Serialization???

I've been writing a piece for awhile set in the mid sixties and early seventies. The piece began as a short story that just kept expanding. So now it's not really a short story but a series of short stories. How to present this piece has baffled me for some time. Then my sister sent me a link to a web site where the author has serialized her work presenting short segments weekly. Reading her pieces I thought about 'flash fiction' - each serialized piece was approximately 500 words. I love the challenge of writing a complete scene/story contained in 500 word segments. I'm currently revising and restructuring my story adapting it to a serialization structure. I think it will work great.

Celebration of Life

Friday evening I attended a Celebration of Life for my writer friend Tim. I read a brief piece of his writing he'd shared with our memoir writing class. This was the way I knew him - a writer of stories. It was wonderful to listen as others spoke their stories of Tim. He was an amazing, creative, genuine man who is missed by many.
I rewrote/revised three chapters in Dubious Grief over this past month. Every day I contemplate my grief journey - where it began, the ways my grief evolved, and where my journey is today. Thanks Tim for the kick to my heart that continues to keep me writing my grief.

Time again to write...

Last week news came of the death of a friend. Although I knew him only briefly, ten short weeks in a writing class the beginning of this year, his death sent me spiraling down that path of grief once again. Today news about a second friend, another writer, struggling with brain cancer spurred me to take on the task of revising Dubious Grief once again. I take on my mantle of grief again, spill it out, speak my truth. No time to procrastinate - tomorrow is unknown.

Reading for insight

I reread books to find clues to how other authors create tension, connect the dots, keep readers turning the pages. Currently I'm interested in multiple point of view characters and techniques to structure these in a story. In the Time Traveler's Wife Henry and Claire each are primary POV characters. Each tells the story of their love affair from their own perspective. Each scene is identified in terms of time and age of the two characters. The reader always knows where she is in time and whose POV is 'telling' the story. Each scene is written in first person. Everything about the story flows, each character relates his/her viewpoint in their own voice. Excellent structure for handling multiple characters, shifts in time, and creating story tension.
See new post on Dubious Grief page.

Writing first lines

In the short story class I've taken the instructor - Nina Hoffman - encourages students to write first lines for stories. These first lines generate ideas for the story and aim to generate interest in the reader. I took up the challenge and over the past several days I've written opening lines for each of the fifteen chapters I envision for my reorganized Dubious Grief. With each attempt at generating first lines my insight into what each chapter is about emerged more clearly. Some of my chapter titles changed as well as two section titles. This exercise has brought clarity to some hazy concepts. And I now have a better roadmap from which to rewrite my story.

I'm Back!

Let's just say I took a short hiatus from blogging to READ - WRITE - REWRITE but mostly to THINK about my Dubious Grief story. I struggled through the memoir writing class for the third time and was at my wits end trying to find my voice and my story. I pondered the essential question: what is this book about? throughout February - March - April. And then one day in early May a voice somewhere inside my skull screamed "GRIEF you idiot!" Even the title - Dubious Grief - shouted the story; how could I have missed it all this time? Immediately I embarked on devising a new story structure based exclusively on my grieving. Where had my grief begun? What had awakened my grief? Changing the focus from what happened to Glen, his struggle and my reaction to it, I now focus on what was happening with me during that time. This book is about my journey with grief and hence the working title became: Dubious Grief: A Journey because grief is not an event, it's a journey. Yesterday I drafted sixteen pages about my two-day getaway in July 2008 and how taking care of myself landed me on my path of awakening grief. That is when and where my story began.

Upward turn?

It's been a while since I've posted. It has been a difficult few months but now I feel I'm moving out from that stuck place where writing is difficult if not impossible. I struggled through the memoir writing class but last night I read a piece I've been trying to write for a long time. But it was not the right time until now. And this morning I awoke feeling lighter, as if a heavy weight has been lifted from my heart. Tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of my husband Glen's death. The piece I wrote over several weeks and read last needs some rewriting, but I've posted it on the Dubious Grief page. Now I feel I am truly moving forward with my life - not that my journey is over, but that my life has meaning, purpose, and is worth living.
New post on Dubious Grief page.