Spores on my windshield. /
Pollen fairy dusts my car. /
Sneeze greets morning sun.
Filed under 2015, Haiku to You Thursday, poetry by author
Here are 10 smart, yet simple ways for every writer—from novelists to journalists to poets—to enrich his or her mind and become better at cultivating ideas and putting them to the page.
by MELISSA CLARK
1. Travel the world
Old, young, rich, poor, there are many ways to see the world, soak up other cultures, see examples of creativity in art, food, music, architecture. Lately, I’ve been applying to and attending artist residencies to work on my writing in other countries including Spain, Portugal and Mexico. Even if you’re only able to take a day trip, take it! Soak up any experience you can get that lives outside your day-to-day life.
2. Journal
Not just the “My boyfriend broke up with me” kind. (Though that’s fine, too.) Write down your thoughts, ideas, memories, draw pictures, and record dreams. There are many ways to journal including blogs, Pinterest, and various apps. Who knows what ideas the younger you has in store for the older you. You’ll never know if you don’t record them.
3. Be a student throughout your life
So many colleges and universities offer extension courses. I like taking classes outside of my writing interest and have taken Nude Figure Drawing, Ceramics, Anger Management and Stand-Up Comedy, among others. Ultimately, anything you learn can be useful to your writing.
4. Also be a teacher
I grew up in a family that supported my creativity, but many people don’t and they need a mentor to help them navigate the waters. I not only teach in colleges, but at unexpected places, too, like spas and retreats. I love meeting and being inspired by different types of students all over the country. Why not volunteer your time teaching writing to kids or the elderly? Everyone has a story. How wonderful if you’re able to help someone express theirs.
5. Realize that no idea is too big/small/silly/crazy
One afternoon at lunch with a friend I ate too much (as usual). When I lifted my shirt to show him my bloated belly, he said, “Are you sure you’re not pregnant?” and I said, “Yeah, right, from a lazy sperm!” This off-the-cuff comment inspired my first novel, “Swimming Upstream, Slowly,” about a woman who becomes pregnant from a lazy sperm. Silly? Absolutely! Published novel? That’s right! What ideas are you preventing from being realized because you think they are too big/small/silly/crazy?
Other tips include:
6. When you hear “no” do it anyway
7. Accept your shadow side
8. Invest in a good therapist
9. Forgive yourself
10. Practice gratitude
About Melissa Clark: Clark is an author, television writer and college instructor. She is the author of the novels, Bear Witness, Swimming Upstream, Slowly, and Imperfect. Her essay, “Rachael Ray Saved My Life” is included in the anthology The Cassoulet Saved Our Marriage.
She is also the creator of the animated television series, “Braceface,” starring the voice of Alicia Silverstone which aired on the ABC Family Channel. She has written scripts for “Rolie Polie Olie,” “Totally Spies,” “Sweet Valley High,” among others. Melissa teaches creative writing and literature courses both privately.
Complete entry at: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/10-poignant-practices-for-every-writer?et_mid=752210&rid=239626420
Filed under 2015, Writing Tip Wednesday, writing tips
It was as if each choice branched off in unintended directions.
Filed under 2015, cartoon by author, CarToonsday
Q: What did the vampire say to his female plastic surgeon?
A: “I just want a little nibble and suck.”
—
Man in a dark suit walks into a bar and orders a Bloody Mary.
The bartender refuses to serve him.
Another fellow at the bar calls the bartender over and asks him, “You make Bloody Marys here. Why won’t you serve him one?”
The bartender says: “He’s a real vampire and he wants a real Bloody Mary. I’m already down two waitresses this week. I can’t afford to lose another. Besides, he doesn’t tip all that well.”
—
A cactus and a vampire walk into a bar. Then in walks a woman with blood stains on her clothes. She looks over at the two of them and can’t decide who’s the bigger pricker of her.
Filed under 2015, Monday morning writing joke
“That’s not fair… that’s not fair at all!”
by NIA ALVAEZOS
To take the love quiz, go to: http://www.buzzfeed.com/niaalavezos/which-twilight-zone-episode-describes-your-love-1jrcx#.ta21zoo0l
What lies between the summit of man’s knowledge and the pit of his fears? What’s ha sign post up ahead? Your Twilight Zone Love Life.
Let Rod Serling be your Love Doctor and The Twilight Zone be your guide.
Filed under 2015, The Twilight Zone, TV show
A new video mashes up clips from “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” into a trailer for a fake 1985 film whose release would have been the sci-fi event of the century.
by MIKE WALL, Space.com Senior Writer
“Trapped in a galaxy far, far away, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the famous starship Enterprise are left to the mercy of an evil galactic empire and caught in the middle of an interstellar war,” the narrator of the fake movie, called “The Carbonite Maneuver,” intones as the Enterprise is captured by a “Star Wars” Imperial Star Destroyer.
Details at: http://www.space.com/29404-star-wars-star-trek-mashup-video.html?cmpid=NL_SP_weekly_2015-05-15
“Legends will unite and galaxies will clash as your imagination embarks upon a fantastic flight into fantasy-film history,” the narrator adds in the 85-second video, which was posted to YouTube on May 6. “‘The Carbonite Maneuver:’ a cosmic spectacle unlike anything you’ve seen before.”
The fake film’s title is, appropriately enough, a nod to both sci-fi franchises. Han Solo was flash-frozen in carbonite in “The Empire Strikes Back,” and one episode in the first season of the original “Star Trek” TV series was called “The Corbomite Maneuver.” (In the episode, Captain Kirk bluffs away a potential attacker by claiming that the Enterprise is protected by an imaginary substance called corbomite.)
The trailer shows multiple meldings of the “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” universes. For example, Captain Kirk comes face to face with the humanoid robot C-3PO, TIE fighters fire at the Enterprise during a deep-space chase, and the iconic “Star Trek” vessel zooms down the trench of the planet-destroying Death Star.
There are some nice touches in the credits as well. “The Carbonite Maneuver” was supposedly written by Lawrence Kasdan, who co-wrote two of the first three “Star Wars” films (“The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi”), and the music is attributed to the English composer Gustav Holst. (The works of Holst, who died in 1934, reportedly served as inspiration to John Williams, who has written the music for all “Star Wars” films to date.)
“The Carbonite Maneuver” is rated PG. It opens June 5, 1985; a related video game is available now from Atari.
[Editor’s note: Build your own captain’s chair and join along.]
Watch the co-host of the “Mythbusters” science show make a functional “Star Trek” chair worthy of Captain Kirk, with help from his friend Jeremy Williams.
Source: http://www.cnet.com/news/mythbuster-adam-savage-builds-star-trek-captains-chair/
Adam Savage, co-host of the Discovery channel’s “MythBusters” science show, never shies away from a challenge. When he acquired a disappointing replica of a “Star Trek” captain’s chair, instead of being content with it, the longtime prop maker decided to make a brand-new and better chair.
n the latest video from Tested.com, Savage shows off his impressive captain’s chair, and then with help from his friend Jeremy Williams does some electronics magic to wire the chair’s lighting system and implement sound effects. After some troubleshooting, the duo add various LED lights, light strips, power sources, speakers and of course, many wires.
“As I was building it, I’d like it to have a feature that no other chair has,” Savage said in the video. “So I ended up adding a couple of features like a viewer, which is in ‘The Cage,’ which is the unaired pilot of ‘Star Trek.’ [And] I added one other feature so I made a drawer (in the base) for the props.”
The handcrafted chair has five interface panels, which include the switch bank of rocker switches, the lights display, five push buttons and the intercom.
The result is the ultimate, one-of-a-kind “Star Trek” captain’s chair with details that would impress even Scotty. Check out this photo gallery to see behind-the-scenes shots of the build process.
She clicked the heels together: one, two, three.
Kansas wasn’t what it once was, and neither was Dorothy. She even wondered if she had the ruby-red slippers she wore to get back home all those many decades ago. She couldn’t find them, but she found a pair of red shoes her granddaughter had accidentally left after visiting from Tennessee. Dorothy had meant to mail them back, but had never gotten around to it. Maybe they would do.
She slipped them on. Her old and slightly swollen feet were slightly too big for them, but she forced them in nonetheless and hobbled outside and up to the curb. It was noon. The sun was already beating heat into the earth as if each ray was a spike.
Dorothy stood with her feet as close together as possible, took a deep breath, and then coughed, her lungs suddenly filled with the fumes of a car speeding by. She inhaled again, steadied herself, and clicked the heels together three times, repeating the phrase: “This is no longer my home. This is no longer my home. This is no longer my home.”
It was only later, when some of the employees of the assisted living home where Dorothy had been staying started looking for her did they find the red shoes. But nobody made the link between that young Dorothy and this one who had simply walked off without her shoes.
“Happens more often than we care to think about,” one employee said when asked by the police.
Filed under 2015, Photo by Beth Booker, Photo Finish Friday
Love lives not in moments gone /
nor moments to come /
but in moments now.
[Editor’s note: This haiku is 7-5-5 instead of the more traditional 5-7-5 syllables per line arrangement.]
Filed under 2015, Haiku to You Thursday, poetry by author
New Literary Agent Alert: Linda Camacho of Prospect Agency
Linda Camacho
In terms of submissions, Linda is pretty omnivorous. She enjoys a variety of categories and genres, ranging from clean and lighthearted to edgy and dark. She is currently seeking: Adult, middle grade, and young adult fiction across all genres (romance, horror, fantasy, realistic, light sci-fi, and graphic novels). Select literary fiction (preferably with commercial bent). Diversity of all types (ethnicity, disability, sexuality, etc.). Linda is NOT seeking: Early readers/chapter books, screenplays, poetry, and short stories.
Linda is currently accepting queries through Prospect Agency’s Submissions page: https://www.prospectagency.com/submissions.php. Please include three chapters and a brief synopsis. Do not query by email or letter mail and do not submit unsolicited manuscripts or inquire about the status of submissions via email.
Filed under 2015, writing tip, Writing Tip Wednesday
Booker's Blog 