Memoirous

  Some people have asked about the classes I teach. Even though I’ve published both novels and the short story (YA and for the general reader), I feel more qualified to offer instruction in memoir writing. I think because there is always material for the writer/student to draw from. Basically I just have to help them connect to memories and get that down on paper.  One way to do that is a class I’ve devised based upon the New York School of poets. I call the seminar Flash Memoir. Like flash fiction, we’re imposing narrow quidelines, namely anything from 500 to 1,500 words. But also flash in the sudden lightning that word implies. Most memories or connection comes to us in a flash. Ever read Proust? All it can take is a small cookie or a smell to conjure up in our minds something buried or relegated to the insignificant.   I recently wrote a quick flash memoir titled Sense of Smell. It started with the scent of lilacs and ended up in my parent’s kitchen at the house where

Highlights ( the magazine at dentist and doctor's offices) is good at a lot of stuff. One thing they've done in the past is have an annual conference where both publishing and unpublished writers come together for a week. I attended in 2010 and it was one of the best conferences I've ever been to. The ratio of staff to participant was excellent, but then they went overboard to make sure you got a chance to mingle. Some conferences sort of have an unspoken hierarchy--you know--where the staff and real writers sit off by themselves and the people actually paying to attend the conference are treated like hobos, off to the corner or back of the diningroom with their tin plate. Well at highlights events there is a rule. That staff and writers CANNOT sit with each other, they couldn't even stand next to each other in line. For every meal, outing, reading etc they had to sit next to participants. It was refreshing to meet Patricia Lee Gauch, a reknown writer of historica

So I was at my parent's house clearing stuff away. This was WAAAYY harder than I thought it would be. It's stuff. It's life. It's gone. Pretty much all the furniture had been either divvied up or taken to storage. What was left was just a bunch of little stuff. You know what I mean, all that stuff you put away in closets, under the bathroom sink, etc that can take a whole other u-haul, twenty more boxes, we're always SHOCKED at how much of the small stuff there is. Well, this was no exception. How many plastic space organizers can one woman have? The answer is innumerable. My mother had a capacity to save space by taking up space with plastic bins, drawers organizers, etc. After I emptied them half of the garage was space organizers. And plastic bags. My God! Did she never once throw one into the garbage?! These were good for stuffing, for wrapping around glass and breakables, but it was again beyond me how much trash she kept. Of course both my parents were t

I was at the Art Institute yesterday. I know--can there be anything more delicious than taking a day off work to go to the art museum, alone. Well, yes there can. It was free, for Illinois residents (that's me). And, on top of that! There was snow, piles of it, laying on top of fences post, pilings at the lake, park benches etc etc etc all like confectionery sugar, drifting, puffing a little with the wind, and sometimes--when the pigeons startled it, plopped down. All along the city sidewalks there were signs: Watch for Falling Ice! I made it to the museum in one piece, and there I found a delightful show. Now I know very little, less than little, about contemporary art, but there was a special exhibit entitled Conceptual Light, which was all about artists whose work requires light to be a. illuminated or b. to make sense. Some made no sense. Again, this is beside the point.  I walked into a small room buzzing with projectors--that alone made the trip down worth it! Film whizz

Linguistic Erosion is flash fiction without limits. It's a place where stories and authors too good to go unpublished shine amongst their kindred like so many diamonds. It's boundless, horizonless, without deadlines, dates, queues, orders or delays.  Providing a platform for both new and established authors to reach readers based solely on the merit of each individual piece of writing, Linguistic Erosion endeavors to give unheard authors the voice they deserve, the readership they crave, and the respect they're owed. Currently, Linguistic Erosion is edited by author E.S. Wynn My short short, Before the World Changed ran recently.  Check it out here.

and boy are my arms tired . . . Sort of sounds like an old joke doesn't it, but, no, for real, my fingers are tired from typing. I got so so so much done that I'm actually looking forward to the rest of 2012. When projects tend to drag or the last 20 pages feel overwhelming, then we need to get away and concentrate. What I started last year (a mere seed) at the SCBWI New Year's Writer retreat at the Chicago Cenacle I was able to FINISH. Yay! So for those of you who didn't sign up for the retreat or didn't think of it at the time, please consider taking a retreat, sign out a room at the Cenacle* and get started or push through to the other side. *Rates are VERY reasonable and include meals.

Much (okay almost all) of my writing has been fodder for on-line zines and digital media. Hey--there's nothing wrong with those outlets. In fact it is downright democratic. The Internet has allowed so many universities and literary journals to save time, money and trees that I'm all for it. Also space--one no longer has to worry about how many words. Your piece can be as long or as short as you think it needs to be because no longer does a typesetter, art director, or layout person have to worry about "fitting" it in. Also, readers of this blog know I've discussed here the tensions of writing or producing art, commercialism vs pure, untarnished--and unpaid--work. How do I resolve this? Well, mostly I have no control over it. If I see an outlet or venue for a certain piece and know it is a good match for the audience, etc I'll send it in. Now the fact that Agni or Blackbird or Wag's Revue haven't accepted my work (YET!) means that I either need to t

Links to 2 new stories (flash fiction) that have just been published!! Standing Stones, written by Jane Hertenstein has been chosen as the best story of this issue. Third Issue - Peace-  http://original-writer.com/writershavenissue3page2.html AND, for something completely different---and a bit more dark, another short short http://www.linguisticerosion.com/2011/12/before-world-changed.html