I know my poem has nothing to do with the Scrabble assignment. Since I have been able to make it to the meetings, I thought that I would share my latest poem.

Tricia

I have been to the other side and back.
I have learned how keep my life on track.

I have experienced dark days and teary nights.
I wanted to see heavenly lights.

I felt like letting go.
I would tell God to take my soul.

He showed me signs that
told me it wasn't my time.

I am so thankful for the
love and support that is plentiful.

I am not done with this life.
I am going hang onto it with all my might.

Listen to me God as I now say,
you can take me when I am old and grey.


Tricia

Scrabble Words

This is my second trip to Mumbia and I am not looking forward to the heat and lack of adequate facilities in this Indian city. I hear the zoom of the engines as we vie for airspace on this transatlantic flight. My name is A.J. Moss one of the purchasing and product managers for a Canadian aerospace company. Upper management has decided to continue it's investigation into what seems a superior brass hex nut that was used in the fighter plane "the Gnat".        I am thumbing through a flashy magazine and see that Akon has arrived in New Delhi for a concert. His song 'I'm coming ova'(sic) is gaining ground on the Indian pop charts. I think to myself "ya suck" and toss the mag back into the pocket in the seat. Time to think. Need a plan of action and a way to get the ideas in my head in line with what the company is looking for. I slip off to sleep with visions of India seeding my dreams.    What seemed just a bit later I wake up in daze. My mind seems to be playing tricks on me. Maybe I should not have had that last gin and tonic... The pilot announces that we are preparing to land. How long did I sleep ? I get through customs and look for my regular driver Mr Mehra who was to meet me at the airport. Not seeing him there was raising the ire of my already foggy disposition.  A man in a faded jute dhoti came over to me and said he was sent by Mr Mehra to pick me up in the auto rickshaw he pointed at. I did not know what to do. My mode of travel in India at the last trip was always in a regular cab. Certainly not in one of those rough rickshaws. Do I try to call a cab or do I trust this man Amir as he called himself. I step into the auto rickshaw.       Traffic in this city is chaotic. Amir maneuvered around as best he could. All of a sudden we were side swiped by a cab ( of the like I should have been travelling in) I had a deep gash in my brow. Amir was frantic and had some of his friends take me to a healer a few blocks away. I had to duck my head to enter the door which had a tigers head carved on it. After my eye's adjusted to the dim light I looked in awe at all the beautiful Hindu art that covered the walls and ceiling.       Sitting on a stool was this old shaman with dread locked hair down to his waist. He was wearing little but a small dhoti and garlands of flowers around his neck. Amir spoke to him in his dialect and the healer whose name I found out was Buti stood and looked at my bleeding head.  After a few minutes of chanting he said he could rid me of the injury. Buti immediately started gathering an assortment of herbs powders and figs which he beat in a small tin bowl. He told me he would slather this potion on my brow with special prayers and all would be well in my life. As he worked on my brow he chanted. I left feeling much better and the gash on my head was barely visible. Amir quickly took me to the hotel where I rested as per shaman's orders. I was filled with wonder at this new old side of India that I had not experienced before.      The next day was my meeting with Rhohit Shah the CEO of the plant. I'm not sure what happened to my head yesterday but it was exploding with grand schemes and my proposal was greeted with enthusiasm. A done deal was made. The bump on the head must have helped or was it something else...			1 comment	8/4/11	by Rosemary	Delete
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Scrabble Rousers!

What a great meeting, once again. A group of us - a bit of a motley crew, but we are loveable - met to affirm and encourage each other as writers. Hopefully everyone who came had a super time and we sure did miss our absent friends. We are slowly growing (welcome new members - Barbara, Caroline & Bev)and some are getting braver about sharing their work and pushing toward publication! Hooray...

So the highlight of this past meeting was to listen to the fabulous creations of our Scrabble Rousers! Just to give a brief background - those who were at the June meeting played Scrabble. The resulting words were to be used in a story / song / poem / or in another creative manner and were then to be shared at the next meeting. I think we all enjoyed hearing what everyone had to offer. We are encouraging all Scrabble Rousers to post their creations here. Thanks Janet for starting us off (and thanks for including the list of words after your story!)  Here's my offering:

"That Kind of a Girl"

                                                                               by Glynis M. Belec

It wouldn’t be the first time my crazy ideas got me into trouble. I thought perhaps if I were to get rid of the gray hair, slather on some Oil of Olay Perfect Skin Moisturizing makeup and don a pair of my old faded jeans, then I might just beat her at her own game.

I was barely fifty years old and I wasn’t that type of girl – mind, body or spirit. Besides I was not ready for this. I was able to zoom through any given day and daze the daylights out of anyone who crossed my path. My busyness validated my existence.

“Slow down!” my friends used to say. I guess they were in awe at my ability to leap tall buildings and plan my moments. Some told me that the way I worked if I would go mining for ore I would likely hit gold. I liked that. It gave me a sense of purpose!

But on that particular day, I heard she was coming and I was ready.

“Vie for my spot as lady of the hour, would you? I don’t think so, darling.” 

My ire was in stark contrast to her calm presence, though, and it started to bother me a bit. My mind raced as if twenty tigers were in hot pursuit. What could I say? What should I do? I considered putting a hex on the whole thing but then I remembered that that would not be the Christian thing to do!

I mopped my sweaty brow, rubbing away some of the Oil of Olay mud. I looked at my hands. They felt like mushy figs.

Everyone stood there, just staring at this new kid on the block.  I might as well have been wearing a jute smock…I guess my once girlish figure seemed to suddenly swell into ripples resembling a spare tire or two.

What was I thinking? Who was I kidding?

“Ya’ [sic] know,” I said sheepishly to anyone who cared to pay me any attention, “I guess my gig is up. I’m not fooling anyone with this façade, am I?” I felt like an insignificant gnat.

Then someone touched my shoulder. He was a handsome one, even if he did spit out a pistachio nut shell before speaking to me.

“Hard to believe out of all her ova, God selected the perfect one.”

I looked at him. He seemed sympathetic and gently ignored my kooky attempts at covering up the real me.

“Yes,” he continued, “the fine art of life is not in our hands.”  He pointed to the little bundle.

I stared at the child. She tried to suck her tiny, perfect finger. I was done. I suddenly realized that getting older was just part of life. Gray hair is a sign of wisdom. Wrinkles are laugh lines. Something was seeding my senses.

It was as if moss had been fogging up my vision. My brain cleared and I started to slip into the role that I was destined to be.

This precious little child was my healer. At fifty years of age, it turns out that I was that kind of girl, after all. Grandmother – mind, body, and now…in spirit!

Scrabble Words...

My ideas are done…
I gaze in awe at the setting sun
Like faded tigers sprawled across the west
I slip my plan to He who knows me best

Life can suck the dreamer dry
I had a bit of dream once, in my eye
Beat the drum low, with gathered brow
Dreams are the ire of dust, ya’ know…

But He who plants the hills with ore
And paints His art across earth’s shore
His way is perfect, pure and just
He sees our dreams slather the dust

His art now tints nut tree and moss
It glows with crimson, like the Cross
Where we can rid ourselves of guilt
Because of perfect blood He spilt…

His way is upright and astute
He bends the will of iron or jute
I grasp His love in humble daze
A gnat cannot escape His gaze

The ova of the devil’s hex
Seeks to torment me and vex
Me with the seeding of a lie
Good and evil seem to vie…

…for fruit upon my trembling lips
Can a thistle tree bear figs?
Clouds of dark fore-boding zoom
To sic their evil lies of doom

But then I lift my tortured eyes
To the Painter of the skies
His glory bathes a sin-cursed land
The Healer stretches forth His Hand…

Janet

Here is a list of required words to use..
1. faded
2. awe
3. daze
4. zoom
5. my
6. done
7. ideas
8. hex
9. slip
10. figs
11. vie
12. slather
13. it
14. healer
15. seeding
16. rid
17. bit
18. beat
19. tigers
20. sic
21. ire
22. plan
23. just
24. jute
25. ore
26. to
27. moss
28. ova
29. ya
30. suck
31. know
32. brow
33. gnat
34. art
35. nut

If anyone reading here is interested in joining, check it out!!! Our next meeting is at the Studio Factor in Drayton on Sept. 9.There's is just one thing you need to be there....yourself!...oh, and one more thing about us...we are having WAY too much fun:)) Hope to see you there!

Meeting Tonight

Just a Reminder...

Tonight is our "Scrabble Night"!

Come out to share your talents and play a little scrabble! 

But there's a twist! (There's always a twist!) 

You'll have to come out to see what the twist it!

When:  7:30pm

Where:  Studio Factor

See you there!

Finding Your Voice in a Noisy World

(Notes adapted from my presentation at our April 8th Writer's Unite Meeting at The Studio Factor by Glynis M. Belec)

 

What do we mean when we say a writer has a distinct voice? What does it mean to have a voice when you write?

You already have a voice. It's beautiful, it's unique and it is distinctly yours. If someone reads your book or article or poetry, or hears your song, and recognizes who wrote it, often it is because of your distinct voice.

Because you already have your own voice, your task is to bring it to the forefront and be who you are.

Enjoying someone’s style and being inspired by the voice of another writer is a good thing, but we should never try to copy. It just doesn’t work.

I like Erma Bombeck – I read her work a lot and I found that my most comfortable style was similar to hers. I call her voice - comfortable and inviting.

 I also like E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web - I call his writing gentle, descriptive writing.

 I call Robert Munsch’s – dramatic, loud writing.

There  are so many different voices in writing. Remember we spoke about Louis L’Amour - the western writer? Think how his voice is vastly different than Stephen King's.

Emily Post, if you remember, has more old style, refined writing.
Remember Ann Voskamp’s new book – 1000 Gifts? She is a vulnerable and generous writer. Her voice implores the reader to share her pain and her purpose.

Style and voice are important when writing. They both help define you as a writer and they set you apart from other authors.

Beginning writers don’t necessarily have a  defined voice when first starting out.

Here are some ideas and suggestions for discovering the difference between Voice and Style and ways to find your Voice and define your Style:

-         Write for a while – hard work and self-discovery – in my case lots of prayer, too! God what do you want me to do with my writing?

-         Voice is born from a lot of words and a lot of work – rejection, refining, rewriting = reward!

       “The voice is the cadence and lyricism with which you narrate and write dialogue, particularly when it comes to speaking through the eyes of a particular character.”

-          voice is the word choice and method of speaking and thinking as demonstrated by characters

-         style is when you are talking about the way in which he writes his books

-         Style is watching your use of adjectives and doing a few flashy things with alliteration.

-         Style without voice is hollow

-         Voice is style, plus theme, plus personal observations, plus passion, plus belief, plus desire

-         For example, do you write in short, concise paragraphs or long, wordy sentences?

-         Do you use multiple viewpoints in creative writing or just one? A writer's style can be characterized by something as seemingly insignificant as punctuation or as obvious as point of view, but each writer's voice is unique.

-         “Voice is bleeding onto the page, and it can be a powerful, frightening, naked experience…”

- Voice = what the reader hears

- Style = what the reader sees

-         both style and voice come naturally to some creative writers

-         other times, it has to be developed

Publishers are always looking for fresh voices and styles that speak to the reader and set the book apart

What do we think about when we think of Agatha Christie for example? Jane Goodall? The Junie B. Jones series? Veggie Tales? Amelia Bedelia? O Henry? 

Nowadays we not only need to sell our books we need to sell ourselves as writers – doesn’t mean selling our soul to the devil or compromising. Rather it means you are selling your unique perspective on life, your own beliefs, fears, hopes and dreams, your memories of childhood tribulation and triumphs and adult achievements and failures . . . your universe

This all comes out in your voice

Anybody can sit down and write a story or a book

-         Just means applying derriere to chair and typing out three or four or ten pages a day until the thing is done

-         not every book is saleable

-          not every saleable book will find an audience

-         not every book that finds an audience will be able to bring the readers back for more of what you are saying or selling.

-         You do that by offering readers something they can't get anywhere else

-         What is that?   YOU!

-         When you develop your voice you are putting yourself on the page

-         How Do We Develop Our Voice?

A) Read!

-         You cannot be a successful writer if you don't read.

-         All writers read, and all good writers read a lot.

-         Read fiction, nonfiction, read in the genre you love, read outside of it.

-         Read WAY outside of it. (I have trouble here)

-         The more you read, the more you will acquire instinct about what works for you,

-         and an equally compelling instinct for what doesn't

-         discover how stories are put together

-         get a feel for how good novels are paced and plotted and how bad ones fall apart

-         start developing a hunger to write specific stories, because you'll come across areas where nobody is writing the kind of books you want to read.

B.   Write everything.

-         Try your hand at non-fiction

-          Write romantic scenes

-         Put together a western character and run him through a fight scenario

-         Try fantasy

-         try SF

-          try romance

-         write a sonnet, and some haiku, and a few limericks.

-         Remember the first rule of writing: Nothing you write is wasted.

-         you will have learned from the experience even though it isn’t sent out or used anywhere

-          You might produce your first saleable work completely outside of your previous area of specialization.

C)   Play games

-         Make endless lists or get hold of a book or online that has story starters and play around with them.

-         Change the endings of some of your favourite books

-         Use a ‘what if’ component

-         Story webs or target writing

-         Scrabble game

-         When you're first looking for your voice, you need to experiment a little

-         Some of what you write might not be too good.

-         Some of it will shock you with how good you really are and how well you can write

-          But the only way you'll get any of the good stuff is if you allow yourself to put whatever comes into your head down on the page without worrying about marketing your work right away

-         Some people need to have the internal editor switched on (I know I do)

-    Others will find they like to free write and edit later

-         Write from passion

-         If you don't care about the things you're writing about, you will never discover your true voice

-         Your voice does not exist when you're trying to write a book in a genre you don’t like

-         Quick money won’t happen here

-         Voice doesn’t happen or exist in the thin and cheap places of your heart or the shallow end of your soul

-         Voice lives in the deep waters and the dark places of your soul,

-         will only venture out when you make sure you've given it space to move and room to breathe

-         complacency is your worst enemy

-         plodding along without thinking or challenging yourself

-    Think about things that you have read and why they moved you, touched you, made you laugh, made you cry - changed your life

-         You are probably thinking about the voice of the writer  

- Now it's your turn...go find your voice!