Volume V, Issue 1 January 4, 2016 Word of the Week: consider
Dear ,
What I found most inspiring about da Vinci and Escher was not their artistic talent—though they certainly had this in abundance—but the fact that they were, like Rudyard Kipling's "The Elephant's Child," "full of 'satiable curtiosity." It's been said of da Vinci that "he wouldn't take yes for an answer," and his
pages are full of considering, in minute detail whatever captured his attention. He used his great powers of observation and refused to accept any assumptions or even widespread beliefs in they didn't match his insights. And Escher? Well, Escher reveled in making the impossible look possible! As he put it, "I can't keep from fooling around with our irrefutable certainties. It is, for example, a pleasure knowingly to mix up two and three dimensionalities, flat and spatial, and to make fun of
gravity."
How about if, as this beautiful, spacious New Year lies spread in front of us, we take some time to consider what's possible for us and our writing if we are willing to "mix up" the dimensionalities of beliefs and expectations, both our own and others'? After all, as Ralph Hodgson says, "Sometimes
things have to be believed in to be seen."
I hope you'll enjoy the two short bits of beloved author Lewis Carroll's play with considering what's possible and impossible that I share below, along with this week's prompt.
Love and Light,
Maureen Upcoming WordPlay
GIFT OF
MEMOIR 1 spot left!
(Writing Personal and Family Stories)
Our life stories are a
precious legacy. Putting them in writing is a gift to all who know and love us—they can be treasured and enjoyed for generations to come. It is also a gift to ourselves. As best-selling author Rachel Naomi Remen says in her book Kitchen Table Wisdom, facts bring us to knowledge, but stories bring us to wisdom. If you are interested in writing family and/or personal life stories—those significant tales of adventure, transition, love, loss, and triumph, as well as lovely everyday moments from
times past or the present, come learn specific tools and techniques to retrieve and record them.
WHERE: Covenant Presbyterian Recreation Center, 1000 East Morehead Street, Charlotte, 28204. Click here for map.
WHEN: Thursday mornings, 10:00 a.m. – noon January 7 and 21
February 4 and 18
March 3 and 17
April 7 and 21
May 5 COST: $279
TO REGISTER: Because this class is nearly full, if you would like to register, please email us directly at info@wordplaynow.com for details. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UNDER CONSTRUCTION: YOUR WRITING 2 spots left! (Fulfilling Writing Dreams & Goals; Creating New Writing' Revising & Polishing Your
Writing)
This class is designed to fulfill your writing dreams and projects. You’ll set goals and support structures and watch your writing flow! You’ll also get feedback on your work (any genre) and learn revision tools and methods. Each week, writing prompts will generate material for new writing or further a piece in process, whatever your
preferred genre. Through examples of accomplished writers, you’ll learn techniques to aid you right where you are in the process.
WHERE: South Charlotte area. Details will be provided upon registration
WHEN: Tuesday evenings, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. January 12, 19 and 26 February 2 and 16 March 1, 8 and 22 April 5, 12, 19 and 26 May 3 COST: $419 TO REGISTER:
Because this class is nearly full, if you would like to register, please email us directly at info@wordplaynow.com for details.
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WRITER'S WORKSHOP:
Every Picture Tells a Story
Would you enjoy using visual images as writing inspiration? Come learn fun, easy methods to capture treasured family stories and create memorable fiction, memoir, and poetry. A variety of images will be provided; bring your own photos if you like.
WHERE: Plaza Midwood Library. 1623 Central Avenue. Charlotte, NC 28205
WHEN: Tuesday, February 9, from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. COST: Free!
TO REGISTER: To register online,
please visit the Plaza Midwood Library website here. Registration opens January 9th.
More WordPlay opportunities here. WordPlay Featured Writing
Two excerpts from Chapter 5
of
Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There
by
Lewis Carroll
with fifty illustrations by John Tenniel
(in which Alice converses with the White Queen)
Sir John Tenniel
"Oh, don't go on like that!" cried the poor Queen, wringing her hands in despair. "Consider what a great girl you are. Consider what a long way you've come to-day. Consider what o'clock it is. Consider anything, only don't cry!"
Alice could not help laughing at this, even in the midst of her tears. "Can you keep from crying by considering things?" she asked.
"That's the way it's done," the Queen said with great
decision: "nobody can do two things at once, you know."
*** "I'm just one hundred and one, five months and a day."
"I can't believe that!" said Alice.
"Can't you?" the Queen said in a pitying
tone. "Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes."
Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said: "one can't believe impossible things."
"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
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
"consider."
PROMPT:
Like Alice and the White Queen, spend some time "considering things." Reflect on what you believe is possible for you, your writing, the world, and
what you believe is not. Challenge your beliefs, expectations, and knowledge—perhaps, like Carroll, da Vinci, and Escher, through keen observation, play, and speculation.
You may want to, for at least this week, write down "six impossible beliefs before breakfast." One of mine is "The world is at peace, with all people living in love and abundance, no one left out."
Pretty impossible, yes? And yet, when I am operating out of this belief, I am much more peaceful, which makes the people I encounter more peaceful. And if no one is willing to believe it could happen, how can it ever come to pass?
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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