Signs and health food stores

March 20, 2014

Hello, writers,

For the past few weeks, I’ve been a food tester for the Times-Union. This means I eat new products the newspaper provides, and then I review them. Each Thursday, the newspaper runs the testers’ reviews (there are five or six of us) in the Food section. I’ve enjoyed gourmet tuna, chocolate cereal, Chinese stir fry and more!

I applied to be a food tester over a year ago. Honestly, I had forgotten all about applying until my husband called me back in January to tell me the Times-Union had called our home to find out if I still wanted to test food. My answer? Yes!

Will I have a career as a food writer? Probably not, but it’s been fun to write blurbs about new food products and rate them. The barbecue Sun Chips have been my favorite product so far.

I try to say yes to new opportunities and fresh adventures. I never would have been a food tester if I had said no.

What about you? Do you say yes more often than no? Has saying yes to new things in life been beneficial for you? Have you turned down something you later wish you’d accepted? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

In other news, here’s a review of Tuesday’s workshop.

Warm-ups

As a writing warm-up, we chose from prompts below and wrote for ten minutes:

1.      “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.”

2.      Best and worst book(s) turned into movie(s)

3.      Tape vs. glue

4.      Balconies

After a few of us shared our warm-ups, we introduced ourselves, shared good news and started our critique session.

Good News and Information Exchange

Robert O. has a violin and has started lessons. Way to go, Robert! Richard N. gave everyone his “passivity checker,” which helps writers avoid passive voice. Thanks, Richard! I passed around a list of clichés and another list of questions to ask when writing non-fiction. I included both in the links section below.

Photo of the Week

Critique overview from March 18 CCWW

I, Nancy B., started the session with a prompt-based (at the health food store) scene. Members said my piece had vivid characters as well as suspense. Lisa C. then read “A Cautionary Tale,” a prompt-based (signs) poem. As usual, her clever use of rhymes worked well. Sherri S. continued by reading a piece of prompt-based (signs) fiction. Members said her opening, her inclusion of several types of signs and her characterization worked well. Connie W. then read “The Mind,” a piece about how a woman spends a night without sleep. Members said her piece included both humor and poignancy, and it presented a realistic progression of time.

Cameron S. then read a prompt-based (signs) first person narrative about school. Many members agreed with her sentiments about school and complimented her use of signs at the beginning, middle and end of her piece. Richard N. then shared the last half of the last chapter of his Dodge story. Members said his pacing and his use of interior monologue for Dodge worked well. Thomas E. then shared a revised chapter two of his ongoing story. Members said his use of sounds (i.e. click of heels, screech of rubber) and his use of metaphor (thoughts as books) worked well. Hayden B. then read “Too Much Stuff,” a short story about a girl named Jill. Members said her piece worked well, especially her simile about Jill being sneaky as a snake.

Sandra H. then shared “The Would-be Samaritan,” a modernized version of the Bible story. Members enjoyed her piece and commented on her clever use of questions. Robert O. finished the session by reading the start of “The Furry Writing Group,” a new story. Members said Robert’s dialogue worked very well because they could draw characterizations from it. (Note: Richard N. said Robert’s piece reminded him of “Tales of the Great Heart.” I think Richard said it was by Isaac Asimov, but I didn’t write it down. Richard, please verify title and author for us).

Great writing, everyone!

Links of Interest

Non-fiction checklist

Here is a good checklist for non-fiction writing. If you’re thinking of freelance writing for newspapers, magazines or the web, you might check it out.

More here:  http://writerseditorsnetwork.com/checklists-for-nonfiction/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=checklists-for-nonfiction

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Journalism clichés

Here’s a list of 150 journalism clichés. Which one do you use most?

More here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2014/02/27/the-outlook-list-of-things-we-do-not-say/

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Thinking about freelancing?

Take a look at markets currently seeking writing.  

More here: http://www.worldwidefreelance.com/markets/

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Prompts for Tuesday, March 25

The first prompt is nursery rhymes. The second prompt is truth or dare. You’re free to write in any genre you like (fiction, drama, non-fiction, poetry, etc.). If you’d like to bring a WIP (work-in-progress), please do.

Please keep pieces to 1500 words or less and bring copies if you can.

I will be out of town next meeting. Lisa C. will moderate Tuesday, March 25. Thanks, Lisa!

~Nancy B.

P.S. If you’d like to participate in the Spoken Word Poetry Festival at the Callahan Branch Library at the end of April, please let me know.