June 26, 2012

Hi friends & writers,

I write this in a major June thunderstorm. My daughter’s stroller is drooping with puddles and my flip-flops are drying in a corner. I’ve opened all the windows to bring in that dusty smell of city rain.

The month of July will bring several guest writers to ‘The Tuesday Writer’ – I’m excited to introduce them and bring in their voices, venues, and prompts…

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PROCESS: WRITING BEGETS WRITING

A wise teacher of mine, Hope Hale Davis, used to tell her students: “The more you write, the more you have to write; and the more you love, the more love you have to give. That’s one of the funny things about love and writing.”

I love these words and have treasured them over the years. How true! How true on both accounts! Generosity with words begets more words. You’d think you’d run out, but no.

Try this: Be decadent with your writing time. Write for too long, and write too much, more than you think you wanted to say, and see how much more comes out.

FEATURED VENUE: OPEN SPACES

An online quarterly giving voice to the Pacific Northwest, Open Spaces is interested, simply, in openness; they seek “thoughtful, well-researched articles and insightful fiction, essays and poetry on a variety of subjects from a number of different viewpoints.” Paper submissions only. 

Submission guidelines here: http://www.open-spaces.com/submissions.php

PROMPT

“The difference between lightning and a lightning bug” (8min)

June 19, 2012

Hi friends & writers,

Yesterday I arrived in Boston and am re-figuring my way around. I have lived here before and loved these streets and especially these bookstores, and since then much has changed and so I am learning it all over again. And of course I have changed, so I am learning to reconcile “my” city of now with “her” city of a decade ago. Strange how our old selves find ways to take the third person.

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PROCESS: A CITY, TWO WAYS

Because we place so many of our own questions into what we observe, it is impossible to separate the viewed from the viewer. As Anaïs Nin said, “We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.” This phenomenon is especially vibrant in descriptions of place. A town or city can be many conflicting things for us, simply because we are many conflicting people in it. The moodiness of this divide can make for incredible descriptive writing.

Try this: Describe the same city two ways: one from the point of view of somebody who has just experienced a great stroke of fortune, and the second from the point of view of somebody who has just suffered a tremendous loss.

FEATURED VENUE: GLIMMER TRAIN

In 1990, two sisters who loved to read founded Glimmer Train. Over twenty years later, the Portland-based literary journal stands as one of the most respected short story journals in print. Their stories are highly anthologized and frequently crowned with awards – and still Glimmer Train has a wonderful reputation for openness to new writers. Try them.

Submission guidelines here: http://www.glimmertrain.com/writguid1.html

PROMPT

“The art of losing isn’t hard to master” (7min)

June 12, 2012

Hi friends & writers,

I’m heading away in a few days for seven weeks in Boston! “The Tuesday Writer” will continue from there. Please keep me posted on your writing revelations & news … and send requests for anything you’d like to hear more about in this newsletter.

Talk soon,

e

PROCESS: SURPRISE FOR THE WRITER

Good writing, the stuff that really gets into our body, raising our heart-rate and giving us chills, forces us to discover something new – about ourselves, about our world. And this mirror-trickery, this discovery for the reader, begins with the writer. As a great writing teacher of mine often said, “No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader. No tears for the writer, no tears for the reader.”

Try this: Ask yourself a hard life question and then write for twenty minutes. Read back on it, looking for the parts that surprise you most or that elicit the most emotion from you. Focus on crafting those parts into a finished piece.

FEATURED VENUE: HIGH DESERT JOURNAL

High Desert Journal is looking year-round for quality literary work – poetry, fiction, memoir, interviews, book reviews, artwork – that illuminates the landscape and people of the interior West. Also check out their Obsidian Prize for Poetry, deadline August 12.

Submission guidelines here: http://highdesertjournal.com/submissions/

PROMPT

“The power of refusal” (7min)

June 5, 2012

Hi friends & writers,

For June, I’m trying something new: as “The Tuesday Writer” is based in the Northwest (Boise), the venues offered during this month will all be regional. Sometimes there is something to be said for writing – and sending out – local.

Happy trails,

e

PROCESS: NEWS IN THE WRITING ROOM

Once a week my daughter’s school has “News,” a sort of show & tell where the toddlers bring inside something from the outside world: a pinecone, a leaf, a cicada shell, an oddly shaped stone, a surprising fruit. I love the idea of bringing “news” into the writing studio – natural objects that are concrete, tangible, and a reminder to write images that are hard enough to break a nail on.

Try this: Bring sensory bits of “news” into your writing room, and find ways to weave them into the stories you are telling.

FEATURED VENUE: OREGON COAST MAGAZINE

Although they do not accept fiction or poetry, Oregon Coast Magazine is open to stories of regional interest between 450-3000 words – quite a range to fit most good personal travel stories about back roads, beachcombing, restaurants, nature, and community. Sending work here could be an opportunity to turn a weekend trip into published writing.

Submission guidelines here: http://www.northwestmagazines.com/guidlin.php

PROMPT

Write about a cicatrix (a new tissue that forms over a wound). (10min)

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