several other literary traditions: genealogy, auto-biography, family history, and memoir. Leaving a Legacy of Words is one way we can leave behind a piece of our story to children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, siblings, and friends. This workbook is designed to help the individual, would-be Legacy writer, as well as to be used as a resource for my classroom series: Your Legacy of Words.)

The workbook (professionally bound paperback, with lots of writing prompts and space to write) cost is $15.00. You can learn a little more about the workbook at my website. Or, you can order it here, and have it delivered to your door, or shipped practically anywhere. (The product page also includes a preview of the book…)

Graduation

The book, Letters to Me: Conversations With a Younger Self, is available in both print and ebook editions. I’m very happy to have been asked to be a contributor to this book.

Sometimes an unassuming project takes on its own life. It isn’t that I thought of the Letters to Me project as something unimportant, but I will admit that it wasn’t something I thought of as “life-changing”. The editor of the project, Dan Schmidt contacted me and offered to include my take on the concept of “a conversation with a younger you.” It sounded interesting enough, and it is always nice to have someone seek out my writing. I’ve been involved in some other anthologies/collections, and I was happy to be a part of this one, as well. I purchased a dozen copies and shared them with some of my favorite young folks and people who regularly work with college-aged students. It was a good experience.

But recently I stopped by the Amazon page for Letters to Me and read through the reviews. I was very happy to see how well-received this collection of essays has been, and very proud to have some little part of that.

Head over to the Amazon page and read some of the reader response, and if you have someone in your life who is graduating, Letters to Me offers stories filled with compassion, insight, and humor from a variety of writers who know something about new horizons.

You can buy Letters to Me: Conversations With a Younger Self as a paperback book or an e-book from Amazon. Paperback, $12.99. E-book, $4.99

On Edge or On The Edge?

Over the last few days, I’ve felt a little nervous. Sometimes I get this way, when I have this lingering feeling that something is about to happen, something is about to break free.

This nervousness certainly manifests itself in several ways, for me: irritability, shortness, lack of concentration, and feelings of ambivalence. (And that’s even when I think the “big break” is going to be something positive…)

How in the world can I ever expect others to understand this novel if the one person in the world who should be able to decode it (ME!) finds it confounding?

Yesterday I sat down to work on my novel-in-progress. I’ve been chipping away at this thing lately, moving into the next phase, the final phase of the first fully-realized draft. The scene I needed to write was a flashback scene, and in order to do it justice (as well as ensure it had all of the right information in it) I had to go back to an earlier scene and find some very specific things I had written. Years ago. Literally.

In that process of digging around and trying to remember what I’d already revealed in the earlier bits and trying to pin down all that I wanted to reveal in the scene that needed to be written yesterday, I found myself bogged down in the pure insanity that this novel is.

I was, to put it mildly, quite discouraged. So much so, that I wasted away the one day this week I actually had a full day to work on the book. So much so, that I contemplated drop-kicking the whole thing into Tampa Bay and starting some new endeavor, like “Fast Food Technician” or “Domestic Cleanliness Aficionado.” Surely, God, if I’m supposed to be a writer, I wouldn’t be writing books that confuse the only person who might reasonably have a chance of figuring this mess out: ME!

It was evening, it was morning: a new day dawned. I took a deep breath, remembered how some of my favorite writer friends—those writer friends whose words make me swoon—have been discouraged lately, too.

No drop kicks. No giving up. A day away, and maybe a weekend of hammering away at organizational issues, but no giving up.

I’m on the edge of something much bigger than the little pieces that have been floating around, and that puts my personality on edge. “Hold on,” I tell myself. “Hold on for a wild ride.”

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photo credit: Rennett Stowe via photopin cc