Volume II, Issue 35 October 9, 2013 |
Word of the Week: obstacle
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Dear
,
So there we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway, me and my husband, all set to hike at Linville Falls. We were okay without the campground, the visitor's center, even the bathrooms -- all closed due to the government shutdown. But the road itself was barricaded. What could we do?
Park, walk around the obstacle, and keep going, of course. What was an additional 1.4 miles x 2 when we're talking views like this?
It was a no-brainer. The day was beautiful, fall color just beginning to show. We were celebrating my husband's 60th birthday doing something we both loved. And we had plenty of other intrepid hikers to keep us company, including the one who snapped our photo together.
If only all obstacles were so easily overcome. Wouldn't that be something to smile about?
Well, sure, if you're like me, you'd take easy over hard in a heartbeat. Except that, without obstacles, wouldn't life be a bit dull, a bit too predictable? Wouldn't we miss the opportunity to rise above them? To choose around, over, under, or through and get moving, to see what stuff we're made of? Hmm.
Not only that, but what would our stories -- the real, the imagined -- be without obstacles? Page-turners are not made of smooth paths for characters, even when they are us. Obstacles overcome, heart's desires fulfilled against the odds -- now we're talking a tale worth reading!
May your next obstacle clothe itself in rich opportunity for you and your writing! And if you'd like support and community as you explore the terrain of your writing material, there are three WordPlay writing retreats right around the corner -- read on for details, and for this week's prompt.
Love and light,
Maureen Upcoming WordPlay THE 2013 FALL WRITING RETREAT (Writing - and More - as Renewal / Creating New Writing)
Renew and delight yourself. Seasonal retreats are opportunities to create new pieces of writing and/or new possibilities for our lives. Enjoy various seasonal prompts; they have not failed to elicit beautiful material that can be shaped into essays, poems, stories, or articles. After a communal lunch, you'll have private time which can be used to collage, work with a piece of writing from the morning, or play with a number of other writing prompts and methods. You'll take home new ideas, new drafts, and new possibilities. $97 includes lunch and supplies. WHERE: South Charlotte area. Details will be provided upon registration. FALL WRITING RETREAT: Saturday, October 26, 2013,10 am - 5 pm
TO REGISTER:
Click here to download a printable registration form to mail in.
Or click here to register online. THE
COASTAL WRITING RETREAT: Connect with Your Creativity at the Sunset Inn
Renew yourself, whether you are a practicing writer, closet writer, or as-yet-to-pick-up-the-pen writer.The techniques and prompts we'll use will spur your imagination, and can be used to create nonfiction, fiction, and/or poetry -- the choice is yours. There will be ample free time to savor your private room with king-sized bed, private bath and balcony, the large porches with rocking chairs and swings, and the coastal setting. The Sunset Inn is a five-minute walk from Sunset Beach and is next to a peaceful marsh where herons and cranes live. You'll have your choice of rooms, each with its own distinctive style and color scheme. You'll return home refreshed, with new ideas and energy for your writing. $438 includes writing sessions, two nights' lodging, two breakfasts and Saturday lunch (hotel tax and Saturday dinner at a local restaurant not included).
WHERE: The Sunset Inn, 9 North Shore Dr., Sunset Beach, NC 28468
WHEN: Friday, November 1 - Sunday, November 3, 2013*
OR Friday, November 8 - Sunday, November 10, 2013*
(*Two separate retreats.Please note that Friday, November 8- Sunday, November 10 will be a PROJECT BOOK Retreat with additional focus on the process of bringing a book into being.)
TO REGISTER: Contact the Sunset Inn at 888.575.1001 or 910.575.1000 (if you would like to handpick your room, view your choices here first, then call). Because the Inn is holding rooms for you, our participants, they are blocked off as unavailable online. Register soon by phone - this is a popular event and there are only 8 spaces available each weekend. The Inn will hold your reservation with a credit card.
See http://wordplaynow.com/current.htm for more details and more WordPlay opportunities.
WordPlay Now! Writing Prompt
This is WordPlay -- so why not revel in the power and potential of one good word after another? This week, it's "obstacle." Create an "obstacle course" for yourself or one of your characters, real or imagined: - First, make a short list of desires/goals you or your character is passionately interested in making a reality. What would you or character like to be, do, have? (If you're writing about yourself, you can write about a desire or goal you have for yourself now, or one that you have already realized.)
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Then pick one. Now, brainstorm all the obstacles that are -- or in the case of your character, could be -- in the way. (Yes, you're actually making a kind of plot line.) Next, make a list of ways that each obstacle could be overcome -- around, over, under, or through.
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Lastly, choose one of these obstacles and write a scene, section of prose, or even a poem in which you or your character overcomes this obstacle to fulfill the desire or goal.
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MAUREEN RYAN GRIFFIN, an award-winning poetry and nonfiction writer, is the author of Spinning Words into Gold, a Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing, a grief workbook entitled I Will Never Forget You
, and two collections of poetry, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. She believes, as author Julia Cameron says, "We are meant to midwife dreams for one another."
Maureen also believes that serious "word work" requires serious WordPlay, as play is how we humans best learn -- and perform. What she loves best is witnessing all the other dreams that come true for her clients along the way. Language, when used with intentionality and focus, is, after all, serious fuel for joy. Here's to yours! |
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