A Reader's Perspective

A Reader's Perspective, by Taylor Novak-Bultema

 

Imagine you have this great idea for a book, blog, short story, etc. Once your tea is made and light music is playing in the background, you sit down and stare at your screen. Momentarily, you sit with your eyes closed and you begin to feel your surroundings. You drift as the steam of the tea caresses your face. Slowly you drift further as the music releases your body and mind from each other. You begin typing. Each word is placed exactly where it belongs on the page. Each word belongs in a specific sentence, that completes a specific paragraph and all compliment the entire story. You are left a useless carcass as your body drains every emotion out through your fingers.

After countless hours, you slowly comeback from your outer body release. You have finished dancing on the page as one letter after another is laid to bed. As you being the tedious editing process, a very real emotion reminds you of its existence. Anxiety. You have realized that a simple sentence you wrote does not explain the situation in its entirety. Without proper explanation, these are just words displayed in front of you.

As a writer, you must be confident that you are able to paint a picture in the imagination of each and every reader. If four different people read “When she walked into the room she was surprised”, will each of them see the same expression on her imaginary face? Will they all feel the same form of surprise as she is meant to?

This specific statement is explaining the surprise your character is feeling. If not explained properly, your readers will not know if the character is startled, confused, amazed or excited. Each word means surprised. However, each means something completely different. They are the black and white that makes up the grey of surprise. Furthermore, is this character confused due to disillusion or perplexed? Are they excited because they are energetic or eager?

The placement and use of these words can make completely different statements. “When she walked into the room she was surprised”. Simple enough, but what does that mean? What would happen if I replaced one word in that sentence, that knowingly have the same definition?

“When she walked into the room she was excited”.

Well, that changes everything completely. At this moment, our psyche’s Monet substitutes the previous “surprised” expression with one of excitement. Before we saw her as scared or frightened, now as I introduce her back into my imagination I see her clearly, as she was meant to be.

As a reader, rather than writer, I want my Monet to paint one picture and claim that as the author’s masterpiece. Direct me. Lead me to your climatic segments with excitement. Your words need to make love to my imagination and leave me with a feeling of completion. Fully explain the meaning of each sentence. I want to follow your vision as though I am looking through your eyes, feeling through your soul and breathing your excitement. This is the only way I can truly appreciate the adventure you and I will be taking together….

The "W-R-I-T-I-N-G" Process

I wanted to start--like many of you I'm sure--the new year off with a bang. So, I launched into my in process editing for my second novel.

Writing novels is the most bizarre process. It's this weird cocktail of emotions that contradict each other. You're confident/insecure, defeatist/hopeful, ready/hesitant. Yet, we'll all write, edit, revise and then rinse any repeat. There's just something seductive about creating anything, being anything, that keeps us coming back for more.

I'm not going to dispute that this is how I feel 100% of the time--complicated. So now, instead of fighting how I feel. I'm going to share with you my little anogram break down for my/your? writing process.

W-orrying about hypothetical everything(s).
R-evising perpetually until your allow your piece to be read.
I-nventing reasons why your work is inadequate.
T-hinking about what you've already thought about and
I-maging up new stuff (stories, plots, characters, problems) before you've finished old stuff.
N-ever giving up (permanently).
G-lad to be finished but grateful that you can (and will) start the process all over again.

Just remember if you're feeling overwhelmed there's another writer out there also banging their head against a wall. ;) Don't give up, get tough!

Happy Writing in 2014! I'm ready for Nanowrimo (again) ALREADY.

Best,
N

September Meeting Recap

Hello Writers!

We just had our first meeting from the summer and it was pretty dang fun, if I do say so myself, and I do, because I JUST DID. Boom.

Now, on to the recap.

There are going to be some changes to the way Pens functions as a group.

WORKSHOPS will be quarterly now (one for each season). You'll still email me pieces you'd like to be workshoped and then I'll send you the date of the next planned workshoped. I'd like us to get more serious with out comments so we can really help the author improve and the best way to do that is by thoughtful reading and great feedback.

PROMPTS are going to be posted online but not "turned in" or "critiqued" like they use to be. Unless you want some advice on one that you did because you're planning to turn it in to a large piece, then you should email me at PensWithoutInk@gmail.com and we'll work with you and offer feedback.

LITERARY JOURNAL; We are going to be accepting submission starting January 1, 2014 for the first volume of our literay journal.  Will also be doing a kickstarter to raise up funding. (More information on that towards the end of the year.) We're looking at a three month open JANUARY through MARCH submission that would be happening simultaneously with the kickstarter. There will be no monetary compensation for being accepted into the journal, you will however receive a free ecopy. Our current publication date is SUMMER 2014, so start brainstorming now!

NANOWRIMO: November 2nd we'll be having a Nanowrimo gathering. There is a public Facebook event started, so check out the Pens Facebook Group page for more information. We will also be having LIVE chats during the month of November too on Facebook.

BLOGGING: I really really REALLY want to increase the amount of posts that are being done. I'd like to see some for not only writing and issues concering writing but also some book reviews. NOw, the expectation i'm setting for these posts are that they be focused on writing. For example, you read beautiful creatures, don't just say you loved it or hated it, I want to hear about the actually writing and it's affect on the story and the reader. If you'd like to do a guest piece, email me your writing. Also, I'd like it to be column style so, lets keep it as close to 500 words.

AND THAT is bascially a recap of our monthly meeting.

Until next time, keep writing!

Remember the "choose your own adventure books"?

Where did all the choose your own adventure books go?!

They were already basically phased out by the time I was in elementary school which was the early 90's, but I remember having found my brother's pirate themed CYOA in the attic. I'd attempted to read it a couple of times but I always made the wrong choice and died very quickly.  I distincly recall being annoyed with having to re-read the same intro over again to try and get a second chance.

I had this little bookie flashback when I was browsing the limited novel section in Walmart and noticed a bundled set of books with a fantastic yetti on the cover. Apparently, CYOAs are making a come back.

Okay, not really, but they so could.

This lead to two questions, how should I write one now, and could I make it interesting enough to want to be read.

I suppose RPGs would be the modern version of a CYOA novel, but I think it would be fun to have a romance, or an apocalypse one. The problem is, how the hell would you organize it.

This is why writers need to hang out with other writers. Sarah E., a co-worker, writer, artist-combo friend gave me the internet hook up.

Not that kind of hook up.

I mean, she shared a link with me to this ridiculously thrilling (if you're an OCD control freak like me) site called bubbl.us.

No one tells me anything! I'm always the last person to find all the geeky nerd sites.

NOT only can you writing INSIDE bubbles, you can move them, and color code them, and...

Perhaps it won't be as thrilling for you, but I think it's the shit and I'm totes working on a CYOA.

bubbl.us

P.S.
It's free.

Tweeting Authors (not to be confused with authors who tweet)

I've had a growing...habit as of late. I read a book, adore it and then hunt the writer down on Twitter (my stalker media site of choice), and then send them a little tweet.

Just a harmless, you-are-the-best-writer-and-I-love-everything-you-do-and-want-to-be-you-when-I-grow-up, tweet.

Is that weird?

It's one writer to another writer, so it's not weird. Right? If it is weird it's the fun kind of weird as opposed to the lock your doors kind of weird.

I have a solution! I'll tweet all the famous writers (Maureen Johnson, John Green, Beth Revis, Ally Condie and E.L. James) I've tweeted in the past and ask them what they think. Below is the screen shot of the above explained solution.

NaNoWriMo Snippets

Even though it's been a month or two or almost four since NaNoWriMo, we're still celebrating the success of sitting down and turning ideas into clusters of word documents. I myself started a novel that I have no idea if or when I'll ever finish it, but I'm proud that it's now slightly more concrete then just floating around in my brain-es-sphere. If you'd like to share a snippet of your NaNoWriMo piece, send a small portion (under 1k word count) of your masterpiece to PensWithOutInk@gmail.com and we'll post it!

Happy Writing!

-N

That's so 2012!

Last year this blog had fallen in the dark pit that most of us writers experience at least once, or thirty plus times in our writing-lifetime; no new writing was being done!

I won't make excuses, because it's really not the end of the world. I will, however, make more posts!

Moving forward. We'll have some posts that should have been out last year done for this year and I'm going to (if they approve this) share the podcast links from this fantastic group who does commentary on books and the movie adaptations that are done with them.

The reason why I want to expand they type of posts we do is because we haven't been including enough reading. Reading is so essential to good writing.

It inspires you. It makes you remember why you want to write in the first place.

It's good research. We need to know what's out there and why it is or isn't doing well.

I use to think that the best path for me would be to pursue a higher education in writing, but it really needs to be a continuous education in reading, in English, in breaking down why we write what we write, what it's saying about us socially, and why we connect so much with the stories that are most popular (and also, I might need to join a writers anonymous run on sentence group).

My main point in the many points I just made is that we need to acknowledge what's out there on the market, and explore it. Even if you hate a book, if it's been successful there's something you can take from that.

Now, don't mistake this as I want to make money. I don't, I want to make readers.

They say you're suppose to write for yourself but I don't want to only do that, I want to write for the world.

Did you hear that crash? I think my soapbox just crushed beneath the weight of all that philosophical...

You get the point. We'll be talking about writing and READING in 2013 and you'll love it!

Updates to the Blog

Some of you might have noticed that there are some posts missing. Never fear! I'm working on correcting this issue expediently.

When my mission is completed this blog post will self destruct in fifteen seconds. O.o

August: Dystopias

Dystopias! Who doesn't love a good screwed up society with a failed gov't system!

The word brings to mind some pretty great dystopian literature, Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm; Gillman-Perkin's, Herland;  Lowry's The Giver,  but how does the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins compare?


Discussion Questions: 

(1) Does The Hunger Games series live up to what you'd expect a dystopian to do?

(2) Do you feel it adds something new to the genre?

(3) Does it fade in comparison to the classical dystpoian novels written by other writers?

(4) Have you, or would you write a dystopian novel and what would social issue would you focus on exploiting?

My Answers:

(1-3) I think Hunger Games does live up to other dystopian novels mailing because it adds something new to the genre. It does what's been done differently.

I feels it's focus on gov't control, social issues, conformity and the fight against it, and needing someone to believe in to enforce change, speak to universal issues that always serve in dystopian novels to show the cracks in our ideas of what an 'ideal world' would be.

There really is not such thing, and dystopian literature shows us that but also shows us that in order to live in a world worth living in things need to constantly evolve to suite the needs current of the people. The Hunger Games is diff. from more dystopian novel because it shows the society and how the gov't keeps it from crumbling. There's an awareness that change is hard to stop, but choking the hope out of a society does a good job in halting it's progress.

(4) I have written a couple short story that was meant to be the start of something bigger and dystopian. But, now I'm not sure how to make it different, and do something new to the genre. Guess that ideas goes back in my mind's creative-crock pot for now!

It's you're turn to talk!

POST WHAT YOU THINK!

January Topic: Speech Writing

Hello Hello!

I'm so excited this upcoming year! I've worked really hard on developing topics that are different from our previous year, and also reshaping how we function as a writing group.

There are two new approaches will be taking:

1. All workshoping of writing is on a rolling deadline. This means, that you may submit your work at any time via email to me. I will then send out your work to members interested in participating in workshopping, and then email you and the critiquers with what month your piece will be discussed! (Typically,our pieces will be workshopped at the next meeting unless there is not enough allotted time left for critiquers to give your piece the attention it deserves; in such an instance, the piece would be pushed to the following monthly meeting).
2. Workshop will be limited to 10 minute discussions. (I've bought an 10 minute hour glass!) In order to make sure we go over all the workshop pieces we have scheduled, and fully discuss are writing topics we need to be a little bit more organized. My goal is to have 10 minutes of open discussion and then 10 minutes of author response. This way everyone gets to speak and ask questions.
   

Of course these changes might need to get tweaked and I am certainly opening to addressing those issues as they occur. I do think that these changes will be for the better, and I hope they make the meetings that much more enjoyable for all of us!

This Month's Topic:

Starting with out first topic, speech writing, we will take a look at sample writing and discuss the different elements, techniques and styles that go into writing a speech.

But, Nicole (you ask sternly), how does this translate over to MY writing.

Many a good story has not only an excellent hero figure but also a GREAT VILLAIN! Speech writing is all about persuasion, and so is being an author of fiction. We're presuading the reader to become invested in the plot, setting, characters, but I think it's also interesting to not only sway the reader but logically sway the characters to believe certain things, feel certain ways, or act in response.

With that in mind, take a look at the three samples below and think about the ways they function, what goals they have, and how/ if they function.

Please share your own quotes (if you so desire) from speeches as comments to this blog post!

Queen Elizabeth, to her troops at Tilbury:

My loving people,

We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general² shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.

Adolf Hitler:

We want this people to be faithful, and you must learn fidelity. We want this people to be obedient, and you must practice obedience. We want this people to be peace-loving but also courageous, and you must therefore be peace-loving and at the same time courageous. We do not want this people to grow soft, but we want it to be hard so that it will be able to withstand the hardships of life. And for this you have to harden yourselves in your youth. You must learn to be hard, to stand privations without breaking down. We want this people to love honor and you already in the days of your youth must live up to this concept of honor. (Hitler, 1935)

I can give vent to my inmost feelings only in the form of humble thanks to Providence which called upon me and vouchsafed it to me, once an unknown soldier of the Great War, to rise to be the Leader of my people, so dear to me. Providence showed me the way to free our people from the depths of its misery without bloodshed and to lead it upward once again. Providence granted that I might fulfill my life's task-to raise my German people out of the depths of defeat and to liberate it from the bonds of the most outrageous dictate of all times... I have regarded myself as called upon by Providence to serve my own people alone and to deliver them from their frightful misery (Hitler, 1939).


Martin Luther King, J.R.

There is something strangely inconsistent about a nation and a press that would praise you when you say, "Be nonviolent toward Jim Clark," but will curse and damn you when you say, "Be nonviolent toward little brown Vietnamese children." There is something wrong with that press.

And as I ponder the madness of Vietnam and search within myself for ways to understand and respond in compassion, my mind goes constantly to the people of that peninsula. I speak not now of the soldiers of each side, not of military government in Saigon, but simply of the people who have been under the curse of war for almost three continuous decades now. I think of them too because it is clear to me that there will be no meaningful solution until some attempt is made to know these people and hear their broken cries. ...And who are we supporting in Vietnam today? It's a man by the name of General Ky, who fought with the French against his own people, and who said on one occasion that the greatest hero of his life is Hitler. This is who we're supporting in Vietnam today. Oh, our government, and the press generally, won't tell us these things, but God told me to tell you this morning. The truth must be told.

Five Things (Perhaps) to Avoid in Poetry Writing

Found this link on the infamous Twitter from @writersrelif. It's an article by The Railto bloggers. It lists five things that poetry editors for the Railto literary journal are tired of seeing/reading. Of course if you would take a new twist on these old topics then it would be acceptable to write about them, right? I think so. Or at least that's what we were fed at my writing program at GVSU. It makes sense really if you think about it. What story doesn't have, characters, plots, adventure, or a lesson to be learned? Originality is really just offering a new perspective on a classic narrative. (Click For Full Article)

5 Things Editors are Tired of in Poetry:

1. Poems about pets, their births, deaths, loyalty, kittenishness etc. Horses aren’t pets and they interest me.

2. Poems about paintings. I think this may be a Creative Writing Exercise in somebody’s book. They often turn up – they describe the work of art and say how interesting it is and what it reminds the poet of. I don’t know why, but they don’t work for me – maybe because the poets borrow a great artist and then stick their own name to the work. WH Auden has a poem with a Breughel painting in it and Lorraine Mariner has a poem with Bonnard’s work in it, but these are a different matter
.
3. Postcard poems – what I did and where I went on my holiday. Travel is supposed to broaden the mind, but these poems show little evidence of this. They often slide into

4. Boasting poems. These are often by males, and the boasting postcard poem goes on and on, something like

It was dark in Brogdgibn Street as I, drunk,
lumbered down to Splatny Square,
somewhere there, last year, I’d had a
one night stand. The girl was beautiful:
I forget her name. The last tram swishes past…….

The Heroic Boast is of course entirely another matter, but it’s not often attempted.

5. Beware the Eternal Verities. Those poems that set out to Explain The Meaning Of Life. There is a useful Creative Writing Maxim which says ‘show don’t tell’. I’m very happy to know life’s meaning, but I’d rather you showed me how you discovered it than bashed me over the head with it.

Winning Logo Design Revealed

I sort of lied. It wasn't posted "later that evening" but it's can be veiwed below, in this VERY post. You don't have to wait any longer, if you were waiting. For me, this whole process was very exciting. For you, maybe not so much. Overall people seemed to like this sort of voting event and we'll have to do something similar again in the future.

 Winning Logo: #7 (with 27 votes) designed by writer Patricia S.  

Voting Results:
#5: 22 (votes)
#2: 20
#6: 12
#4: 4
#3: 0
#1: 0

Article on Critiquing other Writers' Work

While I was wasting time on twitter today, I found this very good guidelines for critiquing other writers' pieces as well as in turn receiving critique on your own.. At Pens Without Ink we do a lot of workshops and I thought this might be helpful in the future. Although, I think we've done a fine job thus far.
Click for FULL ARTICLE by Sylvia Dicky Smith

Guidelines that might help your group be the most effective:

1. Remember to comment on the TEXT, not the author.
2. Remember to speak from your own perspective.
3. Give honest feedback.
4. Always give positive feedback at the first, middle and last of the critique.
5. Honor the author’s own voice. Do not try to make their writing sounds like yours.
6. Remember to keep the writer’s work and the conversation of such private.
7. Remember to consider the goals of the writer and include that in your feedback.
8. Don’t be nitpicky, but be specific.
9. Allow time for other’s comments.
10. Remember to keep a sense of humor.

Guidelines that might help when you are receiving critique:

1. Remain open-minded
2. Don’t argue or defend your writing. Do ask for clarification. (“Help me understand what you mean.”)
3. Be open to receiving feedback.
4. Identify to the group what you type of feedback you seek for any particular submission. (ideas, line edits)
5. Do not bring your ego to the meetings.
6. Remember to keep a sense of humor.
7. Learn to accept praise as well as criticism
8. Remind yourself why you are there.
9. Remember, feedback is just one person’s opinion. If it doesn’t fit, let it go. HOWEVER, if you receive the same feedback from more than one person be sure to pay attention to it and consider what they are saying.
10. Pay attention to those comments you receive over and over again. Learn from them and self correct.

How to Write a Short Story

Found this article while perusing twitter when I should have been listening to my math professor. Anywho, it's a really good article that provides an interesting tips, and opinions about how to write a short story. Hope you find it helpful/useful/interesting/relevant.

Interview with Writing Whiz Kelsey Ronan

Pens Without Ink's (sometimes)fiercely leader sat down with Kelsey Ronan to discuss one of the finer thing in life: writing.


Pens Without Ink:  Hi.
Kelsey Ronan: Hello.

PWI: How are you?
Ronan: Good, thanks.

PWI: As a writer where do you derive your inspiration for your work from?
Ronan: Most of my fiction is either poorly-disguised autobiography or cruelly stolen from the lives of my friends
  
PWI:There's an old saying amongst writers and English teachers that you should stick to "writing what you know? Knowing that you like to travel and are also a die-hard Flintstone (person from Flint, Michigan) does either take precedence in your writing?
Ronan: Despite having traveled fairly extensively through Europe and North Africa (backpacking and various volunteer positions), virtually all of my writing is rooted in Flint, Michigan. There’s a peculiar desolation and sadness to Flint that’s a constant challenge to capture. So I’ve seen the spires of Krakow and gotten lost in the souks in Morocco and all that, but I’m still driven to write about Chevy in the Hole and the smell of coney island grease and MTA bus exhaust. Maybe that’s what’s meant by “write what you know.”

PWI:What kind of work have you done as a writer?
Ronan: I’ve also worked extensively in Flint as a journalist and as a writing teacher, and doubtless that’s influenced me. 2 ½ years ago I started a creative writing workshop at a homeless shelter for women and children, and it’s been one of the most ridiculously fun experiences of my life. We’ve put on poetry slams, compiled chapbooks, put on a student-written play, and we’re currently in the process of creating zines for a zine fest to be held in Flint this July.

PWI: Have you ever kept a journal?
Ronan: I know this is unorthodox, but I’ve never kept a journal. I’m a prodigious letter writer, however (charmingly arcane, right?) so I think I get my practice from that. It’s a good way to keep in the habit of explaining emotion and describing observations, visual and visceral. I know some writers are fussy about time and space, too, but I’ve never really been the type. I can write in the reading room of the public library or at the kitchen table just as easily as my desk.

PWI: We heard that you got excepted into a pretty respectable MFA program for writing in the Fall, would you mind talking a little about that?
Ronan:In the fall I’ll be starting the MFA in fiction writing program at Purdue. I chose Purdue in large part because of Looseleaf, their community outreach program. I am (with heavy heart) handing the Shelter of Flint workshop over to a very capable student at UM-Flint, and I’ll be finding a new environment in the schools and public libraries around Purdue. I’ll be working with Porter Shreve and Bich Minh Nguyen, both Michigan novelists, so I think they’ll understand my grandiose visions to turn Flint into high art.

PWI: If you were forced to pick a favorite novel what would it be?
Ronan: If forced to pick a favorite novel, I think I’d choose Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things. The themes of identity, family and grief are all things I explore in my own work, and her writing is exquisite-- I’ve read it dozens of times and each time I’m somehow surprised or impressed by it. But I think my tastes are sort of eclectic. Joyce, Woolf, Haruki Murakami, Salinger, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Jeffrey Eugenides, Yann Martel and Tahir Shah are all favorites for innumerable reasons.

.

12 1/2 Writing Rules

Aspiring writers always searching for a guide to writing, but we have found that there really are none. However, I recently found this great list via QuotesForWriters on Twitter that might be the best set of rules I have encountered. Enjoy!

80 Journal Writing Prompts

Here is a cool link to another a blog I found via Twitter. This will definitely help get the writing juices flowing!

80 Journal Writing Prompts

Style Writing

Today we are not talking about writing style, rather style writing! If you have an interest in fashion and have a passion for writing, this is exactly what you need to brighten up your spring.

ModCloth is accepting poetry, and prose submissions for The Written Wardrobe, their online literature collection, between February 1, 2011 and August 1, 2011.

To find out more information and guidelines for submissions, visit http://www.modcloth.com/anthology-guidelines.

Happy writing!

Haiku Challenge: Find the Hidden Meaning

Redwood Haiku

The redwood glistens
and i admire it like Han;
fresh air swallow'd seeps.




**I was contracted by Nicholas Wilson to create this Haiku. Anyone who can guess the real meaning will receive brownies or cookies or both at the next monthly meeting. If you aren't planning on coming to the next meeting I will send you a "YOU WON" post card! :)

Words For Thought: Langston Hughes, "Troubled Woman"

Troubled Woman

She stands
In the quiet darkness,
This troubled woman
Bowed by
weariness and pain
like an
autumn flower
in the frozen rain,
Like a
Wind-blown autumn flower
That never lifts its head
Again