'Mirror, Mirror'

'Mirror, mirror on the wall

Who's the fairest of them all?'

I asked my younger self with me

As she stood beside me thoughtfully.

'Why you are!', but of course!' she said,

With innocent eyes looking up from her head.

'Why thank you indeed!' I said back to her.

As we stood, reflecting on the way that we were.

Gazing at selves side by side in the glass,

Pondering youth that disappears so fast,

She reached for my hand as if to reassure,

Our mutual thoughts on the way that we were.

I was of a height, somewhat average, not tall.

She was a child looking dear and so small.

Together we made up an unusual pair,

As we walked through the years, climbed many stairs.

'What think you?' said she as we continued to gaze,

At our fuzzy reflections made warped by time's haze,

'Think about what?' I asked my wee sprite,

And gathered her up in my arms so tight.

'Of us, Silly Billy!' she said with a grin,

Sending my heart into a tailspin,

'What do we wanna be when we're grown?

Will we still talk like this or be all alone?'

'We'll find a way', I said to my child,

Feeling somewhat foolish and a bit wild.

'You can grab my attention, if I'm wondering about,

Tweak my conscious, give an inner shout!'

My younger was listening to me as I spoke,

But was no longer there when in bed I awoke.

'Pssst...are you there little one?' I did whisper.

And my inner voice said, 'Of course!, then I kissed her.

What beautiful people/writers I have the privledge to be surrounded with.

Facilitator is Tara

Next session's facilitator will be Tara. Now here is your assignment...

Take an inanimate object and animate it.  Think of all of the things that happen to your object over the course of a day, or some other period of time, and write your story as if you were that object.  I’m thinking 500 – 1000 words.  

Good luck fellow groupies and write on.... write on.

April 13

Next session's facilitator and assignment are to be announced shortly. Check back for updates.

Dear Children,

Dear Children,

One day you will grow up to be adults. You will grow up and reflect on the simplicity of your childhood and you will do it in a writing group. You were all children at different ages, but you were all children as all grown up people once were. 
Some of you will disengage from your childhood having been robbed of one, while some of you will remember it as a simpler time when there was fun to be had and only the pressures of a mother and father to battle with. 
You will all grow up to become intelligent enough to learn things that you will choose to share with yourselves. Whether this knowledge is the uselessness of guilt, the inevitability of death or the love for oneself, it will bring you to tears. Children, you are wonderful creatures and we adore your innocence. Thank You for inspiring such acute creativity in us.

Lots of Love,

Your Adult Selves

I was there in spirit...

Sorry I wasn't there tonight...for a variety of reasons, but can imagine the evening was memorable. I am in Victoria for the next one on April 13th(?) but still plan on doing the homework. Happy Easter everyone, crocus's are blooming on the butte! Weave your words on into Spring...

blog

learning to blog!  J

---

Don't miss a beat Get Messenger on your phone

Dear Writers

Well I seem to need advise again

In this week's assignment, my letter contains a number of I and you. What is appropriate, are there guidelines for this?

This is a challenging piece.

Thanks for any advise.

Happy weekend.

nola

Contest of interest to Write On members?

The following info, extracted from my column, may be of interest to Write On members.

Mike

 

POETRY CONTEST

Kimberley Public Library is celebrating National Poetry Month by holding a poetry contest for Kimberley area residents. The contest is open to poets of all ages, separated into three divisions: 10-13 years, 14-17 years, and 18 & up. Poems may be submitted until the end of April and can be written in any poetic form. Prizes will be awarded for each division. Entry forms and more information can be obtained at the library (250-427-3112). Entries should be e-mailed to staff@kimberleylibrary.net. Include "Poetry Contest" in subject line.

For all of you

Found this quote on "The Sun" magazine website. So appropriate, with the exception of every other Tuesday of course.

Many people hear voices when no one is there. Some of them are called “mad” and are shut up in rooms where they stare at the walls all day. Others are called “writers” and they do pretty much the same thing.

- Meg Chittenden

Why do you write?

In "Writing Down the Bones" Natalie Goldberg says every so often that we should write down the reasons we write. Here are a few I came up with. Would love to hear yours whether they're the same or different.

1. I want to be remembered.
2. It makes me feel important.
3. I want to impress people.
4. To understand what I'm capable of.
5. Smart people write. I want to prove that I'm smart, just in case anyone has their doubts.
6. I want my least favourite people to envy me. (Scandalous, I know).
7. To be famous.
8. To be remembered fondly.
9. Writing is a creative outlet.

Hope your Sunday is great & Happy EQUINOX!

Just checking it this way too...

--
WattieWorks
Red House
Kimberley, B.C.

WrtiteOn assignment for March 30th meeting

Hi Writers The writing activity for the March 30th meeting is to write a letter to or have a conversation with yourself as a child. It could reveal past histories, injustices, regrets, triumphs, achievements, etc. And could be good therapy, or not.  Good luck. That was a very stimulating meeting last night. Lots of variety in approaches to the topic and some excellent writing. Cheers Don

Can this be?

If you are reading this you are all going to love me... Go check your emails.

Laugh it off; Meeting Recap

Wowee! Another three 'keeners' have joined the writing round table. That puts us up to seventeen interested people since we started meeting only a few short months ago. Welcome, welcome, welcome, and of course, welcome back everyone else. Not sure what we'll do if everyone decides to show up on the same night, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

This group just seems to get more and more dynamic. The spread continues to widen with the new perspective each member brings and of course the gender mix is providing great balance for everyone. Just think of what Mike learned about the female mind from Nola. I've said it before and I'll say it again. It's like a night of entertainment, just sit back and enjoy the show!

Each evening we get together a tone seems to nestle in and after a few heavy sessions it was a great change of pace to feel the mood lighten. Mike started us off with a warm up exercise that I missed because I was late. Apparently the idea was to write a story opening twice. The first time was to begin with setting and narrow in on character and the second was to begin with character and narrow in on setting.

I did make it in time to hear everyone's outcome which was fun. Skiing and snow were a major theme. I felt a particular strength from the group in being able to describe a setting. Very nice everyone. Alas, we moved on to the feature work.

Humour wiggled its way into everyone's work last night. The assignment was conflict and resolution primarily in dialogue. Mike chose the task and although he changed it without telling anyone it was still a great exercise.

We laughed our way through Nola's internal dialogue (I'm sure 'self doubt' and 'fear' were laughing too). Joanne took the pirate dialogue to the next level. Heather swore while moving furniture. Susan took us into 'Lily's' magical world. Tara described her change of career which ended in applause. Don took us into the dangerous back country. Mike/Muchacho invited us never to look at HP sauce in the same way. I made myself laugh with my own story about Barb Kenneth; I'm sure I'd make a terrible stand up comedian.

A great night overall. Welcome again new members. Can't wait to hear more.

READING RECOMMENDATIONS
Barbara Kingsolver; The Lacuna

Lawrence Durrell: The Alexandria Quartet

Jill Gustafson: The Outlander (Sorry, couldn't find a link - not sure if it's right)

Workshops in the works.....

I am almost done filling out 3 of the 4 grant applications. I am working on grants for the following workshops: Zen Writing Workshop (April 15-17, 2011), Writing Workshop with Luanne Armstrong, A Sense of Place (Oct 15-17, 2010) and Writing with Simon Rose: A weekend of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Mystery (Nov 20, 21, 2010). I am going to try to drop them off on Thursday. If anyone has any questions for comments, you have a few days to make them..... I spoke with the Vancouver-based illustrator, Stefan Czernecki, about coming to Kimberley, and he had one stipulation - it couldn't be in the winter. So I am going to apply for a grant for him to come in August. I am applying for a grant in a different category - mentoring - for this workshop. It will be more visually oriented (children's book illustration), but I'm sure it will be fascinating.

Dialogue tips

Found some tips on writing dialogue. 

"Nola, you may want to pay particular attention to number six" Nicole said.
"Why the f*$k would you think that?"
"Just a hunch".

Enjoy!

Advise Needed Please

I am not sure about putting swear words in writings. This dilemma does not seem to be
covered in any how to books I have read to date. I am not a prude & have certainly sworn a time or two myself. However this is causing concern for me(not sure why). Should I even care? If a character needs to swear to drive home a point do I just go with it?

Thanks for any direction :)

Looking forward to Tue. evening.

Happy snow day.

Did anyone see 'House' last night? An interesting episode with a rabid blogger...

Well, we did discover a new favourite place to hike around Wycliffe with a breath-taking vantage point and had to go back due to my spontaneous shedding of all attire on the mountain top, watch included, which I promptly forgot and had to go back the next day to find. Needless to say the watch was found, but no writing was done. Thinking of your reflections Nicole. There is natural drama found in relationships past or present which can be natural resources to tap into when building characters or plot ideas and act as general jump-off places for your writing. That is why we live in this global community..it all starts out with the intimate networks created in our own relational backyard...the guts and the glory of people's lives as they unfold before us. There has been much drama in my life but I can understand why you may feel conflicted using the drama in your former relationships when that is not part of your own personal scenario. Write what you know it has been said and even though the kind of stuff these folks are experiencing isn't part of your reality, it can still be tapped. Just thoughts here...

D-R-A-M-A

I remember writing in my journal about six or seven years ago about how charmed my life was and how it would be very difficult for me to find anything to write about because of my lack of drama. I blame my character. I'm not overly passionate in regards to lust or money or friends. I take a back seat to gossip. I'm just really easy going. Does this make me a boring writer? Shakespeare would not have been in my circle of friends.

However, a quick weekend trip to my home town has provided me with layers and layers of drama. Not my own, just the information that met me there.

What to do with all of these exciting pieces of inspiration? I want to write stories where characters are plotting divorces, affairs of the juiciest kind and family revenge. Just one problem. I feel bad. I feel as if I'm going against my moral fibre by telling their stories. I don't even know their entire story and I can't get their character outside of my mind. I feel as if I can only tell them in the context that they're in and am unable to separate fact from fiction. I thank my old friends for providing me with lots to write about. But how can I use their stories to tell new ones?

I am mostly distanced from these people, but I did know them at one time. I am sorry for their misfortune and there is a small amount of guilt for using their lives as inspiration for my art.

Does anyone else experience this? Do you want to write about someone but feel a twang of guilt for using someone's misery as your ammunition?

Welcome Joanne

Yes, Nicole has done an amazing job in getting us all here. My world has expanded from eagerly awaiting to read emails to including checking for comments from the group.

I experience Conflict & Resolution every time I try to BLOG.

Enjoy another beautiful sunny day :)

Oh Me Oh My...

I just figured out how to post to the main page! Check out this funky font colour and italics. How fun is this. OK. I just wanted to invite anyone who likes to hike to join me sometime this weekend(or others) with a thermos of tea, pen and paper as I am heading to the Pine Butte off of Stirton Road just out of town, a favourite spot sculpted out of wind, stone and rock. I think I was a rock in a former life as there are dozens around the yard. It is an amazing spot for wildflowers too of which there are signs of life already. Heading to the thrift store with my honey to check out their old books...we are Antique Roadshow junkies so who knows what treasure troves could be uncovered. Maybe that will be the setting for this next homework piece, in between the clothing carousels of musty unwanted clothes...

Mike on Blog

Well! This is a first for me. Never posted anything to a blog before and never thought I would. Thanks, Nicole, for dragging me into the 21st Century.
I have no new writing to post, just a thank you to all you creative Write On writers for welcoming me into the group. I look forward to every second Tuesday with pleasant anticipation, knowing that I will hear pieces of writing "outside the box" that will be interesting, well written, probably stimulating, and often humorous.
I am comforted to find that it is never too late to learn new ideas and to pick up different methods of written expression, just as I have been learning new ways to paint in the Wednesday night Art Club. Life is good, just too damn short!
I hope you're all having fun creating a conflict and resolving it through the medium of dialogue. See you on the 16th for an exercise on opening paragraphs.
Mike

Thank you Susan ! How many sleeps till the workshop. hee hee

Instead of doing the dishes I just want to write...

nola

Luanne Armstrong

Luanne will be thrilled to come do a workshop with us - how exciting!!!!

Another Contest

The Writers Union of Canada has some contests posted. Missed the dates on a couple but we'll keep our eyes peeled on these and more to come.

Thanks for the tip Susan.

updates and memories

Hi all,

I heard back from Kuya and Simon and they are both interested in coming to do workshops. Yahoo! I haven't heard back from Luanne or Stefan yet.

We forgot to pick someone to facilitate the meeting after next (Mike will do the March 16th meeting). It involves bringing a homework idea to give us next meeting, an exercise to do on March 30th or the first Tuesday in April, and presiding over the meeting (for the new folks). Any volunteers?

My first memory is my mother reacting strongly when I reached over and pulled the door handle in the cockpit of my father's small plane. I guess I wanted out..........

Susan

March Meeting Recap

Writing Group: More fun than it looks!

Christine facilitated the March 2nd meeting and we were accompanied by three new ladies. Welcome Tara, Heather, and Linda. We hope to see you at all of the meetings.

We were warmed up with an excellent exercise that caught Christine's interest from writing down the bones. Ten random nouns in one column and fifteen verbs that were associated with an occupation in the opposite column. The task was to see if creative sentences could be inspired by taking one from each column. This was a fantastic exercise and I think I'm in good company saying that it is something I think I'll use again.

This week's assignment was to write on a cooking experience and, of course, we all brought something unique to the table (haha).

We revisited pasts near and far, were swept away by poetry and creative shorts. All in all I feel honored to be surrounded by such a creative raw group.

Lots of talk about one or more possible workshops. When this does become finalized details will be available here on the blog.

Next meeting is Tuesday March 16 and our facilitator Mike has asked us to focus on dialogue. Conflict and resolution within this dialogue are to be the goal. Length is whatever you can read in ten minutes or less.

Great work tonight everyone. Hope to see some more articles, writing, links, anything here on the blog to keep the creative juices flowing until next time.

Regarding Your Character

So I just found a very informative website that is industry related. I've only read one blog post "Save The Cat" but the information available on the blog seems promising and very in depth.

The link is now found at the side of our blog if you can't find it, but the most recent post is definitely worth a read.