Monthly Archive for September, 2010

The Spark of an Idea

On Sunday morning of my writing retreat, this past weekend on Lake Sunapee, we woke to a chill in the air. Our host lit a fire for us in the hearth of the great room; we sat around the stone fireplace toasting our feet while we wrote in response to my morning prompt. It always amazes me when the subconscious sends ideas and answers to us during these writing sessions. Many of the participants wrote metaphorically about where they are in the present moment of their creative beings. Here is what I wrote:

Dear good naked morning, my name is spark. You know, like the spark of an idea, the spark of a fledgling flame, the spark of a fresh new love. Spark is the promise of something strong and beautiful yet to be. Spark has a crisp, clean sound to it, a white palette ready to burst into explosions of color – reds and golds, yellows and blues, greens and oranges – glittering diamonds of color.

Spark is filled with expectation and anticipation, an excited energy that electrifies the air. There is a moment of breath holding in which the possibility of extinction exists. But, it is short-lived because this spark has too much to say, and experience, and share, to just die out and be forgotten.

Spark is the beginning, the birth of a new dawn of ideas and challenges and accomplishments.

Spark is the beginning of sparkle – meant to light up the room with joy, and color, and crackle.

Dear good, naked morning, you are the dawn of a new day, a new beginning, a promise to uphold. Dear good, naked morning, my name is spark and I am so happy to meet you.

Published on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 in Inspiration. 2 Comments

Teaching Writing to College Students

I’ve just started a new semester teaching writing at Colby-Sawyer College, in New London, NH. I am only teaching one section, this term, but I love the kids in my class. They are engaged and engaging. They have a lot to say.

I have been a writing instructor at the college for a few years now. I really enjoy working with young people; they see the world so differently from where I stand. It’s scary, but uplifting at the same time.

I know I have something to impart to these kids. Sometimes, I get frustrated that they arrive in my classroom with very limited writing skills. Sometimes, they come with expectations that college should be easy, after all, many of them coasted through high school. But, I don’t let them off the hook. I would not be doing them any favors if I did. No, my philosophy is to teach them the skills that they need; they may not like it at first, but they do appreciate it in the end.

Published on Monday, September 13, 2010 in Teaching Writing. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Why a Writers’ Workshop

Recently, one of my students called me from Pennsylvania, where she was participating in a writers’ conference. She went to pitch a chapter book she had been working on in my Words in Play workshops. I was the first person she called with the news that a publisher wanted to buy her book. Now, this was great, but what makes it even greater is that this woman joined my workshops about two and a half years ago, and in that short span of time she has completed the manuscript for this chapter book, written parts of another chapter book to be in the series, written an outline and several chapters for a full length novel, published several magazine articles online and in print, published several poems, and started her own blog.

The point I’m trying to make is that she almost didn’t write any of it. She wanted to write; she just didn’t know how to get the stories out of her head and onto the page.

That’s where the writing workshop comes in. This dear person, I’ll call her “Z,” joined the group with as much hesitancy as anyone could have and still show up. The writer’s workshop was a place where she could feel safe to share her ideas, play with new ideas, and receive the constructive feedback she needed to make real progress. Her stories took shape in every class. She learned that the support of a committed group of writers is more important than knowing where or how to begin.

Begin anywhere. Stories are made up of a mosaic of scenes. If you create one scene, it’s a beginning, but it doesn’t mean you can’t move that scene to the middle. I’m sure you’ve heard this before: writing is 90% discipline – you’ve got to write every day. I do know that if you don’t have support (a cheering section, critical feedback, ways to generate new ideas, proper guidance) you can have all the discipline in the world, but you may never get out the door to roadtest your work.

Begin anywhere, but if you have stories inside you, find a great group of like-minded writers and just begin. It’s the best advice I can give.

Published on Thursday, September 9, 2010 in Workshops. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .