(Having trouble viewing this message? See it online here: http://www.aweber.com/t/8wHDi.) Dear
,
I could give happily give free writing advice all day long, actually, but the most important advice of all, of course, is to carve out at least a little time to write almost every day. And to do it first thing if you suspect (from prior evidence) that you won't do it later. Here's the thing about advice though--no matter how good it is, it doesn't do you any good if you don't take it ;). So please do!
And, though you didn't ask, I'll tell you the best advice I ever got--about advice. My dear friend Betty Seizinger told me back in my 30's that, to be able to truly enjoy giving and receiving advice on any matter is to establish the ground rule that any advice is welcome and that it's free to be taken--or left, with no hard feelings.
I'll be posting--and hoping you'll post--good advice, writing and otherwise, on my Facebook page all week, so come on over and check out the fun. And some wisdom, too. Drop by at www.facebook.com/wordplaynow.
One last piece of advice--get up to watch the sunrise, even if the weather report says mostly cloudy!
W. Don't forget to slip some index cards in your pocket, Anne LaMott style, for those good ideas for your latest writing project.
Love and light,
Maureen
Upcoming WordPlay
COASTAL WRITING RETREAT
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'll be ample free time to savor your beautifully appointed private room with king-sized bed, private bath and balcony, the large porches with rocking chairs and swings, and the coastal setting.
WHERE: The Sunset Inn, 9 North Shore Dr., Sunset Beach, NC 28468
WHEN: Friday, November 9 - Sunday, November 11, 2012
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.
$419 includes retreat sessions, two nights' lodging, two breakfasts and Saturday lunch (hotel tax and Saturday dinner at a local restaurant not included). There are still a few spaces available.
For information about other offerings happening soon, visit www.wordplaynow.com/current.htm
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WordPlay Success Story "Maureen's encouragement and creativity, along with the collaborative environment of her classes, have been the perfect set of ingredients to boost my writing."
Meet Cheryl Keller
What Cheryl says about WordPlay About five years ago, I retired from a 27-year career in banking and decided to spend some time writing family stories. I offered to help my in-laws write the story of their courtship and 55-year marriage. It wasn't long before knew I needed help. It was hard to take my in-laws' stories from digital recordings and turn them into written narratives that would grab the attention of their young adult grandchildren.
What makes a story fun to read? How do you whip up a good sentence?What techniques do you use to render vivid personalities in words? I signed up for a workshop with Maureen that seemed to promise some answers. Five years later, I'm still signing up for Maureen's workshops, and not just because I'm a slow learner. Maureen delivered writing tools and techniques, and at the same time, she opened up new ways of reading. Using examples from innovative poetry, short fiction, memoir and essays, Maureen develops recipes for great writing and shows us how to examine and learn from writers. The study of writing has made me a more discerning reader, just as the more I learn about cooking, the more I appreciate the skill and creativity of a chef.
The pièce de résistance in Maureen's workshops is the interaction with the other writers. You can't find a substitute for the energy and inspiration that comes from hearing other writers read their words, and from hearing their reaction to your words. Since taking Maureen's "Under Construction" classes, I've completed the book for my in-laws and have worked with another couple to publish their life stories for their children and grandchildren. Maureen nudged me to write essays and short fiction. One of my essays was published in the anthology Imagining Heaven
. Maureen's classes made me more confident that I could learn to write and they made me want to write! Maureen's encouragement and creativity, along with the collaborative environment of her classes, have been the perfect set of ingredients to boost my writing. Featured Writing
How I love "how to" pieces! And there's a bonus in this one of Cheryl's! In addition to learning how to talk to a daughter about her boyfriend, you'll learn how to get a butterfly to... Oops, spoiler alert barely avoided! Read on...
How to Talk to Your Daughter about her Boyfriend by Cheryl Keller
Don't. That is, don't talk. Just listen. When she says, "He always asks me what I think and then he always does what his mother says," just smile. Nod your head knowingly. Reach out and squeeze her hand. Inside your mouth, take your tongue and hold it firmly between your teeth, but not so much that it hurts. Only enough to remind you not to talk.
Oh yes, you'll be tempted to say, "Honey, if he's this way now, he'll always be like this... he's always going to be a Mama's boy." Remind yourself that she will not hear your words, that she doesn't want to hear what her Mama has to say. Remind yourself that she is a grown woman, even if she looks thirteen years old to you and you still remember that afternoon one October when her first her love dumped her and you'd rather live through almost anything else than relive those hours. Visualize the boyfriend's good qualities. After all, you know he loves his mother and respects her advice. Stamp down the thought that it may be possible to love one's mother too much.
Resist the compulsion to provide wisdom from your 30+ years of marital experience when she complains that he spends money he doesn't really have on video games he doesn't really need. She doesn't really want to hear that prudent money management and common financial goals are important keys to sustaining a long-term relationship.
Do not mirror her agitation! Oh, it would be so easy to go to that pity party with her. Instead, remember your friend Anne, the spiritual one, who aspired to be so peaceful that butterflies would alight on her. She went out into her garden with her watering can and offered a blessing to each plant as she stroked it and bathed it in cool water. She filled her mind with peaceful, loving thoughts toward all creation. She looked expectantly at the butterflies as they flitted by. "Eventually, a butterfly landed on my arm," she exclaimed. "Or it might have been a moth, I'm not sure, I can't tell the difference."
Send peaceful, loving thoughts flowing to your daughter. She is not a moth flying precariously, foolishly, hastily into the flames of a white, hot light. She is a butterfly, her antennae searching for nourishing nectar, her thin legs testing for a soft place on which to land.
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 "advice."
Hoo boy! Here are five lists to play with. If you are writing fiction, slip into the skin (and life) of one of your characters and make the lists on his/her behalf. Set a timer for at least ten minutes and list away. You may want to focus on one or two lists, or dabble in all five, writing a few items in each.
Then, pick whichever advice you would most enjoy writing about, set the timer for another ten minutes, and have at it. Tell the whole story--what the advice was, whether it was taken or not, what happened as a result. If you like what came out, craft it into a finished piece of writing.
1. Make a list of good advice you've been given over the course of your lifetime, and from whom.
2. Make a list of bad advice you've been given over the course of your lifetime, and from whom.
3. Make a list of good advice you've given someone else, and to whom.
4. Make a list of bad advice you've been given someone else
, and to whom.
5. Make a list of things you know how to do so well that you could give someone else advice on how to do it. Have fun with this! Some good topics I've seen lately are "How to Break Up a Dog Fight," "How to Watch the Rain," and "How to Stay Married
to a Musician."
Want to be featured in a future Word-zine?
Send in a piece of your writing that you think could inspire other WordPlayers to write. 500-word limit, please.) You can send something inspired by this writing, or anything else of your choosing. Email your words to WordPlay here and your piece may be chosen for a future Word-zine.
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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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