Heart on the page...

I attended the first short story writing class of the fall term this past week. Instructor Nina Hoffman brings such great energy and inspiration to students. Writing a 20 minute riff "put your heart on the page" - write about a childhood experience where you felt terror, shame, or revenge - prompted students to dig deep into intense emotions from childhood. Nina asked for volunteers to read their pieces. Almost every student shared their writing - very intense experiences. The exercise and sharing created a bond of trust among us, a bond that will allow us to freely share our writing throughout the semester. Thank you Nina!
See Riffs page for my "heart on the page" story.
See Novel Ideas page for my latest insights about Out from the Fog

Short Stories from a 1950s childhood

I signed up for the short story writing class at Lane Community College. My goal is to write a short story each week and workshop it with my classmates. I've come up with a theme for the pieces set in the 1950's when I grew up in a working class, poor, inner city neighborhood. I experienced the changing nature of my childhood neighborhood - white flight. I was born in 1946, lived in the neighborhood until I was twelve. Over those years whites moved out as African Americans moved in. My family moved when the house we rented was sold by the heirs of the original owner. Reflecting on the changes in my small neighborhood over twelve years should provide insight and understanding about that era.

So many choices...

With Dubious Grief resting and the fall term approaching, it is time to choose a writing class to move my writing forward. Two classes interest me - both of which I have taken previously - Novel Writing and Short Story Writing. I must decided which class will motivate me to engage with my fiction pieces already in progress. So many choices - too little time.
See new entries on Novel Ideas & Dubious Grief pages.

Revision done!

Yesterday I completed revisions on Dubious Grief that I started a few weeks ago. Now I can turn my full attention to creating new writing pieces. I've thought about a few essays related to grieving I want to write - issues such as: Is grieving a mental illness? I'd like to get a few essays published so I will concentrate in this nonfiction writing area for awhile longer.
I continue working of several fiction pieces - revising a novel and writing short stories based on my experiences growing up in the 1950's with my two sisters. And I continue writing pieces for my humorous book - which gives me so much fun and laughter after all the grief and pain.