Volume V, Issue 39 September 26, 2016 Word of the Week: seedlings Dear ,
Whew! I'll get to the seedlings, I promise. But first, I have to tell you, what a wonderful,
whirlwind weekend it was! It's been a longtime dream of mine to attend the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C., and finally—dream accomplished!
Add that to the bonus opportunity to spend time with my daughter Amanda and family, and you have one very grateful Maureen.
My Saturday began experiencing Marilynne
Robinson, author of the beautiful, remarkable Gilead among other remarkable novels, receive the 2016 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction, which honors an American literary writer "whose body of work is distinguished not only for its mastery of the art but also for its originality of thought and imagination. The award seeks to commend strong, unique, enduring voices that—throughout long,
consistently accomplished careers—have told us something new about the American experience."
"American literature has been a kind of spiritual home to me for as long as I have been aware of it. So this award could not be more gratifying," Robinson said, along with some words on her writing process and her gratitude for her education, which was "generous and expansive," and for the sheer sake
of her being educated. Everyone in the audience laughed when she added that no one expected anything to come of it.
That is one seedling that took root and grew many shoots!
I love that I got to tell Marilynne how much her work meant to me, and to get her to sign my copy of Gilead. She has the most beautiful signature I have ever seen!
The Festival was an embarrassment of riches, with writers of everything from graphic novels to contemporary life to fiction to history to
poetry, and more, for every age group, and there were so many writers I wanted to hear and couldn't, given there were fourteen different stages featuring writers all at the same time, and long lines to boot. (Wow, are there a lot of Americans who love books and writers—it was heartwarming to say the least, and I talked to so many great
people.)
My other favorite presentations were Lois Lowry's and Katherine Paterson's. (I have always been a lover of books for children and young adults, and Lowry and Paterson's books were ones my children and I both adored.) To see the depth of love these two have inspired in the young readers who
came up to the mikes to ask questions was beyond heartwarming into hopeful.)
I could go on and on...but you are probably wondering about the seedlings, and I want to, as I always try to do, provide something useful for your own writing life!
So you can scroll on down to the bottom to see a picture of Amanda with her two "seedlings" near the Washington monument.
This week's word was inspired by a great essay from Glimmer Train by a writer named Lisa Graley that uses the metaphors of seedlings, pruning, and bonsai-growing to discuss the writing and editing process. I knew as soon as I read it that I wanted to share it with you. There's a deep wisdom in her words, including these: "successful stories and novels cannot outgrow their foundations. As it turns out, more hinges on the seedling's ground than on the germ from which it sprouts." It's excerpted below, with a link so you can read every word.
May you nurture your seedling stories—and your seedling dreams—well!
Love and light, Maureen P.S. Great news if you've been wanting to write at the beach! We've had a cancellation for the Coastal Writing Retreat November 11th through 13th. There is currently one spot left. Details below and here. Call the Sunset Inn now to reserve if you'd like to come. Upcoming WordPlay
COASTAL WRITING RETREAT (Writing—and more—as Renewal and
Inspiration)
1 spot left!
Renew yourself and reconnect with your own creativity, 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. $418 for the weekend. The Coastal Writing Retreat includes writing sessions, two nights’ lodging, two breakfasts and Saturday lunch (hotel tax and Saturday dinner at a local restaurant not included). Additionally, for those who might like to stay another day to work on their writing, or to just enjoy the beach, the Inn is offering to Coastal Writing Retreat participants only, the
opportunity to stay Sunday night, November 13th, at half price.
WHERE: The Sunset Inn, 9 North Shore Dr., Sunset Beach, NC 28468
WHEN: Friday, November 11 – Sunday, November 13, 2016* TO REGISTER: Contact the Sunset Inn at
888-575-1001 (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 is only
1 space available.
*Also, please let the Inn know when you call if you are interested in the bonus opportunity to stay Sunday night, November 13th, at half price.
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WINTER WRITING RETREAT
(Writing as Renewal/Creating New Writing/
Tools for a Writing
Life)
Renew and delight yourself. The Winter Writing Retreat is an opportunity to create new pieces of writing and/or possibilities for our lives. Enjoy various seasonal prompts; they 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. WHEN: Saturday, December 17th, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. TO REGISTER: To pay with a check via mail, email info@wordplaynow.com for instructions. Click here to pay online, using PayPal.
More WordPlay opportunities here. Featured Writer
Lisa Graley A native of West Virginia, Lisa Graley teaches English and humanities at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is the author of a
book of poetry Box of Blue Horses and has published stories in Glimmer Train, The McNeese Review, and The Georgia Review. Her debut story collection The Current That Carries won the 2015 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction and will be available from the University of Georgia Press this month. Photo and bio from http://www.glimmertrain.com/bulletins/essays/b116graley.php
Featured Writing
The Accidental Bonsai and
Strategies for Pruning
by Lisa
Graley
A bonsai took root in my fiction last week. Most likely it stemmed from my backyard discovery of tree seedlings whose tops I had scathed with the lawnmower in previous mowing seasons. Cropped early in life, the trees, with their tiny limbs and miniature leaves, looked scraggly and wind-torn. Lovely.
While this might not earn me respect for my lawn—a lawn so uncultivated that trees grow in it!—the revelation of the seedlings spurred me to research a gardening art I've always
admired. I transplanted the tree-lings to pots. Two days later one of my characters wanted to try her hand at growing bonsai.
I allowed it—for you have
to follow the avenues that open to you. Curiosity pulls you forward. Before I knew it, the story, with its miscellaneous other branches, had sprung to seventeen single-spaced pages. I was afraid to double-space. After all, it was supposed to be a short story. Like my lawn, it had grown beyond my control.
The experience reminded me of the tensions we encounter when
we begin writing a new work. Occasionally, we envision the piece as it will be—the way we can predict the size of a particular tree species. Quite often, however, when we feel the tug of a character or plot line, or when a voice asks us to tune in, we don't know what seed we're starting with. Are we in for a short story or
novel, a miniature tree or towering one? Or something in between?
To continue reading, please click here:
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 "seedling."
PROMPT: This week, take stock of your seedlings. Or plant some! Spend at least an hour going through your files and folders searching out ideas and drafts of writing, and choose one or more to "water," ""fertilize," and
"prune" into a finished piece. And/or do some mulling (perhaps while you do some work in the yard with real plants) about writing that you would like to do: What are the stories, essays, poems, etc. that you would like to write. Make a list for yourself. Then pick one and begin, even if it's only a paragraph or two, or some brainstorming. As promised, here's a picture of Amanda with her two "seedlings" near the Washington monument. Baby Harry can nap anywhere!
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 three collections of poetry, Ten Thousand Cicadas Can't Be Wrong, This Scatter of Blossoms and When the Leaves Are in the Water. One of her long-held dreams came true in July of 2015 when Garrison Keillor read one of her poems on The Writer's Almanac. 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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