September 25, 2012

Hi writers,

This summer I wrote a writer’s “credo,” a statement that focused on my relationship with making art. If you’ve never done such a thing, I highly recommend it.

Mine happened on accident: I had ducked into a grocery store to wait out a flash rainstorm, and while sitting at the counter I gave myself the prompt: “How to be a writer.” I loved what came out and have since printed it to keep on my desk. (It’s also on my website under “Writing” if you are interested in reading it.) Compressing those ideas onto a single page felt like making pure maple syrup out of a huge, unwieldy tree.

I encourage you to write and share credos of your own. I’d love to read them and, with your permission, share them with other Tuesday Writers via this newsletter.

Cheerio!    

Elisabeth

PROCESS: CREDO

What does creativity mean in your life? What has it meant, and what do you want it to mean? Capturing these thoughts in the concrete form of a credo can serve as a guide for future writing, a reminder of what matters most to you in life and art, a beacon for what you want your art to do.

Try this: When writing a credo, consider both the internals (what you care deeply about) and externals (what frames, routines, and nourishment you need to do the work).

FEATURED VENUE: CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

Oh yes. Believe it or not (but believe it!), after 100,000 stories in countless anthologies, the Chicken Soup for the Soul series is still seeking new stories and poems that show how ordinary people overcome life’s challenges. Aim for a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Submission guidelines here: http://www.chickensoup.com/form.asp?cid=submit_story

PROMPT

“How to be a writer” (12min)

September 18, 2012

Hi writers!

I want to let you all know that I’m offering three new writing services beginning this fall:

First, college essay writing consultations for college-applying high school seniors. This is something I’ve done unofficially for many years and am finally starting to include as part of my business. College essays are bite-sized memoirs and I love working with them.

Second, a full-day Saturday writing workshop on the theme of “Hero’s Journey Narratives.” It will take place on October 6, run from 10am-5pm, cap at 8 writers, and include a healthy lunch, snacks and tea. The workshop’s goal is to generate the same amount of quality writing as in a usual 5-week workshop, with the marathon intensity of a single day. Cost is $120.

Third, weekend writing retreats at the beautiful Writing Shed at Floral Lane – a tiny zen-house that has bed, kitchen, bathroom, desk, and is an inspiring place to make art. These retreats last two nights and include three delicious meals each day & one hour-long writing consultation: a perfect writer’s vacation!

Please email me if you are interested in learning more about any of these. I’ll make the information public on my website this week.

Have wonderful days and weeks –

Elisabeth

PROCESS: PERIPHERAL FOCUS = BRILLIANT IDEAS

Where do you get your best ideas? Is it, by any chance, while driving, doing reps at the gym, cleaning, or taking a shower? Many writers find that performing mundane repetitive tasks frees the creative mind. Similar to how certain stars are visible only if looked at peripherally, some great ideas only come when the thinker is focusing on some rote other task.

Try this: Create a net for catching those brilliant ideas as they come: whether a scuba slate in the shower or a voice recorder in the car.

FEATURED VENUE: 32 POEMS

You’ll find such lovely and unusual poems in this independent journal. 32 Poems publishes poems that fit onto a single page, under 32 lines.

Submission guidelines here: http://www.32poems.com/submission-guidelines

PROMPT

“We were moving at the speed of…” (5min)

September 11, 2012

Good morning,

It’s difficult to write an introduction to a newsletter on September 11 – one feels tempted to try to say something grand or conciliatory, for writing is (isn’t it?) a political act. But suffice to say that by expressing anything honestly at all we are doing something better for ourselves, our people, our world.

Elisabeth

PROCESS: ACTIVE VOICE

Forgive me while I turn English teacher for a moment. According to Strunk & White’s Elements of Style, one of the best-known writing guides, “The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive.” Passive verbs (defined as any form of the verb “to be” and including: is, am, are, was, were, be, been, being) are perfect when the subject is a passive subject, such as “We were patient prisoners.” But when the subject is doing something (anything at all!) active verbs help that “doing” along. Compare:

“The dog bit me.” (active – the subject, dog, is doing something)

“I was bitten by the dog.” (passive – the subject, I, is doing nothing, while the object, dog, gets to bite)

Try this: Choose an older piece of writing and scan it for passive verbs. Change five of these “to be” verbs into more interesting active verbs.

FEATURED VENUE: AGNI

AGNI, an established literary journal with an exciting history, publishes work in several genres (fiction, essays, reviews, poetry) in addition to work in many languages. Offering both a print and an online component, AGNI has a reputation for publishing important writers (writers we’ve all heard of) early in their careers (before we’ve heard of them).

Submission guidelines here: http://www.bu.edu/agni/submit.html

PROMPT

“It was the strangest story I’d ever heard.” (10min)

September 4, 2012

Good morning,

This issue of The Tuesday Writer addresses a strange motivational paradox, features a journal of both handwritten and typed poems, and offers a prompt inspired by Seamus Heaney.

Read on! And enjoy the first days of fall.

Elisabeth

PROCESS: NON-WRITING HOURS

This is reverse psychology at its best, and any new parent of child or dog can tell you how well it works. By having severe limitations set on your time, you see how fiercely the pent-up writing energy comes out when it is, finally, writing time.

This was one of the great revelations for me about being somebody’s mom. Instead of spending hours … days … wondering: “Should I write now? Or later? Or maybe tonight?” I now know exactly when my non-writing hours are. Whatever is left, I use.

Try this: For a week set non-writing hours, meaning “Hours during which you will not think about or try to do anything involved with writing.” See how delicious it feels to write, after or before that forbidden block.

FEATURED VENUE: LITTLE RED LEAVES

The editors of Little Red Leaves tell us that they are currently intrigued by totems, talismans, sincerity, slowness, unbecoming, and other intriguing things. This online poetry journal is collectively edited so that each issue shows the taste of a different editor. Send 4 poems max.

Submission guidelines here: http://www.littleredleaves.com/contact.html

PROMPT

“I drink to you, bitter and dependable…” (8min)