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How I Write About Animals
Peggy Zortman, from the recent TWJ Workshop PART I Most of my writing lately has consisted of putting words in the mouth of my former shelter dog, Chase. But I…
Technology for Writers
I like technology, - been doing it for longer than dirt is old. I love developing, testing, and learning it. However, have this love/hate relationship with it. It can help and it can frustrate.
Punctuation & Poetry
Several poets who I worked with through the Writer’s Block Party meetings and with the Journal had asked me to look at their poems and edit punctuation errors, or add punctuation to it completely. I realized that, for many poets, the lack of punctuation is not necessarily a creative choice. I wondered, how might punctuation change the tone, meaning and effect of their work if they knew how to use it?
Information Architecture
"Looking back, I realize that many of the classics I’d read in high school and college were written in a much more dense style, and I read those books simply because they were required reading. That’s not to say that I didn’t love them and cherish what I’d read, but I seldom find myself wanting to go back and reread them, because most—like The Heart of Darkness—were just written in a style that required a lot of work, and were tedious to get through because of what I realize now was poorly constructed architecture."
Elements of a Short Story
A short story is an invented prose narrative shorter than a novel usually dealing with few characters and maiming at unity of effect and often concentrating on the creation of mood rather than plot. What we call “coffee break” reading. A short story is more than 7,500 words that can be read in a single sitting. Describes a single event, a single episode, or a tale of one particular character. Does not usually involve major twists and conflicts, and involvement of various sub-plots and multiple characters is not common. A short story is basically fictional prose, written in a narrative style. The narrative style may either be first or third person.
Working with a Freelance Editor
"Do a second and third rewrite before you show the manuscript to the editor. At the very least, use spell check on the entire manuscript, and then have some friends check for errors. Make it the best you can do on your own so you won’t be paying for a professional’s time to do what you could have done yourself." Patty Zion, from "Working with a Freelance Editor"
Elements of Poetry
We ended the workshop with examples of these techniques by poets such as Robert Frost, Robert Burns, Elizabeth Bishop, Mary Oliver, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and others. For me as the presenter, the discussion reinvigorated my awareness of these tools and the power they give the poet to touch the reader at a fundamental, emotional level.