Word of the Week: snapshot
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Dear
,
How many of your "snapshot moments" do you catch?
Sometimes we recognize one when it happens, and sometimes we don't. I took this photo of my daughter (who is having my first grandchild in April
) at her baby shower because the aunt who gave her this adorable elephant and growth chart couldn't be with us, and every time I look at it, I remember the moment she opened her gift from Aunt Laura -- BEFORE the shower, because I had already decided that elephant was going to be a table centerpiece, along with a cake with an elephant on it and a Babar board book. (It's never to early for Babar!)
But I have had so many snapshot moments with my daughter that I haven't captured with a camera, and I'm so glad we writers have another means available to us -- capturing it in words.
This week's featured WordPlayer, Kim Love Stump, did just that with a warm moment between her father and her daughter that took place many years ago -- and it holds the moment for all time as true as any photograph, blue dress and all.
Scroll on down to check it out! And take note of the Upcoming WordPlay as you do -- "Spinning Words into Gold" starts tomorrow, "Poetry Rocks" starts Monday, and the "Spring Writing Retreat" is only a week and a half away. Any of them will provide an opportunity to capture your best snapshot moments....
Keep your eyes open -- love is unfolding all around you,
Maureen
Upcoming WordPlay
POETRY ROCKS: TAP INTO ALL POETRY CAN DO FOR YOU
(Learning the Ins and Outs of Poetry; Strengthening Your Writing Skills; Adding a New Layer of Literary Beauty to Your Life) /3 sessions plus a "Poetry Creation Tool"
in written and audio form each weekday in April (22 in all!)
Do you wish your writing were more graceful, powerful, beautiful? Do you sometimes find poetry confusing or intimidating? Or do you enjoy writing and reading it, but want a more thorough understanding of what makes a poem good (yours or someone else's)? Then this poetry extravaganza is for you.
Expect a lively good time exploring what makes a poem a poem, the knowledge you need to confidently create and revise poetry (and strengthen your writing skills in any genre), and the opportunity to ask any question you've ever had about poetry but were afraid to ask. $97 Includes three two-hour sessions plus audio replays, 22 daily poetry creation tools so you can put what you learn into practice, and other resources. AT the end of "Poetry Rocks," you'll also receive your own hard copy poetry toolkit that contains the information and resources covered, as well as your daily poetry creation tools.
BONUS:
The first six people who register will receive the opportunity to get feedback from me on a 500-word (or shorter) poem! These poems may be shared with your fellow participants to illustrate the revision process.
WHEN: The three classes,
available in person or via phone, web, and/or replay, are 7 to 9 pm, Tuesdays, April 2, 16, and 30 (or at your convenience, as these will be recorded). The poetry creation tools will be delivered each weekday in April, to be used at your convenience.
WHERE: South Charlotte (Details supplied upon registration) OR from the comfort of your own home, if you participate via phone, web, or replay.
TO REGISTER:
Click here to register via PayPal or credit card
Or email me at info@wordpLaynow.com for details on registering via check.SPRING WRITING RETREAT
(Writing - and More - as Renewal / Creating New Writing) / 1 session
Renew and delight yourself. Seasonal retreats are opportunities to create new pieces of writing and/or new possibilities for our lives. 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, April 6, 2013,10 am - 5 pm
WHERE: South Charlotte (Details supplied upon registration) OR from the comfort of your own home, if you participate via phone, web, or replay
TO REGISTER: Click here to register via PayPal or credit card
S
PINNING WORDS INTO GOLD
(Fulfilling Writing Dreams and Goals; Creating New Writing; Revising and Polishing Your Writing)
Does writing fulfill you? Do you wish you were writing more? Jumpstart your writing life and learn to keep your words flowing. $159/6 sessions
WHEN: Thursdays, March 28 - May 2, 1 - 3 p.m.
WHERE: Queens Sports Complex on Tyvola Road near Fairview, Charlotte
TO FIND OUT MORE & REGISTER: http://www.queens.edu/Academics-and-Schools/Continuing-Education/Program-Categories/Writing---CE/Spinning-Words-into-Gold.html
For details about more 2013 offerings, visit www.wordplaynow.com/current.htm.
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WordPlay Success Story
"Maureen's guidance is bringing my dream of being a writer to life-
one assignment, one class, one submission at a time."
Meet Kim Love Stump
I just had to give a shout out to Kim today -- she just announced in our Under Construction class yesterday that she has completely finished her first draft of the children's fantasy novel she mentions below! (She wrote these words about me and WordPlay last year.) Congratulations, Kim! I've been privileged to share this journey with her, and can testify that it is a GREAT first draft -- all ready to be edited and sent out for publication.
And guess what Kim was writing in response to yesterday's class writing prompts? Yep -- scenes from the second book in her series!
Yay, Kim! Congratulations to you and all best wishes!
And when Kim isn't working on her fiction, she's often capturing snapshot moments from her life, like she did in the lovely poem below.
What Kim says about WordPlay Providence. Serendipity. Synchronicity. Whatever you prefer to call it, I experienced it when I signed up for
Writing to Heal with Maureen Ryan Griffin in 2010. I chose the class, not because of the subject matter, but in spite of it. I wanted to take a writing class and the time worked best for my schedule, that was all. At least that's what I told myself. In reality, I was carrying a constant weight of sadness from my mother's death two years earlier. Through the course and Maureen's tutelage, I experienced writing that healed my heart. The course was structured around writing about our personal pain or loss, but not just
about that. Maureen encouraged me, and all of us in the class, to write about a variety of subjects and to try all kinds of writing: prose and poetry, lists and letters. By the end of the short course I felt as if the vise that had a perpetual grip on my heart had been unwound. I could breathe again. Since that first class, I have participated in four WordPlay "Under Construction" sessions. This has provided me with inspiration and encouragement, as well as laugh-out-loud fun and joy. I am currently working on a children's fantasy novel that I have wanted to write for over a decade. Maureen's guidance is bringing my dream of being a writer to life-one assignment, one class, one submission at a time.
Featured Writing
"PREFER"
by Kim Love Stump
Creaky knees lift potentially unsteady feet
over crunchy leaves scattered thick on the gravel
while loose-skinned arms and rough hands
protectively wrap around his back
to hold his granddaughter
securely in place for the ride back to the house. Blonde threads of her silky hair
brush his cheek as she
babbles on about her little brother, the baby birds
they'd checked on that morning, her mommy, her new
blue dress, the Popsicle Nana will have ready for her
once they reach the house. He is winded and within
ten yards of the door
when she says,
Dahdah, you may put me down now.
Sometimes
I prefer to walk. ~ Kim Love Stump
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 "snapshot."
Go ahead, capture one of your own snapshot moments. Start with one that happened today. Give yourself a few moments to mull over the day and consider which shining gem of a moment you'd like to "snap" with your pen. (Mulling over the day gleaning the "shining gem" moments is an utterly delightful activity in its own right.)
Then put it into words, as simply or ornately as you care to. Lines and stanzas are such a good form for this, even if you've never written anything that looks remotely like a poem before -- you'll get lots of practice if you take "Poetry Rocks." (You can register with a credit card via PayPal by clicking here:
http://tinyurl.com/czfg2vp Or email me at info@wordpLaynow.com for details on registering via check. 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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