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Playwrights Intensive Retreat: Vision & REVISION

04/26/2010 By Leave a Comment
Jane Wenger 4-2010

Jane Wenger is at it again - I wish I could go, even though I'm not a playwright. Everyone learns so much for Jane, a teacher with more than vision... and she's fun, too! If you can possibly go to Assisi to study with her, don't miss this opportunity. Vision and REVISION  Jayne Wenger, Instructor                                                                                                      ASSISI, ITALY  August 6 - August 19, 2010 Live and write in a 12th century town in the heart of Umbria with a community of artists from around the world. The workshop will focus on plays that are in process, with emphasis on development and analysis of the script.  Writers will hear a scene or monologue daily and will receive individual dramaturgy from the instructor. In-depth and practical, this is a unique opportunity to concentrate your creative energy.       Artists

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No. 8 Memoir Labyrinth, Write Through Series: The Pull of Descriptive Imagery

04/23/2010 By 2 Comments

When you use descriptive imagery in writing memoir you add powerful appeal to your true story. The images I’m referring to are the mental pictures you have stored away in your memory banks of a person, place, or thing, whether they are remembered vividly or in a shadowy vision. Creatively describing the images of characters and events in a story is the means by which a writer can put into words unique and lasting impressions that readers will connect with. When you’re describing images, say in a story about your grandfather, stop and really think about how you are communicating your reflections of him at a certain time, in particular places, and during specific events. Moreover, when you take the time to go through an exercise in descriptive imagery, you’re allowing yourself to revel in depth about savored incidents. When you’re writing a memoir about your grandfather, ask yourself if you have made him, as well as your time with him, come alive through your depiction of the

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Memoir: Poetry from Chaos

04/19/2010 By 13 Comments

Could just be that chaotic memories are poetry in motion leading us to write memoir. I'm posting a blog from Mara Buck, an exceptional writer of poetry and novels, among other artistic works. A sensitive person, with a great head on her shoulders, Mara and comes up with ingenious thoughts on most subjects. Today she has something to say about "from chaos comes the poetry of memoir." Seems she's got a scientific streak as well...       Which of us has memories as ordered as files in a desk drawer, neat and tidy, accessible or ignored, hidden or exposed only by our own decisive hand?  Not I and (I suspect) not you either.  The greater number of us live instead in a constantly evolving state of discovery and disorder, the past intruding upon the present, forever subject to ambush, chaos really.  Yet chaos can be a good thing, and when perceived and accepted for the potential gift it is, can render the most surprising of outcomes.       In chaos theory as applied to

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Inspiring Mother’s Day – Write Short, True Memoir

04/14/2010 By 2 Comments

We’re getting close enough to Mother’s Day for me to encourage you to write a “Mother Memoir,” so that you can give your mom a unique gift.  I’d like to share a snippet from a poem by Suzanne Lipsett, which never ceases to echo through my soul from its nesting place in my heart. I’m hoping it will get you thinking about your mother and in the mood to Tap Memory and Write Memoir.  The following are five stanzas from a 33 stanza poem to her mother that inspired me through the depth of her sensitivity and the lessons of understanding so deftly penned straight from Suzanne Lipsett's heart. Her words resonate with the often conflicting thoughts and memories we hold when many of us think of our mothers, and, for me, they punctured my inner-most being to the place where I know Mom resides.  Here are five stanzas from "To Elynore."  The verse in larger font is my heartstring.  Now, I tell you, there’s something to say here. It’s not that I’m happy

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Memoir Labyrinth, Write Through It Series: No. 7

04/06/2010 By Leave a Comment

Memoir as a gift… When you write true tales, while walking the memoir labyrinth, it is appropriate to think of the stories as gifts. And here is why I believe that to be true. “Give the Gift of Story” is the title of my guide book, so it goes hand-in-hand with the type of writing I encourage you to do, which is writing a short and true “Mother Memoir.” (If you’re new to my blog, I want to let you know that I use the term “mother” rather loosely when asking people to write a short, true tale – a bio-vignette that captures character and spirit. The person you choose to write about can be any woman who holds a significant place in your life. For that matter, writing about any person, male or female, fits the bill.)  ---- Yes, back to my point: Some of you may turn away from thinking about your memoir as a gift, because the person you pick as your main character and the experience you intend to use as the basis for your story is unpleasant (or worse). Obviously, in

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