Callahan Creative Writing Workshop [CCWW]: September 2013

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Blue ribbons, jungle gyms and listening

September 26, 2013

Hello, writers,

Right now, I’m sitting inside a creative writing classroom at LaVilla School of the Arts, where I taught from 2002 until 2007. I’m evaluating students in Mrs. Cheryl Lemine’s writing classes for their upcoming performance called a writer’s reading.

Amidst middle school whispers, yawns and stretches, I observe young writers pursuing writing, a craft Hemingway says none of us ever master.One kid just read a piece written from the perspective of Snow White. Her wording, such as “distraught” and “taunting” worked well.

My job is to help Mrs. Lemine give feedback on the kids' writing and their reading of it. When I find out the date of the performance, I’ll let you know.

Meanwhile, here’s the recap of our last writing workshop for the first session, complete with a warm-up, an overview of our critique session, links of interest and prompts for next time.

The warm-up

We started the workshop with a reading from Eudora Welty’s book, “One Writer’s Beginnings.” The section I shared focused on listening when we read and when we write. After the reading, we wrote for ten minutes.

A few of us shared our warm-ups. We then introduced ourselves, shared good news and started our critique session.

Critique overview

Ann W. began the session by reading “My Favorite War Story,” incorporating the blue ribbon prompt. Set in Afghanistan, her true account featured a donkey and a woman veterinarian. Members enjoyed learning about the culture her piece portrayed. Dee C. continued with a piece about a lady in Georgia named LaVonne. Members enjoyed learning LaVonne’s blue ribbon pies started with store-bought crusts. Members commented on her powerful metaphors, such as “heaven on a plate.” Michele N. then read a continuation of her Jenna and Jackson story. In this section, she offered more details on Jenna. Members commented on Jenna’s likeability.

Robert O. then read a continuation of his story. Told from Gabriel’s perspective, his piece offered powerful descriptions. Members again commented on his use of second person pronouns. Connie K. continued the session by sharing a true account of a man getting pneumonia from breathing toxic fumes while working as a fireman. The man is Connie’s husband, Butch. Members commented on the honesty of her piece and said its “seize the day” outlook worked.

Connie W. then shared a continuation of her hemp rope story. Her piece included excellent descriptions (daisies and laughter) and powerful memories of one character’s childhood in Ireland. Members said they wanted to hear more! Cameron S. then asked Dee and Michele to read a short play featuring Alice (from “Alice in Wonderland” and Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz”). In the play, Alice and Dorothy meet in a coffee shop and have an argument. Members commented on the creativity and humor in the piece. I (Nancy B.) then read “What the Callahanians Do,” which incorporated the humble pie and jungle gym prompts. Members said my piece had accurate descriptions of small-town life.

Lisa C. continued the session by reading a continuation of her play set inside a nursing home. Members commented on her characterization of Sticks and Fuzz, as well as their focus on trivial things. Many members wanted to hear more! Gina A. finished the session by sharing more of her piece about the guardians. In this section, we learned the characteristics of a human boy and of four guardians. Members said her ability to show the setting and not just tell about it worked.

Excellent pieces, everyone!

Links of Interest

(I’m keeping NaNoWriMo on our list in case you haven’t had a chance to sign up yet).

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)

November is National Novel Writing Month. Want to write a novel from November 1 to November 30? Several of us have done this before. It’s fun!

Read more and sign up here: http://nanowrimo.org/

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Essay Contest

Here’s an essay contest with a November 1 deadline. Topic is mistakes. Anyone made any mistakes? Anyone? Anyone?

Monday, September 23, 2013

A Shirt Is Warm Affection

September 23, 2013

Hello,

I found a box of old journals today. As I read through some of them, I remembered events in my life I had forgotten about. On one page, I found notes on the metaphor maker, a technique I used with creative writing students in the past. I thought I’d share it with you.

Metaphors, comparisons between two things not using –like or –as, are powerful in any kind of writing. Examples of metaphors are “a mighty fortress is our God” and “her hair was braided rope snaking down her back.” In the first example, God is compared to a fortress. In the second example, hair is being compared to braided rope.

The technique is simple. Make three columns on a sheet of paper. My columns were drawn freehand in my journal, but you could create them on the computer. In the first column, list 15-20 concrete nouns, such as prison, box, or quilt. In the second column, list 15-20 adjectives. As you know, adjectives are descriptive words like tired, crowded or soft. In the third column, list 15=20 abstract nouns, such as loyalty, hope, or freedom.

Once your lists are complete, pick a word from each column and work it into a powerful metaphor.

Mix them up and have fun!

Here’s an example:

Concrete Nouns	Adjectives	Abstract Nouns
Classroom	Cloudy	Potential
Shirt	Willowy	Beauty
Pencil	Warm	Thought
Puppet	Clean	Affection

Using the chart above, some metaphors I can make are:

A classroom is cloudy potential.

A pencil is cloudy thought.

A shirt is warm affection.

Hope you enjoy the exercise. If you create some wonderful metaphors, please share them tomorrow night at our workshop.

~Nancy B.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Richard N.'s list of favorite writing books

Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint by Nancy Kress
Distinctives of Christian Fiction (compiled from Chapter 14 of A Novel Idea, various authors, published by Tyndale)
Mastering Point of View by Sherri Szeman
Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell
Stein on Writing—A Master Editor’s Techniques and Strategies, by Sol Stein
Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain
The Writer’s Journey—Mythic Structure for Writers, by Christopher Vogler
Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass
Outlining Your Novel by K.M. Weiland

Poker and humble pie

September 20, 2013

Hello, writers,

I’ve been brainstorming book ideas today for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November. Have you signed up to participate this year? If not, please see more information about NaNoWriMo in the links of interest section below.

What are you writing this weekend? I’d love to hear what you’re working on right now.

Meanwhile, here’s the recap of last Tuesday’s writing workshop, complete with warm-ups, an overview of our critique session, links of interest and prompts for next time.

The warm-up

We started the workshop with a reading from Natalie Goldberg’s book Wild Mind. After the reading, we wrote for ten minutes. Several CCWW members said they enjoyed the selection from her book. Writing Down the Bones is another wonderful writing book by Goldberg.

A few of us shared our warm-ups. We then introduced ourselves, shared good news and started our critique session.

Critique overview

Matt Y. began the session by reading a piece incorporating both the poker and humble pie prompts. His story line and his Russian character worked well. Dee C. continued by sharing an installment of her Sam Baker detective story. Her likening of murder a la fire poker to fondue received lots of laughs, and her descriptions worked. Oliver M. then shared a piece reflecting on “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” His piece offered insights into the field of archaeology.

Gina A. continued by reading a more of her first person story about a guardian trying to fix a broken world. Her character and scene descriptions worked well. Cameron S. then shared a continuation of her laboratory story. Her human characters, Clara and Mark, discussed various animal hybrids, such as Cinnamon, a turtle lion or lion turtle. Michele N. then read a new piece featuring co-workers, Jenna and Jackson. Her characterization and descriptions worked.

Lisa C. then shared a short play set at a nursing home. Her humor and story line worked well, and she included five prompts in the piece! Richard N. continued his novel featuring the character of Dodge. Members said his ‘inside information’ about how to make calls within the CIA worked. Connie K. then read “Faces,” an autobiographical piece based on the humble pie prompt. Several members said the way she incorporated Bible verses within the piece worked well.

Judy M. then read a piece featuring Paolo and a cheese market. Her descriptions of the bird songs he made with a whistle and her story line worked well. Robert O. then shared a continuation of his ongoing second-person story featuring Emily. Members said his decision to base the piece in Jacksonville worked. Connie W. finished the session by sharing a piece about an amazing blond guitar player named Peter Frampton. Her chronology and background on bands and albums worked.

Great writing, everyone!